| Abstract: | An experimental investigation has been undertaken to determine the oxygen transfer rate of a rotating Couette flow oxygenator for low axial annular flow rates. The purpose of this study was to determine if such a device might provide a rational basis for the subsequent design of a blood oxygenator for respiratory support in clinical situations. Using oxygen and degassed water as an analog to oxygen and blood the Sherwood number was determined as a function of the axial Reynolds number and the Taylor number. Results show that oxygen transfer rates can be enhanced by at least ten times over that of the non-rotating situation, the flow being laminar with vortex flow superposed. The present results were correlated as Sh vs. Ta/Tac over the range of parameters studied. |
