BOUNDARY-LAYER SEPARATION IN A ROTATING CONTAINER

The flow field induced in a cylindrical container by the rotation of t he container and/or the end wall(s) about the axis of symmetry is high ly vortical. If the container and the end walls are rotated at differe nt angular velocities, a meridional flow develops due to the tilting a nd stretching of the axial vorticity created by the rotation of the bo unding surfaces. In the present study, the flow field induced by the d ifferential rotation of the container and one end wall while the other end wall remains fixed is numerically studied for a range of Reynolds numbers and ratios of the container to the end wall rotation rate. It is shown that the production of azimuthal vorticity by the tilting an d stretching of axial vorticity causes the container side wall boundar y layer to separate for a range of Reynolds numbers and ratios of the container to the end wall rotation rate. (C) 1996 American Institute o f Physics.