Flow induced by an asymmetrically placed disk rotating coaxially inside a cylindrical casing (Q1814893)

The flow due to a rotating disk non-symmetrically placed with respect to the height of the enclosing stationary cylinder is analyzed numerically. The full Navier-Stokes equations expressed in terms of streamfunction and vorticity are solved by successive over-relaxation for different disk radii, its distance from the bottom casing and rotational Reynolds numbers. It is observed that the flow pattern is strongly influenced by the size and the position of the disk. In particular, the calculations show that the frictional torque increases rapidly, when the disk approaches the top casing. This finding is of importance for the design of vertical rotating disk reactors applied in chemical vapor deposition.