Jacek Spychalski

Numerical Analysis for Engineers

(NAE C_S2001)
(MEAE-4960)

TERM PROJECT

Laminar Flow near a Rotating Disk

(H. Schlichting, Boundary Layer Theory, 7th edition, p.102)

Class Instructor:
Prof. Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete

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CONTENTS: Page:

INTRODUCTION 3

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM 4

MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM 5

METHODOLOGY OF THE SOLUTION 10

NOMENCLATURE 14

REFERENCES 15

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INTRODUCTION

This project was chosen to demonstrate applicability and accuracy of numerical

methods used in solving a problem of the Boundary-Layer Theory. Modern mathematical

tools, supported by computers, allow interpreting, analyzing and computing physical

models with incredibly high precision. Boundary-Layer theory is one of the most

important theories of fluid mechanics. At first it was developed for theoretically ideal

incompressible fluids in the conditions of laminar flow. Due to extended research

through many years, scientists were able to expand the existing theory and find an

application for many other non-incompressible fluids. Prandtl was the first who

introduced the theory in 1904. He was able to present the solution neglecting viscosity

but, as later research showed, his theory did not fully explained practical experiments. J.

P. Hartnett and E. R. G. Eckert were among next who contributed into the Boundary-

Layer Theory. Their study concerned laminar boundary-layer equations for an

incompressible, two-component gas.

In this project problem of laminar flow near rotating disk was solved using the

Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method. In the result, a series of points were obtained and

numerical interpolation was used to obtain polynomial approximations of the functions.

Interpolated functions represented on the graph are similar to one depicted in the H.

Schlichting Flow near a rotating disk.

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PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM

Physical model presented below consists of a rotating disk immersed in a large amount of

fluid. Motions within the fluid are generated by rotating disk, which induces mass

transfer phenomenon. Disk of a radius 'R' rotates around an axis perpendicular to the

surface with uniform angular velocity w . Due to the viscous forces n a layer of fluid

is carried by the disk. Mass transfer takes place at the surface of the disk where the layer

near the disk is being directed outboard by centrifugal forces. Fluid motion is

characterized by velocity components u-radial, v-circumferential, and w-axial. Fluid is

defined as single-component gas and therefore mass removal or addition is uniform at all

points on the disk surface.

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MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM

Considering system of cylindrical co-ordinates:

2 1 2 1 2
2 2 2
r 2
r r z r 2

The mathematical statement of mass conservation is expressed by four Navier-Stokes

equations.

u v 2 u 1 p 2u u 2u
u w 2 2
r r z r r r r z
v uv v 2v v 2v
u w 2 2
r r z r r r z
w w 1 p 2 w 1 w 2 w
u w 2
r z z r r r z 2

Although equations describe behavior of fluid at some distance from an object most

critical and important from physical point of view is laminar flow of the layer nearest to

surface of the disk z = 0. From physical and mathematical description we can determine

boundary conditions considering no-slip condition at the wall of the disk:

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 z 0: u 0, v r * , w 0
z : u 0, v 0

At first we need to define the thickness s of the fluid layer at the surface of rotating

disk, which is carried due to friction. That layer of fluid is spinning with equal angular

velocity w. Thickness of the layer depends on angular velocity and decreases when disk

accelerate. Since in our experiment angular velocity is constant, thickness of the fluid

layer resting on the surface of the disk will also remain unchanged. The centrifugal force

that acts on a fluid particle in the rotating layer at a distance r from the axis can be

presented as:

FC * r * 2

Therefore for a volume of area centrifugal force becomes:

FC * r * 2 * * dr * ds

Due to nature of physic the same element of fluid interacts with shearing stress t that

points in direction in which the fluid is slipping. Angle Q is created between shearing

stress t and circumferential velocity v. It is understandable that the radial component of

the shearing stress must be equal with centrifugal force F.

* sin * drds * r * 2 * drds

* sin * r * 2 *

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Gradient of circumferential velocity at the wall has to be proportional to circumferential

component of shear stress. That additional condition:

* r *
* cos

allows us to eliminate :

2 tan

Assuming that direction of slip near disk does not depend on the radius the thickness of

the fluid carried on the surface of the disk is:

After defining thickness of the fluid layer, which rotates with the disk at no-slip

condition, we need to analyze system of Navier-Stokes equations.

Solution for that system can be obtained much easier by transforming to reduce

partial differential equations into system of ordinary differential equations. Successful

attempt of solving similar velocity problem for an impermeable disk rotating in a single-

component fluid was achieved in 1921 by T. von Karman. In order to use similarity

transform to reduce the partial differential equations to ordinary differential equations

new variables need to be introduced:

Independent variable:

7

z

Dependent variables:

u v w
F ( ) G ( ) H ( )
r * r * *

p
P ( )
* *

Inserting these new variables into Navier-Stokes equations we transform partial

differential equations into system of three ordinary differential equations:

F " HF ' F 2
G 2

G" HG '2 FG
H ' 2 F

with following boundary conditions:

F( 0 ) 0 , G( 0 ) 1, H( 0 ) 0

Two missing Boundary conditions:

F ' ( 0 ) 0.510, G ' ( 0 ) 0.6159

can be obtained by approximation method stretching of the independent variable and

using least squares method to minimize the error in the differential equations. This

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approximate solution is presented in Journal of Transactions of the American Society of

Mechanical Engineers3, Vol. 63, June 1996. P. D. Ariel who was an author of that article

gives three boundary conditions of which two are essential for us: F(0), G(0).

Approximate solution still differs from exact one, but most accurate from other

approximating methods provided by Cochran (1934) and Jain (1963).

Exact Cochran Jain Ariel

F(0) 0.510233 0.54 0.506711 0.507415
-G(0) 0.615722 0.54 0.626752 0.608686
-H( ) 0.884474 0.55 0.999596 0.913029

METHODOLOGY OF THE SOLUTION

In order to use numerical method following system of three II-order equations:

F " HF ' F 2
G 2

G" HG '2 FG
H ' 2 F

needs to be transformed in to the system of five I-order equations.

Two new dependable variables are introduced:

U F' U' F"

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 T G' T' G"
which gives:

U ' HU F 2 G 2

T ' HT 2 FG

H ' 2 F

F' U

G' T

with boundary conditions:

F( 0 ) 0 , G( 0 ) 1, H( 0 ) 0, U (0) 0.510233, T (0) 0.615722

Next, using Maple 6s dsolve command we can imply Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method to

obtain the approximate solution at 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 1,..., 3.8, 4.0

Table 1.

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 x F( x) G( x) H( x)

0.00000 0.000000000000000 1.000000000000000 0.000000000000000

0.20000 0.083589480952195 0.878017235759183 -0.017893367818338
0.40000 0.136265813534278 0.762094966677223 -0.062756077101281
0.60000 0.165833552081648 0.655721950584866 -0.123831184747898
0.80000 0.178690530701615 0.560447790195260 -0.193200689701784
1.00000 0.179920392109042 0.476584982214989 -0.265238492632630
1.20000 0.173447233299229 0.403700433571598 -0.336114288496107
1.40000 0.162215225950845 0.340950599956134 -0.403365310828080
1.60000 0.148369146302710 0.287302372441664 -0.465540724278065
1.80000 0.133421380561185 0.241672493472918 -0.521915883438673
2.00000 0.118397897330523 0.203010544370346 -0.572269337733240
2.20000 0.103960435962273 0.170344124950723 -0.616713504957524
2.40000 0.090505243556561 0.142799637086026 -0.655569481002495
2.60000 0.078240485027101 0.119608022645444 -0.689276989070835
2.80000 0.067245315255996 0.100101758851167 -0.718331518740803
3.00000 0.057513838863340 0.083707214442349 -0.743241964654785
3.20000 0.048987033716891 0.069934938366017 -0.764503344430223
3.40000 0.041575359291862 0.058369421609893 -0.782580339307310
3.60000 0.035174334366611 0.048659200937692 -0.797898403344166
3.80000 0.029674928034580 0.040507749786123 -0.810840011898259
4.00000 0.024970206703253 0.033665344188709 -0.821744275719483

Series of points presented above are the results of Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg

technique used in Maple. Independent variable x was chosen arbitrary and only some

values of the function: F, G, H in the domain [0, 4] is shown in the Table 1. More results

with increment 0.1 from x are in the Maple file (Laminar Flow.mws)

After obtaining certain amount of data points one can apply numerical method to

demonstrate interpolating polynomials. Also in this case Maple program was used to

generate interpolating polynomials. Three functions F, G, H were interpolating so that:

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 F(x) = f1(x), G(x) = f2(x), H(x) = f3(x)

f1 := .5002299938x2.03799114432x11.08867574000x9.06523360822x10
.04373395834x6.07702094923x7.09455164005x8.2070579737x3
.01504381964x5.5100130996x.101177827110-8 x20.882801488910-5 x17
.0004151882288x15.762954267610-6 x18.006433937606x13

.001854499745 x14.00007066208394 x16.4073339127 10 -7 x19

.01756439078 x12.03950081198 x4

f2 := .00049121697x2.08581949842x11.1965668992x9.1458259307x10
.1195124231 x6.1745935248x7.2090107999x8.1737614287x3
.09175682682x5.259164515310-8 x20.00002162310060x17
.0009877489501x15.189678858710-5 x18.01489271994x13

.004350620446 x14.0001705496384 x16.1027930292 10 -6 x19.6158720540 x

.04014453318 x12.1264353633 x41

f3 := .5090927279 x2.00005187782 x.1489810186 x11.3451798560 x9

.2546044571 x10.1973773942 x6.3081078540 x7.3689798405 x8
.3264271601 x3.07917742357 x5.4350494083 10 -8 x20.00003655974704 x17
.001681714246 x15.3198064845 10 -5 x18.02558124266 x13

.007438321786x14.0002892979369x16.172900293410-6 x19
.06930925546x12.07177697455x4

Maples plot command produced following graph:

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 x

where:
F(x)

G(x)

H(x)

Velocity components u, v, w are easy to obtain from previously introduced

equations:

u w v
F ( ) H ( ) G ( )
r * * r *

Numerical methods used in this article approximated solution to required

accuracy and allow obtaining results within reasonable amount of time.

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NOMENCLATURE:

F, G, H= dimensionless velocity variables

P = dimensionless pressure

r = radial coordinate

u, v, w = velocity components

FC = centrifugal force

r = density

w = angular velocity

d = thickness of viscous layer

t = shearing stress

n = kinematic viscosity

x = dimensionless independent coordinate

Q = angle formed between shear stress vector and circumferential velocity

Z = distance from the surface of the disk

REFERENCES:

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1. H. Schlichting Laminar Flow near Rotating Disk, Boundary Layer Theory, 7 th ed.
p. 102.
2. E. M. Sparrow, J. L. Gregg Mass Transfer, Flow, and Heat Transfer About a Rotating
Disk Journal of Transactions to ASME, November 1960, p. 294 302
3. P. D. Ariel The Flow Near a Rotating Disk: An Approximate Solution, Journal of
Transactions of the ASME, June 1996, vol. 63, p. 436 438.
4. R. L. Burden, J. D. Faires Numerical Analysis, 7th ed.

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