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Problem.
A plastic resin is in a vertical cylindrical vessel of radius R, which is rotating about its own axis at a
constant angular velocity W.
a) Determine the shape of the free surface z(r) at steady state (neglecting end effects, if any). Let zR
be the liquid height at the vessel wall.
b) Show that the radius of curvature (of the free surface shape) is given by
c) The cylinder is rotated until the resin hardens in order to fabricate the backing for a parabolic mirror.
Determine the angular velocity (in rpm) necessary for a mirror of focal length 190 cm.
Given: The focal length f is one-half the radius of curvature rc at the axis.
Solution.
Click here for stepwise solution
a)
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4/18/2018 Transport phenomena fluid mechanics problem solution BSL : Parabolic mirror fabrication from free surface shape of rotating liquid
In steady laminar flow, the liquid is expected to travel in a circular motion with only the tangential
component of velocity. The radial and axial components of velocity are zero; so, vr = 0 and vz = 0.
(1)
So, vq = vq (r, z). If end effects are neglected, then vq does not depend on z. Thus, vq = vq (r).
There is no pressure gradient in the q-direction. The components of the equation of motion simplify to
(2)
(3)
(4)
As discussed later, the r-component provides the radial pressure distribution due to centrifugal forces
and the z-component gives the axial pressure distribution due to gravitational forces (the hydrostatic
head effect).
The q-component of the equation of motion is integrated to get the velocity profile:
(5)
(6)
Since the velocity vθ is finite at r = 0, the integration constant C2 must be zero. Because vθ = ΩR at r
= R, C1 = 2Ω. Thus,
vθ = Ω r (7)
The above velocity profile suggests that each element of the liquid in a rotating cylindrical vessel
moves like an element of a rigid body.
Next, the velocity profile is substituted into the r-component of the equation of motion (Eq. 2) to get
∂p = ρv 2 = ρΩ2r (8)
θ
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4/18/2018 Transport phenomena fluid mechanics problem solution BSL : Parabolic mirror fabrication from free surface shape of rotating liquid
∂r r
Integration gives
The above expression for the pressure p is now substituted into the z-component of the equation of
motion (Eq. 4) to obtain
∂p df1
= −ρg ⇒ = −ρg or f1 = −ρgz + C3 (10)
∂z dz
where zR is the liquid height at the vessel wall and patm denotes the atmospheric pressure.
Subtraction of the above two equations eliminates C and gives the pressure distribution in the liquid
as
Since p = patm at the liquid-air interface, the shape of the free liquid surface is finally obtained as
The free surface of the rotating liquid in a cylindrical vessel is a paraboloid of revolution (since Eq. 14
corresponds to a parabola).
b)
The circle that is tangent to a given curve at point P, whose center lies on the concave side of the
curve and which has the same curvature as the curve has at P, is referred to as the circle of curvature.
It radius (CP in the figure) defines the radius of curvature at P. The circle of curvature has its first and
second derivatives respectively equal to the first and second derivatives of the curve itself at P. If the
coordinates of the center C and point P are (r1, z1) and (r, z) respectively, then the radius of curvature
CP is given by
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4/18/2018 Transport phenomena fluid mechanics problem solution BSL : Parabolic mirror fabrication from free surface shape of rotating liquid
Now, the radius CP is perpendicular to the tangent to the curve at P. So, the slope of the radius CP is
given by
dr z1 − z
− = (16)
dz r1 − r
Thus, the first and second derivatives of the curve at point P are
On substituting the above derivatives in Eq. 15, the general expression for the radius of curvature is
obtained as
(18)
c)
Let z0 be the height of the liquid surface at the centerline of the cylindrical vessel. Substituting z = z0
at r = 0 in Eq. 14 gives zR − z0 = Ω2R2/(2g). Thus, an alternative expression (in terms of z0) for the
shape of the free surface is
z = z0 + Ω2r2/(2g) (19)
dz Ω2r d2z Ω2
= and = (20)
dr g dr2 g
On substituting these derivatives into Eq. 18, the radius of curvature of the parabola is given by
Since the focal length f of the mirror is one-half the radius of curvature rc at the axis,
Finally, the rotational speed Ω necessary to fabricate a mirror of focal length f is given by
Ω = [g/(2f)]1/2 (23)
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4/18/2018 Transport phenomena fluid mechanics problem solution BSL : Parabolic mirror fabrication from free surface shape of rotating liquid
On substituting the focal length f = 190 cm and the gravitational acceleration g = 981 cm/s2 in the
above equation, the rotational speed may be calculated as 1.61 rad/s = 1.61 x 60/(2π) rpm = 15.33
rpm.
The numerical value above for the focal length f in cm may be changed and the rotational speed
recalculated by clicking on the button below.
Recalculate
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