Analysis of Buoyancy and Tube Rotation Relative to the Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition Process

Abstract

The secondary flows resulting from buoyancy effects in respect to the MCVD process have been studied in a rotating horizontal tube using a perturbation analysis. The three-dimensional secondary flow fields have been determined at several axial locations in a tube whose temperature varies in both the axial and circumferential directions for different rotational speeds. For small rotational speeds, buoyancy and axial convection are dominant and the secondary flow patterns are different in the regions near and far from the torch. For moderate rotational speeds, the effects of buoyancy, axial and angular convection are all important in the region far from the torch where there is a spiraling secondary flow. For large rotational speeds, only buoyancy and angular convection effects are important and no spiraling secondary motion occurs far downstream. Compared with thermophoresis, the important role of buoyancy in determining particle trajectories in MCVD is presented. As the rotational speed increases, the importance of the secondary flow decreases and the thermophoretic contribution becomes more important. It is noted that thermophoresis is considered to be the main cause of particle deposition in the MCVD process.