On End Wall Effects in a Lid-Driven Cavity Flow

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in a three-dimensional lid-driven cavity flow to study the effects of the end walls on the size of the downstream secondary eddy. The ratio of cavity depth to cavity width is 1:1. The span of the cavity was varied such that span-to-width ratios of 3:1, 2:1, and 1:1 were obtained. Flow visualization was accomplished by the thymol blue technique, and by rheoscopic liquid illuminated by laser-light sheets, for Reynolds numbers (based on lid speed and cavity width) between 1000 and 10,000. The results indicate that the corner vortices present at the end walls, in the region of the downstream secondary eddy, are a major influence on the size of this eddy. In addition, as the span of the cavity is reduced the size of the downstream secondary eddy at the symmetry plane becomes smaller with increasing Reynolds numbers, for Reynolds numbers greater than 2000.