Vortex Breakdown in a Cylindrical Enclosure With a Rotating Lid Available to Purchase

A computational research was conducted to explore the nature of the flow in a cylindrical enclosure with a rotating lid. The aspect ratio (AR) of the cylinder used in this research was maintained at 1.5 and 2.5, and the Reynolds number (Re) ranged from 990 to 2200. The three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations were solved by the finite volume technique. Mesh adaptation was used to improve the quality of the mesh and computations. The results for (AR, Re) = (1.5, 1290) and (2.5, 2200) indicated the existence of one and two vortex breakdown bubbles along the axis of the cylinder, respectively. The results also showed that fluid spirals downward along the cylindrical wall and moves slowly inward towards the axis. This spiral motion was intensified at higher values of the Reynolds number. Comparison with experimental data indicated an excellent agreement. The vortex breakdown and the flow patterns predicted by this work are consistent with those reported in the existing literature.