Aerodynamics of turbulent flow in rotating semi-closed cylinder

The mathematical model and results of a numerical study of swirling turbulent air flow characteristics in a semi-closed cylinder rotating around a symmetry axis are presented. A physical and mathematical model is used to describe aerodynamics of the stationary isothermal axisymmetric swirling flow, which includes the Navier-Stokes equations in cylindrical coordinates. The study of turbulence characteristics is carried out using the composite model Menter SST (Shear Stress Transport). The numerical solution is obtained using a chess grid. Nodes for axial and radial velocity components are located in the middle of the control volume faces for scalar quantities. Calculations are performed on a grid with 2000 and 1700 nodes in the axial and radial directions, respectively. The grid refinement is performed near the walls and in the areas with large velocity gradients. The calculated results show that the main grid refinement by 2 times in the axial and radial coordinates leads to a change in the values of the main variables by less than 1%. It is shown that the flow structure is determined by the rotational speed and cylinder height. Analyzing the calculated results, the ratio of the cylinder height to the angular velocity of the cylinder rotation is obtained, which ensures the formation of a quasi-solid rotation zone in the near-edge region.