Unsteady flow in an annulus between two concentric rotating spheres

Abstract

An analysis is presented for the unsteady laminar flow of an incompressible Newtonian fluid in an annulus between two concentric spheres rotating about a common axis of symmetry. A solution of the Navier-Stokes equations is obtained by employing an iterative technique. The solution is valid for small values of Reynolds numbers and acceleration parameters of the spheres. In applying the results of this analysis to a rotationally accelerating sphere, a virtual moment of inertia is introduced to account for the local inertia of the fluid.