Heat transfer in a vertical rotating annulus - A numerical study

This paper describes a numerical study of convection in an annulus of a specified geometry with differentially heated cylindrical walls and adiabatic end walls, in which one cylinder or the other may rotate. The velocity and temperature distributions are presented, and Nusselt number is obtained as a function of the Reynolds, Prandtl and Rayleigh numbers. It has been found that there exists a critical value of Ra/(Re-squared)Pr above which rotation does not affect the rate of heat transfer. The centrifugal and Coriolis forces, the magnitudes of which are indicated by a Froude number, are only of significance at very high Reynolds numbers and at high Froude numbers (much greater than 1).