Three-dimensional gas flow in a rotating cylinder with a retarding cover

The study of rotating flows is of interest due to both the development of the centrifugal method of separation of gas and isotope mixtures and the possibility of astrophysical applications. An analytical nonlinear model for calculating the hydrodynamic characteristics of the viscous incompressible fluid flow in a rotating cylinder in the presence of a retarding cover is presented. The cases of stationary and rotating covers are considered. The analysis is performed on the basis of the system of hydrodynamic Navier-Stokes equations. The flow domain is divided up into the main flow and end boundary layers at the cylinder bottom and at the rotating cover. In its turn, the main flow is divided up into an inviscid quasi-rigid core and a lateral layer within which almost the entire upward circulatory flow is concentrated. The equations of the boundary layers at the end surfaces are analyzed by the approximate Slezkin-Targ method. The solutions in the boundary and lateral layers are “stitched” together with the velocity distribution in the main flow core. The unknown angular velocity ω ₁ and radial boundary R ₁ of the core are determined from the balance of the moments of the friction forces acting on the main rotating flow and the continuity condition for the circulatory flow. The experimental and calculated data are compared.