Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T09:40:13.338Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An electrochemical study of flow instability on a rotating disk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2006

Der-Tau Chin  and
Mitchell Litt
Der-Tau Chin
Affiliation:
School of Chemical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Present address: Electrochemistry Department, Research Laboratories, General Motors Corporation, Warren, Michigan 48090.
Mitchell Litt
Affiliation:
School of Chemical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Data for the fluctuating mass-transfer coefficient to point electrodes on the surface of a rotating disk are presented for transition and turbulent flow, along with analysis of the energy spectrum. The results corroborate previous evidence of standing vortices on the surface in the transition region. It is shown that the electrochemical method gives a more sensitive probe of flow instabilities than has been possible previously; the transition region is found to be wider than has been previously thought to be and lies between roughly Re = 1·7 × 105 and 3·5 × 105, where Re = r2ω/v is the Reynolds number, ω being the angular velocity of the disk (in rad/s) and v the kinematic viscosity. As the Reynolds number is increased, the stationary vortices in the transition region propagate primarily with a frequency matching that of the disk speed. After a peak energy has been reached at Re = 2·6 × 105, the vortices break down into a fully developed turbulent flow.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 54 , Issue 4 , 22 August 1972 , pp. 613 - 625
Copyright
© 1972 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brown, W. B. 1961 A stability criterion for three-dimensional laminar boundary layers. In Boundary Layer and Flow Control, vol. 2 (ed. G. V. Lachmann), pp. 913–923. Pergamon.
Cham, T. S. & Head, M. R. 1969 J. Fluid Mech. 37, 129.
Chin, D. T. 1969 Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Chin, D. T. & Litt, M. 1972 Mass transfer to point electrodes on the surface of a rotating disk. J. Electrochem. Soc. (in the Press).Google Scholar
Cobb, E. C. & Saunders, O. A. 1956 Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 236, 343.
Faller, A. J. & Kaylor, R. E. 1966 Investigations of stability and transition in rotating boundary layers. In Dynamics of Fluids and Plasmas (ed. S. L. Pai et al.), pp. 309–329. Academic.
Gregory, D. P. & Riddiford, A. C. 1960 J. Electrochem. Soc. 107, 950.
Gregory, N., Stuart, J. T. & Walker, W. S. 1955 Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A, 248, 155.
Gregory, N. & Walker, W. S. 1960 J. Fluid Mech. 9, 255.
Hinze, J. O. 1959 Turbulence. McGraw Hill.
Johnson, G. R. & Turner, D. R. 1962 J. Electrochem. Soc. 109, 918.
Kempf, G. 1924 Über Reibungswiderstand rotierender Scheiben, Vortage auf dem Gebiet der Hydro- und Aerodynamik, Innsbruck Congr. 1922, Berlin.
Kreith, F., Taylor, G. H. & Chong, J. P. 1959 J. Heat Transfer, Trans. A.S.M.E. C, 81, 95.
Levich, V. G. 1962 Physicochemical Hydrodynamics. Prentice-Hall.
Mitchell, J. E. & Hanratty, T. J. 1966 J. Fluid Mech. 26, 199.
Reiss, L. P. & Hanratty, T. J. 1962 A.I.Ch.E. J. 8, 245.
Reiss, L. P. & Hanratty, T. J. 1963 A.I.Ch.E. J. 9, 154.
Rogers, G. T. & Taylor, K. J. 1963a Nature, 200, 1062.
Rogers, G. T. & Taylor, K. J. 1963b Electrochem. Acta, 8, 887.
Schmidt, W. 1921 Z. ver. dtsch. Ing. 65, 441.
Serad, G. 1964 Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Smith, H. H. 1947 N.A.C.A. Tech. Note, no. 1227.
Theodorsen, T. & Regier, A. 1944 N.A.C.A. Rep. no. 793.