| Abstract: | In order to identify the major fluid mechanical effects and catalog their domains of influence, an extensive study of flow behavior of reactive polyester resin systems in uniaxial, horizontal rotating systems has been undertaken. Four general flow phenomena are identified: cascading, where resin is withdrawn from the recirculating pool arid drains back; rimming, where resin is taken around the top of the cylinder by viscous forces; stable hydrocyst formation, where rings of fluid perpendicular to the axis of rotation are formed; and solid body rotation, where the resin on the mold wall is quite uniform and time-independent. For most flow conditions, the desired region of solid body rotation apparently can be reached only by passing through each of the other flow regimes. Experimental work on polyester resin systems is compared with theoretical studies on flow stability, hydrocyst formation, and withdrawal from quiescent pools, and suitable correlations are developed. It is noted that the current correlations for stable hydrocyst formation are invalid for polyester resins and a simpler correlation is proposed. |
