Experiments in Fluids 25 (1998) 455—460 ( Springer-Verlag 1998

Turbulent flow around a rotating cylinder in a quiescent fluid

M. Dierich, K. Gersten F. Schlottmann

455

Abstract Hot-wire measurements have been carried out in the 1

turbulent flow around a rotating circular cylinder in still air for
Reynolds numbers Re\DU DD/l\1.5]104 to 105. The experi-
w
mental results confirm the analysis derived by asymptotic
theory for high Reynolds numbers. Two different ways of
deriving the friction law from the experiments (via shear stress
and via velocity distribution) resulted practically in the same
law. It is shown, that in spite of the curvature of the streamlines
the universal logarithmic velocity distribution is still valid near
the wall.
List of symbols
c skin-friction coefficient\2q6 /(oU2 )
f w w
C` universal constant, smooth wall: C`\5.0,
see Eq. (10)
D diameter of cylinder
L length of cylinder
N dimensionless eddy viscosity, see Eq. (20)
r distance from axis
Introduction
The planar flow on a rotating cylinder in a quiescent fluid
is extremely simple from the geometric point of view. In the
case of incompressible laminar flow the well-known potential
vortex flow is the exact solution of the Navier—Stokes equation
for the rotating cylinder. For the turbulent flow, however, only
a few investigations are available. Table 1 summarizes the main
data of experimental investigations known to the authors.
Since we are interested in the planar (i.e. two-dimensional)
flow only, experiments on cylinders with a length to diameter
ratio of L/D\5 should be excluded from further consideration
because of three-dimensional effects. Because Geropp (1969)
has measured neither the wall shear stress nor the torque, only
the data by Theodorsen and Regier (1944) and Nakamura et al.
(1983) are left over.
Theodorsen and Regier (1944) derived the following formula
for the flow resistance based on the logarithmic law of the wall,

S A SB
R radius of cylinder 2 1 c
\ ln Re f ]B (1)
Re Reynolds number\DU DD/l c i 2
w f
Re see Eq. (4)
q where the skin-friction coefficient is c \2q6 /(o ) U2 ) and the
uN mean circumferential velocity f w w
u friction velocity, see Eq. (4) Reynolds number Re\DU DD/l. The Karman constant i is
q w
u` dimensionless velocity, see Eq. (4), u`\U /u universal and has the generally accepted value i\0.41, see
w w q Coles and Hirst (1969, p. 49). The constant B in Eq. (1) has
U circumferential velocity at the cylinder surface
w been determined for i\0.41 from the relevant experiments
(\uN (y\0)\0)
u@, v@ fluctuating velocities in x- and r-direction and is given in Table 1. The value B\[1.2 for the data by
x circumferential coordinate along the wall Theodorsen and Regier (1944) has been been determined by
y distance from the wall Lund (1996). The value B\2.2 has been derived from the data
y` dimensionless wall distance, see Eq. (4) by Nakamura et al. (1983) for L/D\11 only. It is quite different
z coordinate along the cylinder axis from the value B after Theodorsen and Regier.
g dimensionless distance from the axis, \r/R Furthermore, Nakamura et al. (1983) argue that the logarith-
i Karman constant (here: i\0.41) mic law of the wall in its classical form, which is the basis for
l kinematic viscosity Eq. (1), is not valid anymore due to curvature effects in the flow
l eddy viscosity, see Eq. (18) and needs modification. The purpose of this experimental
t
q6 mean shear stress investigation is to increase the data base and to clarify the
q6 mean wall shear stress discrepancy between the two sets of available data mentioned
w
q turbulent shear stress, see Eq. (3) above. Furthermore, the question will be discussed, whether
t the classical law of the wall is still valid for this flow.
Received: 8 August 1996 /Accepted: 24 April 1998
2
M. Dierich, K. Gersten, F. Schlottmann Apparatus and experimental techniques
Ruhr-Universität Bochum The cylinder had a diameter of D\106.3 mm and a length
Institut für Thermo- und Fluiddynamik
of L\800 mm. It was rotating between fixed end plates with
D-44780 Bochum, Germany
the size 500 mm]400 mm to reduce three-dimensional flow
Correspondence to: K. Gersten effects. There was a gap of 2 mm between the cylinder and the
 Table 1. Data for the turbulent flow around a rotating cylinder in a quiescent fluid, B: experimentally determined coefficient in Eq. (1) for
i\0.41

Authors L/D Re Measurements B

Theodorsen, Regier (1944) 3—24 103—4]105 Torque [1.2

Geropp (1969) 5 5.4]104—4.2]105 uN
Nakamura et al. (1983) 11 4.5]104—1.1]105 uN , u@2, v@2, w@2 2.2
3 1.5]105—7.8]105 u@v@, intermittency
Andersson et al. (1991) 2 4.2]104—2]105 uN , u@2, v@2, w@2
u@v@, intermittency
456 autocorrelation
This report (1998) 7.5 1.5]104—1]105 uN , u@2, v@2, u@v@ via shear stress:
[0.05^0.2
via velocity distr.:
[0.04

end plates. The cylinder was driven by an electrical DC-motor Table 2. Experimental results of the global values
of 60 W, which allowed a maximum rotation of 3000 rpm. The
rotary speed was measured by counting light-beam impulses Re Re c q6 [U u ^Du Du
q f w w q q q
triggered by a slitted rotating disc connected with the cylinder. []10~3] [N/m2] [m/s] [m/s] [%]
The uncertainty of the rotary speed was less than 0.5%.
The velocity of the cylinder surface was varied between 15 100 447 7.01 0.021 2.25 0.133^0.004 2.6
U \[2.25 m/s and U \[14.9 m/s, as can be seen in Table 2. 20 700 601 6.78 0.038 3.08 0.179^0.009 4.6
w w 25 200 722 6.56 0.055 3.76 0.215^0.005 2.1
This corresponds with the range of Reynolds Numbers, based
30 200 843 6.26 0.075 4.49 0.251^0.007 2.7
on cylinder diameter D and DU D, from Re\1.5]104 to
w 35 400 984 6.19 0.101 5.26 0.293^0.006 1.9
Re\105. 41 200 1125 5.98 0.133 6.13 0.335^0.009 2.5
Hot wire measurements were made in the flow field by using 45 400 1225 5.81 0.157 6.77 0.365^0.016 4.3
the hot wire anemometer DISA Type 55D01. A traversing 50 200 1340 5.69 0.188 7.48 0.399^0.016 3.9
system allowed the movement of the hot wire probes (single 55 500 1437 5.36 0.216 8.27 0.428^0.008 1.9
probe and X-probe) in steps of 0.01 mm. The accuracy of the 60 200 1538 5.22 0.248 8.97 0.458^0.011 2.4
mean wall distance was also about 0.01 mm. Since the radius 65 400 1655 5.13 0.287 9.74 0.493^0.007 1.4
of the cylinder varied by 0.02 mm around the periphery 70 300 1772 5.09 0.329 10.5 0.528]0.018 3.3
and because of vibration of the apparatus during the tests 75 200 1867 4.94 0.366 11.2 0.556^0.016 2.8
79 400 1947 4.82 0.397 11.8 0.580^0.018 3.1
the closest safe mean wall distance of the single probe was
86 900 2092 4.63 0.458 12.9 0.623^0.022 3.5
0.08 mm, which means in dimensionless wall layer distance
91 400 2176 4.54 0.496 13.6 0.648^0.011 1.7
y`\yu /l\0.7 (Re\1.5]104) and y`\3.7 (Re\105), respec-
q 96 000 2293 4.57 0.551 14.3 0.683^0.029 4.4
tively. The smallest wall distance of the X-probe was ten times 1 00 200 2390 4.55 0.598 14.9 0.712^0.013 1.8
higher.
A single wire probe as well as a cross-wire probe (X-probe)
were used for measuring the mean velocity parallel to the
cylinder wall uN (r), the turbulent normal stresses u@2(r), v@2(r)
and the turbulent shear stress u@v@(r). The X-probe measure- of the momentum equation for the peripheral direction leads
ments were made according to the method of Browne et al. to the condition that the moment transferred from the rotating
(1989) based on a full velocity vs. yaw-angle calibration giving cylinder to the fluid is constant throughout the flow and hence
good results even for high turbulence intensity flows. independent of r:

C AB D
d uN
r2q6 \r2 olr ]q \R2q6 (2)
3 dr r t w
Theoretical background
where
The theoretical description of the turbulent flow on a rotating
cylinder has been given by Gersten and Herwig (1992). q \[ou@v@ (3)
Therefore, only the main results of this analysis will be t
summed up here. (Note that Gersten and Herwig used 4R as is the turbulent shear stress. Since the velocity of the cylinder
basic length, rather than R.) The geometry and the coordinate surface U is assumed to be negative the mean shear stress
w
system are shown in Fig. 1. q6 and also q and q6 are positive.
t w
The turbulent mean flow is axisymmetric and the velocity Turbulent shear flows near walls at high Reynolds numbers
has only the circumferential component uN (r). The integration reveal a well-known layer structure. In this case the flow field
 where i is the Karman constant. From integration of Eq. (9)
through the entire wall layer the well-known universal logarith-
mic velocity law follows:
1
lim (u`[u`
w
)\ lny`]C` (10)
i
y`?=
with C`\5.0 for smooth walls. When using the dimensionless
radius g\r/R, Eq. (9) can be written as
du` 1
\ (g]1) (11)
dg i(g[1)
457
which can be used as boundary condition of du`/dg in the
outer layer. For a given distribution du`/dg formal integration
leads to the velocity distribution in the outer layer:

Fig. 1. Geometry and nomenclature = du` 1

u`(g)\[ : dg\ ln(g[1)
dg i
g

C D
2 du` 1
[: [ dg
consists of two layers, the viscous wall layer and the outer layer dg i(g[1)
g
where viscosity effects can be neglected.
= du`
By using the wall-layer coordinates: [: dg. (12)
dg
2

S
yu uN q6 uR q
y`\ q , u`\ , u \ w , Re \ q , q`\ t (4) In the overlap layer Eqs. (10) and (12) lead to the same velocity
l u q o q l t q6 u`:
q w
one gets lim u`(g)\ lim u`(y`) (13)
g?1 y`?=

A B
y` This matching of Eqs. (10) and (12) ends up with the law of
r\R]y\R 1] (5)
Re resistance:
q
which inserted in Eq. (2) leads for large Reynolds numbers Re 1
q [u`\ ln Re ]C`]CM (14)
(r+R) to w i q
du` where
]q`\1 (6)
dy` t
C D
2 du` 1 = du`
CM \lim : [ dg] : dg
which is identical with the wall-layer equation of the straight g?1 g dg i(g[1) dg
2
Couette flow (no curvature). In other words, the thickness of

C D
1
the viscous wall layer is so small compared with the radius \lim ln(g[1)[u`(g) (15)
of the cylinder that the curvature effects can be neglected in g?1 i
the wall layer. If y`\50 is considered to be the edge of the and
wall-layer (see Fig. 10), the ratio y`/Re at the edge ranges from
q
S
0.1 (Re\1.5]104) to 0.02 (Re\105), see Table 2. u R Re c
Re \ q \ f (16)
In the outer layer viscous effects are neglected, which q l 2 2
simplifies Eq. (2) to
Equation (14) is identical with Eq. (1) for
r2q \R2q6 (7)
t w 1
B\C`]CM [ ln2 (17)
There is an overlap layer, in which features of both layers i
coalesce. Hence, there are no curvature effects and no viscous
It is worth mentioning that Gersten and Herwig (1992) have
effects. As q \q6 holds in this layer (from Eq. (6) for du`/dy`
t w derived an explicit formula for c .
]0 or from Eq. (7) with r]R), there must exist a relation of f
A simple eddy viscosity model will be used to describe the
the form
velocity field in the outer layer:
duN
AB
\f (y, u ) (8) d uN R2
dy q q \ol r \ q6 (18)
t t dr r r2 w
which by dimensional analysis reduces to or in dimensionless form:

A B
du` 1 d u`
\ (g]R) (9) Ng3 \1 (19)
dy` iy` dg g
 with the dimensionless eddy viscosity

l
N\ t (20)
uR
q
An indirect turbulence model will be applied by assuming
the following distribution of N, which satisfies the proper
boundary conditions for g]1 (N\i(g[1)) and g]R
(N\N \const.):
=

A BC D
N g[1 2 3N
1\gOg : \g[1] =[2(g [1)
458 k i g [1 i k
k

A BC D
g[1 3 2N
] g [1[ = (21)
g [1 k i
k
Fig. 2. Dimensionless distributions of q g2 over g
t
N N
g Og\R: \ =
k i i

There is neither a jump nor a kink in the N-distribution at

g\g . Equation (21) has two free constants, g and N . The
k k =
integration of Eq. (19) results in the velocity distribution u`(y)
for the outer layer. The free constants g and N have been
k =
determined by the best fit of the velocity distribution with the
experimental data in the range 1.05\g\1.6 (see Fig. 6). The
constants are (i\0.41): g \1.5, N \0.18. The final velocity
k =
distribution reads:

1\gOg :
k

C
g
u`(g)\ ln(g[1)[i )CM ]2.201 )ln g[3.146 )ln(g[0.598)
i
Fig. 3. Friction law: [u`\[U /u as a function of Reynolds number
w q

D
0.979 0.152 w
Re \u R/l, see also Table 2
[0.054 )ln(1.822[g)[ [ [1.743 (22) q q
g g2

g Og\R:
k
1 q
u`(g)\[
2N g
=
The integration constant CM according to Eq. (15) is connected
with N and g by specifying the two formulae in Eq. (22) at
= k
g\g . The result is CM \[3.35 and hence because of Eq. (17)
k
B\[0.04.
By combining this velocity distribution for the outer layer
with the well-known velocity distribution for the wall layer,
given in analytical form for example by Gersten and Herwig
(1992), a composite velocity distribution can be found for the
entire flow field.
4 The distribution of the mean velocity uN /U is given in Fig. 5
Experimental results and comparison with theory
As X-probe measurements would fail at very high turbulence
intensities in the outer flow region by reason of flow reversal,
see Tutu and Chevray (1975), the measurement range was
limited to g\1.6. Within this range the q -data are scattered
t
within a standard deviation of 3.5% as can be seen from Fig.
2 showing that Eq. (7) is fulfilled based on the measured q -data
t
within that range.
The friction velocity u \Jq6 /o has been determined by
w
using Eqs. (2) and (3) for the outer layer (l]0):
u \g J[u@v@, (y`\(g[1)Re [20) (23)
q q
The results for [u`\[U /u are shown in Fig. 3. The mean
w w q
values as well as the standard deviations can be seen. The
straight line according to the friction law, Eq. (1), has been
found by linear regression. For given i\0.41 and C`\5.0
it follows: CM \[3.36, see Eq. (14), and B\[0.05. From
the comparison with other existing data in Fig. 4, it can be
seen that our data show better agreement with the data by
Theodorsen and Regier (1944) than with the data by Nakamura
et al. (1983), see also the values B in Table 1.
w
for Re\9]104. In order to verify the two-dimensionality
the measurements have been carried out at various positions
along the length of the cylinder. The diagram also shows that
measurements taken by single wire probes and by cross-wire
probes gave the same results.
It follows from the analysis, see Eq. (12), that the mean
velocity distribution in the outer layer becomes independent of
the Reynolds number, when it is based on the friction velocity
 459

Fig. 6. Velocity distribution u`\f (g)

Fig. 4. Skin friction coefficient c as function of Reynolds number 2
f
Re\DU DD/l. Comparison with data in the literature
w

Fig. 5. Velocity distribution uN /U \f (g) at Re\9]104 Fig. 7. Distribution u` ) g\f (g)

w 1 3

u . This is confirmed by Fig. 6. The behaviour of the velocity

q
distribution for larger wall distances can be seen much clearer
in the plot u`g as a function of g shown in Fig. 7. From this the
asymptotic formula follows:

1 2.8
lim u`\[ \[ . (24)
g?= 2N g g
=

Hence the velocity far away from the cylinder has the same
dependence on g in turbulent flow as in laminar flow. That the
flow is really turbulent follows from the distribution of Ju@2/DuN D
shown in Fig. 8.
The flow is irrotational for large g-values (gP1.59), but
turbulence is still generated because of q`\1/g2. According to
t Fig. 8. Distributions Ju@2/uN \f (g)
the theory for g]R the dissipation rate is proportional to 4
1/g4 and turbulent kinetic energy k`\k/u2\1/g2, which is also
q
confirmed by Fig. 8.
The theoretical curves in Figs. 6 and 7 correspond to various velocity distributions as function of the wall-layer
Eq. (22). variable y` are given in Fig. 10.
The distribution of the eddy viscosity according to Eq. (21) The comparison with the logarithmic law of the wall, Eq.
is compared with experimental data (Re\9]104) in Fig. 9. The (10), could lead to the wrong conclusion, that the logarithmic
 is the sum of the universal wall-layer solution u`[u`\f (y`)
w
and the outer layer solution u`(g) according to Eq. (22), but
with the subtraction of the common part, Eq. (10), in the
overlap layer. The analytical formula for the wall-layer solution
has been given by Gersten and Herwig (1992). The agreement
in Fig. 11 is excellent . The logarithmic part in the overlap layer
is not especially pronounced for the Reynolds numbers
investigated, but it exists and would appear more clearly for
increasing Reynolds numbers.

References
460 Andersson HI; Johannsson B; Löfdahl L; Nilsen PJ (1981) Turbulence
in the vicinity of a rotating cylinder in a quiescent fluid. 8th Symp
on Turbulent Shear Flows, pp 30-1-1—30-1-6
Browne LWB; Antonia RA; Chua LP (1989) Calibration of X-Probes
for turbulent flow measurements. Exp Fluids 7: 201—208
Fig. 9. Distribution N(g) according to Eq. (21), T experiments Coles DE; Hirst EA (1969) Computation of Turbulent Boundary
Layers. Proc AFOSR-IFB-Stanford Conf 1968, Vol. II
Geropp D (1969) Der turbulente Wärmeübergang am rotierenden
Zylinder. Ingenieur-Archiv 38: 195—203
Gersten K; Herwig H (1992) Strömungsmechanik, Vieweg—Verlag,
Braunschweig, Wiesbaden
Lund KO (1996) Asymptotic analysis of turbulent flow for a rotating
cylinder. In: K. Gersten (Ed.) 1996: Asymptotic Methods for
Turbulent Shear Flows at High Reynolds Numbers. Kluwer Aca-
demic Publisher, Doordrecht, pp 45—58
Nakamura I; Ueki Y; Yamashita S (1983) A universal velocity
distribution and turbulence properties in the shear flow on
a rotating cylinder in a quiescent fluid. in: Bradbury LJS et al., 4th
Symp on Turb. Shear Flows, Karlsruhe, 12—14 September 1983, pp
2.21—2.26
Theodorsen T; Regier A (1944) Experiments on drag of revolving
disks, cylinders and streamline rods at high speeds. NACA Rep. No.
793
Tutu NK; Chevray R (1975) Cross-wire anemometry in high intensity
turbulence. J Fluid Mech 71: 785—800

Fig. 10. Velocity distributions in wall-layer coordinates

Fig. 11. Velocity distribution in wall-layer coordinates at Re\9]104

law is not valid in the overlap layer for this flow. As can be seen
quite easily from Eq. (22) the velocity distribution is still
logarithmic for the limit g]1, see also Eqs. (10) and (13). As an
example the velocity distribution for Re\9]104 is compared
with the composite solution in Fig. 11. The composite solution