Applied Fluid Mechanics: Laboratory Investigation of Free and Forced Vortices

A vortex is the flow of the fluid in a curved path around a common center line. Its concept is used in avariety of industries, including turbine design and the creation of standard safety against natural disasters.In this report the relationship between the surface shapes of the free vortex and the forced vortex andangular velocity of the rotating liquid in the cylindrical tank had been investigated. The height of thevortex profile was measured when the maximum height was reached and kept constant. After conductingthe experiment, based on the results it can be concluded that the vortex profile height increased as thevortex radius decreased. As the angular velocity of the fluid in the cylinder increases within the forcedvortex, a semi-parabolic shape is formed, which also increases the depth of each pointer at a differentvortex radius. Therefore, it was concluded that the height of the water surface level relative to the lowestpoint on the surface of the forced vortex is directly proportional to the angular velocity of the rotatingliquid in the cylindrical tank and inversely proportional to the square of the radius at it was measured.

Keywords:

Free vortex , Forced vortex , Surface Profile , Velocity Profile