Circular Couette flow with pressure-driven axial flow and a porous inner cylinder

Abstract

In a rotating filter separator a suspension is introduced at one end of the annulus between a rotating porous inner cylinder and a fixed impermeable outer cylinder. The filtrate is removed through the inner cylinder and the concentrate is removed from the opposite end of the annulus from which the suspension entered. The flow in a rotating filter separator is circular Couette flow with a pressure-driven axial flow and a suction boundary condition at the inner cylinder. Flow visualization was used to determine the effect of the Taylor number, axial Reynolds number, and radial Reynolds number on the types of flows present in the annulus. A rich variety of secondary vortical flows appear, depending upon the flow parameters. The radial inflow at the inner cylinder delays the appearance of supercritical circular Couette flow and prevents the appearance of certain flow regimes that have a helical vortex structure. Nevertheless, the average azimuthal velocity measured using laser Doppler velocimetry indicates that the velocity profile is nearly the same for all supercritical flow regimes.