Computation of convective laminar flow in rotating cavities

Numerical predictions are presented for the centrifugally driven free convection in a sealed rotating cavity and for the buoyancy-affected flow through a cavity with an inner cylindrical source and an outer cylindrical sink. Results for a sealed cavity filled with a high-viscosity silicone oil are in good agreement with previously published experimental measurements of the mean Nusselt number. When the heat transfer is conduction-dominated the results away from the cylindrical surface agree with Dorfman's (1968) similarity solution, but as convection becomes important they depart from this solution. In an air-flled cavity, for both the free convection and radial outflow cases, the results away from the cylindrical surface are generally in reasonable agreement with Chew's (1982) similarity solution, although property variations and radial heat conduction do cause some departure from this solution. The extent of the region in which the heat transfer was influenced by the presence of the cylindrical surface, and the Nusselt number distribution in this region are shown to be sensitive to the thermal boundary conditions imposed on this surface.