Affiliations: University of Applied Science (Fachhochschule),
Badstrasse 24, D-77652 Offenburg, Germany
Abstract: Shapes and structures of vortex breakdown phenomena in rotating
fluids are visualized. We investigate the flow in a cylindrical container and
in a cone between two spherical surfaces. The primary swirling flow is induced
by the rotating upper disk in the cylindrical case and by the lower boundary in
the spherical case. The upper surface can be fixed with a no slip condition or
can be a stress-free surface. Depending on these boundary conditions and on the
Reynolds number novel structures of recirculation zones are realized.
Experiments are done to visualize the topological structure of the flow and to
determine their existence range as function of the geometry and rotation rate.
A comparison between the experimental and theoretical approach shows a good
agreement in respect to the topological structures of the flows.