Heat transfer and fluid flow in rotating cavities

Flow and heat transfer in a rotating annular cavity filled with a fluid is relevant to applications in the gas turbine industry. The presence of a temperature gradient orthogonal to the centrifugal acceleration induces a flow analogous to that of natural convection. Practically relevant cases typically involve high rotational Reynolds number and Grashof number, resulting in flows with strong forced and natural convection. In the present effort we investigate two different geometries, an annulus with a square ross-section, and a circular cylinder. Steady state laminar flows at various Reynolds and Grashof numbers are computed. Grid refinement studies are conducted along with different numerical schemes to assess the accuracy of the solutions ob: tained. Comparisons with previously published studies have also been made. Due to the range of the length scales present in such flow fields, flow structures with both large recirculating zones and thin layers can be observed. A scaling analysis, characterizing the heat transfer and flow fields which develop, is presented to offer insight into the physics encountered.