SELF-INDUCED FLOW AND HEAT-TRANSFER IN A ROTATING TUBE

Self-induced flow occurs when a tube, with one end open and the other sealed, is rotated about its axis: fluid flows along the axis towards the sealed end and returns in an annular layer on the cylindrical wall. Numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes and energy equations have been obtained for laminar flow, and the Reynolds analogy has been used to provide theoretical correlations for the average Nusselt numbers on the end wall of the tube. Heat transfer measurements have been made in a rotating-tube rig, and the measured Nusselt numbers are, in the main, in good agreement with the computed values.