An Analysis on the Flow in a Casing Induced by a Rotating Disk Using a Four-Layer Flow Model

Abstract

An analytical study has been made to clarify the details of the flow between a rotating disk and a stationary casing side-wall with and without an axisymmetric inward through-flow. The flow field between the casing side-wall and the surface of the rotating disk is divided into four layers instead of three in earlier analyses. Proceeding from the casing side-wall to the disk, they are a wall boundary layer, an outward-flow layer, a core and a disk boundary layer. The flow field is determined so that the integrated equations of motion as well as the continuity equation are satisfied for each of the four layers. In the present analysis, least empirical informations relative to a rotating disk are used compared with the theories in the literature. The mechanics of the flow field is explained by the flow model without contradiction, and the predicted radial and axial distributions of velocity and the pressure distribution in the casing agree well with experimental results.