Axisymmetric Inertial Oscillations in Transient Rotating Flows in a Cylinder

Abstract

A numerical study is made of axisymmetric inertial oscillations in a fluid-filled cylinder. The entire cylinder undergoes a spin-up process from rest with an impulsively started rotation rate Ω(t) = Ω0 + εω cos(ωt). Numerical solutions are obtained to the axisymmetric, time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations. Identification of the inertial oscillations is made by inspecting the evolution of the pressure difference between two pre-set points on the central axis, Cp. In the limit of large time, the inertial frequency thus determined is in close agreement with the results of the classical inviscid theory for solid-body rotation. As in previous experimental studies, the t* − (Ω0 /ω) plots are constructed for inertial oscillations, where t* indicates the time duration until the maximum Cp is detected. These detailed numerical results are in broad agreement with the prior experimental data. Flow intensifications under the resonance conditions are illustrated based on the numerical results. Depictions are made of the increase in the amplitude of oscillating part of the total angular momentum under the resonance conditions. Also, the patterns of t* − (Ω0 /ω) curves are displayed for different inertial frequency modes.