Typical flow between enclosed corotating disks and its dependence on Reynolds number

Abstract

The flow in an enclosed co‐rotating disk pair is investigated by Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) measurements and flow visualizations. First, the typical flow structure at Re = 5.25 × 10⁵ and S = 0.09 is clarified. The flow fields in the r – θ and the r – z planes are both investigated and then divided into several flow regions based on the distinct flow types observed. The flow regions found in the two different planes are also compared and integrated. Second, with S fixed, the dependence of the flow field structure upon the Reynolds number is discussed. Three regimes of the r – θ plane flow with different Reynolds numbers are identified based on the measured mean velocity and spectral intensity. When Re < 1.6 × 10⁵, no solid body region is found and the flow is in a laminar regime. In the range 1.6 × 10⁵ ≤ Re ≤ 2.0 × 10⁶, the solid body region and the outer region vortices coexist, and an empirical equation is developed to estimate the number of vortices. When Re > 2.0 × 10⁶, the flow becomes turbulent. As Re increases from 9.3 × 104 to 5.25 × 10⁵, the spectral intensity initially increases and then decreases before increasing again to an even higher level, resulting in an increasing sawtooth pattern.