CONVECTIVE HEAT MASS-TRANSFER IN THE ENTRANCE REGION OF A CONCENTRIC ANNULUS HAVING A ROTATING INNER CYLINDER

Heat transfer characteristics of laminar flow in a circular annulus with a rotating inner cylinder in the presence of a laminar axial flow was investigated using sublimation techniques. The work focused on the entrance region of the annulus with simultaneous development of velocity and temperature profiles. The experiments were carried out using a mass transfer procedure. Measured mass transfer results were transformed to heat transfer quantities through the analogy between the two processes. The highest speed of rotation of the inner cylinder corresponded to a Taylor number of 500, which was sufficient to produce Taylor vortices in the flow. The axial flow Reynolds number, based on the hydraulic diameter, ranged from 500 to 1250. All experiments were carried out for the radius ratio N = 0.8. The working fluid was air at room temperature and pressure. Results correspond to the case for heat transfer with an isothermal inner cylinder and an adiabatic outer cylinder. © 1990.