The torque required for a steady rotation of a disk in a quiescent fluid (Q811242)

The paper deals with the determination of torque required for steady rotation of a disk of finite radius a in an incompressible viscous fluid, the uniform angular velocity about the axis of rotation being \(\Omega\). Near the edge of the disk, the axial velocity w has a singularity of \(O(r-a)^{-2/3})\) and this is due to sudden change of boundary conditions in the disk plane \(z=0\) e.g., the radial and tangential velocities given by u and v satisfy \(u=v=0\) at \(z=0\) for \(r<a\) but \(\partial u/\partial z=\partial v/\partial z=0\) at \(z=0\) for \(r>a\). The analysis reveals that due to this change a double-deck structure arises in the boundary layer over a length of \(O(Re^{-3/7})\) at both sides of the edge of the wall. In the lower deck, the tangential shear stress is numerically modified and for Re\(\to \infty\), the torque M required for steady rotation includes a further correction of \(O(Re^{-13/14})\) given by \(M\sim \phi a^ 5\Omega^ 2(0.9675Re^{-1/2}+0\cdot 2236Re^{- 13/14})\).