THE BOUNDARY LAYER ON A DISC OF FINITE RADIUS IN A ROTATING FLUID

Abstract

The axisymmetric boundary layer on a fixed circular disc of radius α. due to a rotating fluid has been examined numerically. A series expansion solution, starting at the outer edge of the disc, is found to match the similarity solution due to Bodewadt at r =. Numerical solutions, obtained by using the series expansion approach, are also given for cases in which the disc rotates in the opposite sense to that of the external flow. These make it appear likely that the boundary layer erupts at the axis of symmetry, although the possibility of separation before the axis is reached cannot be ruled out.