Swirling Flow of a Viscoelastic Fluid With Free Surface—Part I: Experimental Analysis of Vortex Motion by PIV

Abstract

The swirling flows of water and CTAC (cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride) surfactant solutions (50–1000ppm) in an open cylindrical container with a rotating disc at the bottom were experimentally investigated by use of a double-pulsed PIV (particle image velocimetry) system. The flow pattern in the meridional plane for water at the present high Reynolds number of 4.3×104 differed greatly from that at low Reynolds numbers, and an inertia-driven vortex was pushed to the corner between the free surface and the cylindrical wall by a counter-rotating vortex caused by vortex breakdown. For the 1000ppm surfactant solution flow, the inertia-driven vortex located at the corner between the bottom and the cylindrical wall whereas an elasticity-driven reverse vortex governed the majority of the flow field. The rotation of the fluid caused a deformation of the free surface with a dip at the center. The dip was largest for the water case and decreased with increasing surfactant concentration. The value of the dip was related to determining the solution viscoelasticity for the onset of drag reduction.