Chapter 3

Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

As described in Chapter 2, many efforts have been made in the study of swirling flow

in both pipes and annuli on the basis of theoretical analysis and experimental

investigation. However, because of the complexity of the flow, the flow features such

as velocity distribution, shear stress or friction factor and other characteristics of the

flow can only be predicted by use of certain assumptions for simplifying the problems.

For example, the tangential velocity in an annular seal can be predicted by Black’s

theory (Black et al, 1981) with the assumption that tangential velocity is much less than

the axial component so that the friction factor of the flow is constant along the seal,

which certainly limits its application to general annular swirling flows.

This chapter presents a theoretical analysis of particular features of swirling flows in an

annulus. The characteristics of the wall friction factor and the velocity distribution will

be examined. The wall friction factor is modified by adopting and linearizing Yamada’s

experimental results of the annular swirling flow to take account for the effect of local

swirl. The tangential velocity distribution is then derived with the linearized friction

factor. The effect of the wall curvature of the annulus is also considered by treating the

39
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

friction factors on inner and outer walls differently. These treatments form an extension

of Black’s theory. The effect of Taylor vortices on the tangential velocity distribution

is also briefly analyzed theoretically in this chapter, and finally the momentum equation

of the swirling flow in an eccentric annulus is established with the proposed friction

factor used in the concentric annulus for the correlation of the experimental results.

In this chapter, the theoretical analysis is carried out based the assumption that the radial

distributions of both axial and tangential components of velocity are constant and the

velocity in the clearance can be represented by those at the mid-position across the

clearance. The wall shear stresses of the flow are calculated by Hirs’ bulk-flow theory

(Hirs, 1973). The flow is treated as incompressible. The coordinate system and velocity

notation are shown in Figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1 The Coordinate System and Velocity Notation Used

in the Theoretical Analysis

3.1 Flow Features of Swirling Annular Flow

Before dealing with the friction factor, it is necessary to examine the particular flow

40
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

features of the annular swirling flow, which is of great importance in determining the

wall shear stress.

Figure 3.2 The Streamlines and Shear Stresses of Swirling Flow

in a Stationary Annulus

Considering the swirling flow in an annulus with a constant clearance and stationary

walls, the streamlines of the flow with a given inlet velocity are shown in Figure 3.2,

where the flow domain has been unrolled (unwrapped) along a fixed angular section.

The velocity components of the flow and the corresponding shear stresses are also

shown in this figure. Based on Hirs’ bulk-flow theory, the wall shear stress is

proportional to the velocity relative to the wall concerned. Since the walls of the annulus

are stationary, the relative velocity of the flow to both walls equals the flow velocity

itself and the shear stress on both walls induced by the resultant velocity acts in the

opposite direction to the resultant velocity which can be decomposed into axial and

tangential components. Under the continuity condition, the axial velocity must keep a

constant speed along the clearance, so that an axial pressure gradient is formed by the

axial component of the shear stress. On the other hand, the swirling flow must be axi-

41
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

symmetric under the cyclic condition, so that there is no pressure drop in the tangential

direction (y direction in Figure 3.2). The tangential component of the shear stress results

a velocity change in this direction according to the momentum equation. Hence, the

resultant shear stress acts on the flow in such two ways, one causes a pressure drop in

the axial direction and another causes a velocity change in the tangential direction. It can

be seen that as the flow develops, the velocity varies in both magnitude and direction.

Because of the existence of tangential velocity, the flow differs from that between two

parallel plates. Although the flow can be regarded as axi-symmetric, the three-

dimensional boundary layers near the walls are developed. It is clear that the

development of the three dimensional boundary layers on the walls could have a

significant effect on the shear stress of the flow.

Apart from presence of the three dimensional boundary layer in the annular swirling

flow, the curvature of the wall surface is another important factor affecting the shear

stress on the wall. On the concave surface of the outer cylinder, the tangential velocity

induces Goertler vortices (Goertler, 1940; Schlichting, 1979) in the boundary layer,

which acts as the stabilizing effect because of its centrifugal force. On the contrary, the

tangential velocity induces a destabilizing effect on the convex wall (surface of inner

cylinder or rotor) which may cause Taylor vortices to form. Therefore, the stabilizing

effect from the outer wall and destabilizing effect from the inner wall induce different

three dimensional disturbances near the walls and have a great influence on the wall

shear stress, so that the friction factors on the inner and outer walls should be considered

differently.

If there is rotation of the inner cylinder, the flow pattern may become more complicated,

42
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

but the flow features are principally identical to those discussed above.

The analysis of the flow features clearly shows that for the swirling flow in an annulus,

the effects of the three dimensionality of the flow and the curvature of the walls on the

wall shear stresses should be considered. These two aspects are dealt with in the

following sections.

3.2 Friction Factor

The flow in an annulus is subjected to the resistance from the inner and outer boundaries

as discussed in Section 3.1. The prediction of the velocity distribution depends mainly

on the determination of the wall shear stress. As mentioned in Chapter 2, the commonly

used method to calculate the wall shear stress is based on the Hirs’ bulk-flow theory

which considers the velocities of bulk flow in the clearance relative the surface

concerned, which is rewritten here for convenience.

(3.1)

where f is the friction factor and u is the relative velocity to the surface concerned. The

friction factor can usually be estimated by a Blasius type formula or from the Moody

diagram if the relative roughness of the wall surface is considered.

Taking the flow in a smooth annulus as an example, the Blasius type formula is used.

Based on the empirical finding in the two dimensional boundary layer flows, the friction

factor of Blasius type of formula Equ.(3.1) can be expressed as follows (Blasius, 1950;

Schlichting, 1979).

43
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

(3.2)

where c and m are constants which are discussed in details in the following subsections

for the non-swirling and swirling flows.

3.2.1 Non-Swirling Flow

The constants in Equ.(3.2) for the non-swirling pipe flow and annular flow are

summarised in Table 3-1.

Table 3-1 The Constants of the Friction Factor for Pipe and Annular Flows

Laminar Flow Turbulent Flow

c m c m

Pipe 64 1 0.079 1/4

Annulus 1 0.079 1/4

where β is radius ratio of the annulus and Reynolds number is calculated based on the

clearance.

The results in the Table 3-1 for the non-swirling turbulent flow in a smooth annulus (the

flow could exist only when an annulus is stationary without inlet swirl) is quoted

according to the work of Hanks (1963). His results show that, similar to the flow in

pipes, the flow can also be distinguished as laminar or turbulent flow by the critical

Reynolds number of the pipe flow (Rec=2320) with a maximum deviation less that 7%

throughout the range of an annulus (0≤β≤1). For turbulent flow in annuli, the constants

for turbulent flow in pipes can be applied with sufficient accuracy for engineering

application (also refer the work of Meter & Bird, 1961 and Churchill, 1988).

44
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

3.2.2 Swirling Flow

When swirl is introduced into the annular flow, the flow becomes more complicated and

consequently, it is more difficult to determine the wall friction. As discussed in the

previous section, the difference between non-swirling annular flow and swirling annular

flow is apparent. In boundary layer flow, such as in pipes, between two parallel plates

and in stationary annuli without inlet swirl, from which the Blasius type formula

originated, the flow is unidirectional and treated as two dimensional, where the inertial

force perpendicular to the flow is neglected. Therefore, the application of Blasius type

formula is restricted to the unidirectional flows such as the flows due to the pressure

gradient, shear stress of the moving walls ( the direction in which the wall is moving

is the same as the direction of flow) or combinations of these two basic types. However,

for annular swirling flow, where there are two velocity components in mutually

perpendicular directions, even if the radial velocity component is neglected, the effect

of inertial force is considerable. The resultant shear stress contributes not only to the

axial pressure drop, but also to the changing tangential velocity, and the boundary layers

of the flow are three dimensional. Directly applying the Blasius type formula for friction

factor to such flow is inadequate for calculating the wall shear stress. Unfortunately, at

present, there is no universal formula available to be applied to the three dimensional

boundary layer flow to calculate the wall shear stress. Blasius type formula can be only

used in a modified form. The details are given as the following.

Comparing the flow features of the swirling flow with non-swirling flow, it is clear that

the friction factor for the swirling flow is not only a function of axial flow and the

geometric configuration, but a function of tangential flow. Supposing the shear stress of

the swirling flow follows the relation in Equ.(3.1), we have following equation.

45
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

(3.3)

where q is the resultant velocity relative to the wall where the shear stress τ exerted and

f is the friction factor which can be generally expressed for the smooth surface as

follows.

(3.4)

where Ra, Rw are the axial and tangential Reynolds numbers and h/r1 is a parameter

related to the geometrical details of the annulus. If the function of Equ.(3.4) could be

found, the shear stress of the swirling flow could therefore be calculated.

Although as discussed before, no universal formula of friction factor has yet been found

for the three dimensional flow, nevertheless, the modified Blasius type formula can be

used which can be expressed as follows (Hirs, 1973)

(3.5)

where RE is Reynolds number based on the resultant velocity q.

Good agreement was obtained by Yamada (1962) between his experimental results and

the theoretical analysis of the axial friction factor based on Equ.(3.5) covering a wide

range of axial Reynolds numbers, tangential Reynolds numbers and radius ratios. (refer

Chapter 2 for more details). Yamada’s experimental results confirmed that the axial

friction factor of swirling flow can be expressed Equ.(2.14), which is rewritten here for

convenience.

46
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

(3.6)

where Rw is a tangential Reynolds number based on the periphery speed of the rotating

inner cylinder and k is a constant, If Couette flow has been developed in the annulus,

k=7/8 (Pai, 1943). The comparison of the axial friction factor in Equ.(3.6) with the

friction factor of the non-swirling flow is given in Figure 3.3 where m=0.25.

Figure 3.3 The Comparison of Axial Friction Factor of the Swirling Flow
with Non-Swirling Flow

Introducing a parameter λ to represent the term in square parentheses in the right hand

side of Equ.(3.6) gives

(3.7)

and plotting it against v/u gives the results shown in Figure 3.4.

47
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

Figure 3.4 The Comparison of λ after Linearization

Figure 3.4 shows clearly that the relation between λ and v/u can be expressed as a linear

equation in the following form.

(3.8)

where a is a constant. For m=0.25 and k=7/8,the constant a can be obtained as a=0.389,

and finally

(3.9)

Equ.(3.9) is a linearized friction factor for the swirling flow in an annulus, which will

be used in calculating the tangential shear stress in next section.

48
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

3.3 Tangential Shear Stress

To determine the tangential velocity distribution in the clearance of the annulus requires

the tangential component of the wall shear stress when the angular momentum

conservation equation is used. As the result of the previous section, the linearized

friction factor for the swirling flow in an annulus including the effect of local swirl has

been established, by which the tangential component of the wall shear stress can be

calculated. The tangential component of shear stress is also calculated separately at both

inner and outer walls here, because the boundary layers feature differently due to the

effect of wall curvature as discussed in Section 3.1.

Figure 3.5 The Details of Velocities on the Moving and Stationary Walls

Figure 3.5 shows the relative velocities of the swirling flow to both walls, where x is

the axial direction and y is the tangential direction of the flow. Taking the shear stress

on the stationary (outer wall) as an example and resolving the resultant shear stress, the

following relations between axial and tangential components of the shear stress and

resultant shear stress are obtained.

49
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

(3.10)

where τ2x is the axial component of shear stress and τ2y is the tangential one. Therefore,

the following relation holds.

(3.11)

and similarly for the inner wall (moving wall), the following relation is obtained

(3.12)

By applying Equ.(3.9) to Equ.(3.1), the axial component shear stress is obtained as

follows

(3.13)

where a is a constant (a=0.389).

Now assuming that Equ.(3.13) could be used for calculating the axial components of

shear stress on both stationary and moving walls as Yamada’s formula Equ.(3.6)

indicated, but with the different constants at each wall gives the following expressions

for the tangential components of shear stress according to Equ.(3.12).

(3.14)

(3.15)

where vr is the peripheral speed of the moving wall (rotor).

50
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

Equ.(3.14) and Equ.(3.15) are used to calculate the tangential components of shear stress

on both the moving and stationary walls where the effect of local swirling flow on the

shear stresses has been considered.

3.4 Axial Distribution of Tangential Velocity

With the linearized formulae for tangential shear stress considering the local swirling

flow and the curvature of the walls established in the previous section, a derivation of

the axial distribution of tangential velocity in a concentric annulus is presented in this

section. The derivation uses the angular momentum equation over a control volume.

Considering the control volume of swirling flow in an annulus shown in Figure 3.6, the

angular momentum of the bulk flow in the clearance is changed by the torque of friction

shear stress from both inner and outer walls, so that the angular momentum equation can

be established.

Figure 3.6 The Control Volume of the Swirling Flow in a Concentric Annulus

51
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

The rate of the angular momentum of the flow in the control volume is

(3.16)

and the frictional torque acting on the control volume is

(3.17)

where are the shear stresses exerted on the flow from inner and outer walls

respectively in tangential direction, which are expressed in Equ.(3.14) and Equ.(3.15).

For the sake of convenience, letting

(3.18)

gives

(3.19)

Substituting Equ.(3.19) into Equ.(3.17), the torque acting on the control volume becomes

(3.20)

Applying the angular momentum equation gives

(3.21)

By letting , we obtain

52
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

(3.22)

where and β is radius ratio of the annulus.

Integrating Equ.(3.22) with an inlet boundary condition, the expression of tangential

velocity distribution is obtained as follows.

(3.23)

where, v0 is the tangential velocity at the inlet (x=0), , A is a function of friction

factor and geometric details of the annulus and α is constants to be determined by

experiments.

From Equ.(3.23), it is clear that when x approaches infinity (x→∞), the tangential

velocity approaches a limit value v∞ (=αvr), and rearranging Equ.(3.23) gives

(3.24)

Equ.(3.24) indicates that the tangential velocity varies exponentially with the axial

distance depending on the flow and boundary conditions. Comparing Equ.(3.17) with

Black’s formula Equ.(2.9), the following differences can be found.

53
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

1. If the condition of v<<u applies, Equ.(3.24) is identical to the Black’s

expression, which means that Black’s formula is a special case of Equ.(3.24).

Equ.(3.24) is applicable to a substantially wider range of flows.

2. The limit velocity at infinity was set to half of the speed of the moving surface

(rotor surface speed) in Equ.(2.9), but in Equ.(3.24), this limit velocity (v∞) is a

function of the radius ratio and the friction factors on both inner and outer walls,

so that the velocity limit may vary with the wall conditions (curvature and

roughness), which is physically more reasonable.

3. The exponential factor in Equ.(3.24) includes explicitly the constants of the wall

friction factors and the limit speed of flow at infinity and the geometric details

(radius ratio) of the annulus, which is useful in practical engineering applications.

It also indicates that the following changes delay the progress to the limiting

velocity: i) increasing axial flow rate, ii) increasing the roughness of the

stationary wall and/or decreasing the roughness of the moving wall and iii)

decreasing the radius ratio.

4. Equ.(3.24) can principally be used to predict the tangential velocity in the

annular swirling flow where there is no velocity sign changing throughout the

clearance, which is commonly found in many engineering applications. Under

certain conditions, such as introducing a backward inlet swirling to the annulus,

it could be possible for the tangential velocity to be negative. In this case,

attention should be given to the sign of constant a to keep the axial friction

factor positive. It is also clear that if a backward inlet swirl is introduced with

a high rotating speed of the inner cylinder, the tangential velocity may be change

its sign in the clearance. In this case, a mathematical singularity can be found in

Equ.(3.24) because of the linearization of Equ.(3.8).

54
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

Equ.(3.24) will be used to interpret the experimental data in later chapters by fitting

values of constants m and A.

3.5 Effect of Taylor Vortices on Velocity Distribution

In the forgoing analysis, the bulk flow in annuli was treated without considering the

occurrence of Taylor vortices or Taylor vortex-related secondary flow. However, the

wavy profiles of tangential velocity (regular wave-like tangential velocity profiles of the

swirling flow in a concentric annulus with varying wave amplitude and wave length,

refer Chapter 6 for details) have been found in many experimental conditions of the

present study. Since there is no similar phenomenon reported so far, it is believed to be

relevant to Taylor vortices. This section presents a qualitative discussion from a semi-

theoretical point of view to explain this experimental finding. It should be noted that

because of the complexity of the problem, an exact mathematical treatment has not been

attempted.

In certain ranges of axial and tangential Reynolds numbers, Taylor vortices or secondary

flows similar to the Taylor vortices do occur in the annular swirling flows. Four distinct

hydrodynamical regimes of the swirling annular flow have been found (Taylor, 1923,

Kaye & Elgar, 1958) as discussed in Chapter 2. However, the effect of Taylor vortices

on the axial distribution of tangential velocity in the clearance has not yet been reported.

Based on a number of assumptions, a brief analysis of the effect is given in the

following sections.

3.5.1 Assumptions

In Figure 3.7, part (a) gives the flow patterns of Taylor vortices in the clearance of the

55
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

annulus without the axial flow as a schematic illustration, and part (b) shows flow

patterns (streamlines in a fixed angular section) after the disturbance of Taylor vortices

has set in with an axial flow through the annulus. The proposed axial and radial

distributions of the disturbance due to the vortices are shown in Figure 3.8, together with

the position of Taylor vortices.

Figure 3.7 The Flow Patterns of the Swirling Flow in an Annulus

(a) Flow Patterns without Axial Flow, (b) Flow Patterns with Axial Flow

Figure 3.8 The Velocity Distributions of Disturbances Due to Taylor Vortices (b)

As shown in Figure 3.8, the proposed axial and radial velocity distributions of the

56
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

disturbance are assumed to be approximately sinusoidal according to the experimental

results of Taylor (1923) to simplify the problem. The coordinates and notation of the

velocity components used in the following analysis are also shown in the figures. The

analysis is also based on the following assumptions:

1. the velocity components of interest are in the mid-position of the clearance.

2. the flow is axi-symmetric.

3. the fluid is considered as inviscid as the disturbance of flow is mainly caused by

the inertial force of Taylor vortices.

4. the amplitude of disturbance induced by Taylor vortices is small and has the

periodic characteristics of the sine function.

According to the above assumptions and the proposed distribution of velocity variation

due to the disturbance, the velocity components in the clearance can be expressed as

follows.

(3.25)

where the variables with overbar are values without disturbance, those with prime (′ )

are deviations of the velocities from the undisturbed values due to the disturbances of

Taylor vortices, σ=π/Lv is wave number (Lv is the axial dimension of the Taylor

vortices), and wo is a reference radial velocity due to the vortices.

3.5.2 Effect of Taylor Vortices on Axial Velocity

The continuity equation in cylindrical coordinate is adopted in considering the effect of

57
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

∂
Taylor vortices on the axial velocity. For the axi-symmetric flow 0 , the continuity
∂y

equation is expressed as

(3.26)

Substituting Equ.(3.25) into Equ.(3.26) gives

(3.27)

where the condition of is used for the undisturbed axial flow. Rearranging

Equ.(3.27) gives the following relation.

(3.28)

and finally integrating Equ.(3.28) with respect to x gives

(3.29)

Applying the conditions at the mid-position of the clearance into Equ.(3.29) gives

(3.30)

where .

Since wo is relatively small, it is clear from Equ.(3.30) that u′ has its value in the same

58
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

order as wo, so that the effect of disturbance on the axial velocity is small and can be

neglected.

3.5.3 Effect of Taylor Vortices on Tangential Velocity

The momentum equation in cylindrical coordinates in y (circumferential) direction

neglecting the viscous term, is used to examine the effect of Taylor vortices on the axial

distribution of tangential velocity and is expressed as follows. The flow is considered

as an axi-symmetric as mentioned already.

(3.31)

Similarly substituting Equ.(3.25) into Equ.(3.31) gives

(3.32)

As the disturbance due to Taylor vortices is assumed to be symmetric about the mid-

position of the clearance, the relation of at this position applies. By

noticing that because the viscosity of fluid is neglected and , Equ.(3.32)

becomes

(3.33)

59
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

Integrating Equ.(3.33) with boundary conditions at the inlet and the mid-position gives

(3.34)

where is the undisturbed tangential velocity in the clearance.

Equ.(3.34) describes the effect of Taylor vortices in the annular flow on the axial

distribution of tangential velocity. It shows that the deviation of tangential velocity

depends on the undisturbed value of tangential velocity and that the disturbance can be

significant if the undisturbed tangential velocity is high.

As mentioned before, the viscosity was not considered in the analysis and the results

could only be applied to the inviscid flow. For a real flow with viscosity, the results

could be applied if the effects of viscosity were considered in the undisturbed tangential

velocity distribution using Equ.(3.24).

3.6 Angular Momentum Equation in Eccentric Annulus

Eccentric seals are often found in real machinery because of the positioning technique

of the shaft or balancing drum during the procedures of manufacturing and assembling

and the loading of the machine. However, investigation concerning the friction factor

of shear stress applicable to the swirling flow in eccentric seals has rarely been done

(Yamada et al, 1969) and a very limited number of experimental data of the wall

friction factor of the flow in eccentric seals are available. As the present study is aimed

at measuring velocity distributions in the clearance of an eccentric annulus, the wall

friction of the flow can be deduced from the velocity measurements. The friction factor

60
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

for swirling flow in concentric annuli can be examined for its applicability to the

eccentric case. This section presents some theoretical aspects of establishing the relation

between the wall shear stress and the momentum changes of the swirling flow in an

eccentric annulus by using the proposed friction factor, which will be used for the

correlation with the experimental data in later chapters.

Figure 3.9 The Geometric Details of an Eccentric Annulus

The geometrical details of an eccentric annulus are shown in Figure 3.9 where the

clearance of the annulus has been greatly exaggerated for clarity. The following

assumptions are used in the derivation.

1. the angular momentum of the fluid in the clearance and the torque exerted by the

wall friction forces acting on the fluid from the inner and outer cylinders (rotor

and stator) are calculated based on the axis of the outer cylinder;

2. the eccentricity of the annulus (e) is assumed small compared with the radii of

the inner and outer cylinders, so that the shear stress on the inner cylinder and

tangential velocity in the clearance are considered as normal to the radius. In the

present study, the ratio of eccentricity to the radius of inner cylinder is 0.11 and

61
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

the maximum relative error due to this effect is about 1% which is negligible;

3. no consideration is given to the circumferential pressure gradient in the clearance

of the annulus, because an annular element is used.

Based on these assumptions and considering a similar control volume as shown in

Figure 3.6, the angular momentum and torque acting on the control volume about the

axis of the stator are respectively:

(3.35)

and

(3.36)

where, f1 and f2 are constants the same as those in Equ.(3.18), a is the same constant in

Equ.(3.8) and r is radius of inner wall with respect to the reference axis which is a

function of θ and .

According to the geometrical relation, the radial position of the inner wall in an

eccentric annulus is

(3.37)

which can be rearranged as

62
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

(3.38)

By dropping the small term containing the square of the eccentricity ratio, Equ.(3.38)

becomes

(3.39)

Comparing αe with α gives the following relation.

(3.40)

so that,

(3.41)

Applying the momentum equation Equ.(3.21) to the flow in the control volume gives

(3.42)

Equ.(3.42) will be used to examine the applicability of the linearized expressions for

friction factor to the flow in an eccentric annulus in later chapters.

3.7 Summary

In this chapter, the swirling flow in annuli was analyzed. Although annular swirling flow

63
Chapter 3 Theoretical Analysis of Swirling Flow

features the characteristics of three dimensional boundary layer flow and no universal

formula is available to calculate the wall shear stress for such flow, a modified Blasius

type formula can be used in determining the friction factor, which has been confirmed

by Yamada’s (1962) experimental results. In the present study, a linearized friction

factor based on the experimental results of Yamada was used and the axial distribution

of tangential velocity for the flow in concentric annuli was established.

The effect of disturbance due to Taylor vortices in a swirling annular flow was discussed

in this chapter. The results show that the deviation of the axial velocity due to the

disturbance is of the same order as the radial deviation, but the deviation of tangential

velocity due to the disturbance is proportional to the tangential velocity itself. When the

swirl in the clearance is strong, such effects could be significant.

The momentum equation of the swirling flow in an eccentric annulus was also

established, where the linearized friction factor was used. The equation will be used to

examine the applicability of the linearized friction factor to the flow in eccentric case

by examining the measured velocity distributions.

64