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Flow and axial dispersion simulation for traveling axisymmetric Taylor vortices
Author(s) -
Howes Tony,
Rudman Murray
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690440204
Subject(s) - taylor dispersion , mechanics , laminar flow , vortex , axial compressor , taylor number , annulus (botany) , pressure gradient , dispersion (optics) , péclet number , flow (mathematics) , physics , rotational symmetry , taylor–couette flow , diffusion , geometry , reynolds number , mathematics , materials science , optics , turbulence , thermodynamics , gas compressor , composite material
Abstract Numerical experiments using a finite difference method were carried out to determine the motion of axisymmetric Taylor vortices for narrow‐gap Taylor vortex flow. When a pressure gradient is imposed on the flow the vortices are observed to move with an axial speed of 1.16 ± 0.005 times the mean axial flow velocity. The method of Brenner was used to calculate the long‐time axial spread of material in the flow. For flows where there is no pressure gradient, the axial dispersion scales with the square root of the molecular diffusion, in agreement with the results of Rosenbluth et al. for high Peclet number dispersion in spatially periodic flows with a roll structure. When a pressure gradient is imposed, the dispersion increases by an amount approximately equal to 6.5 × 10 −4 W 2 d 2 /D m , where W is the average axial velocity in the annulus, analogous to Taylor dispersion for laminar flow in an empty tube.