Flow of a Viscous Liquid on a Rotating Disk

Abstract

Equations describing the flow of a Newtonian liquid on a rotating disk have been solved so that characteristic curves and surface contours at successive times for any assumed initial fluid distribution may be constructed. It is shown that centrifugation of a fluid layer that is initially uniform does not disturb the uniformity as the height of the layer is reduced. It is also shown that initially irregular fluid distributions tend toward uniformity under centrifugation, and means of computing times required to produce uniform layers of given thickness at given angular velocity and fluid viscosity are demonstrated. Contour surfaces for a number of exemplary initial distributions (Gaussian, slowly falling, Gaussian plus uniform, sinusoidal) have been constructed. Edge effects on rotating planes with rising rims, and fluid flow on rotating nonplanar surfaces, are considered.