A MODEL FOR ESTIMATING THREE-DIMENSIONAL BOUNDARY LAYERS IN ROTATING DUCT FLOW AT HIGH ROTATION RATES

Numerical simulations of flow in a rotating square duct at high rotation rates are presented. Computation and analysis of the different terms of the averaged momentum budget near the sidewalls have shown the dominant mechanisms of momentum transfer in these regions. A model for the velocities has been developed by analytically solving simplified versions of these budgets within the lateral three-dimensional boundary layers. The resulting predictions of the velocity profiles and the boundary layer quantities are in good agreement with present numerical results.