ON THE FLOW IN THE UNOBSTRUCTED SPACE BETWEEN SHROUDED COROTATING DISKS

A model of a computer hard disk drive was constructed and measurements of the air flow in the unobstructed space between a pair of disks were obtained. The disks were centrally clamped to a common hub, and rotated within an axisymmetric (cylindrical) enclosure or shroud. Measurements of the circumferential velocity component were made at four radial locations and along the midplane at three rotation rates (Ω = 300, 1200, and 3600 rpm) using a laser-Doppler velocimeter. The resulting mean and rms circumferential velocity profiles are presented and discussed. The data show that the circumferential velocity component profiles are fairly uniform in the axial direction in the space between the disks, except near the shroud where the flow is strongly sheared. The circumferential velocity peaks at a critical radius. Between the hub and the critical radius location the flow is in solid body rotation. Between the critical radius and the shroud the circumferential velocity decreases to zero, gradually at first and then very quickly as the shroud is approached. Analysis based on simplified force balance considerations facilitates the interpretation of the experimental observations and leads to improved understanding of the complex flow phenomena. Numerical calculations of the present configuration assuming axisymmetric steady flow were performed by Chang et al. (submitted to Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer). These calculations show reasonable agreement with the averaged velocity data but, for the reasons discussed, fail to reproduce features of the rms distribution associated with nonturbulent flow unsteadiness. © 1990 American Institute of Physics.