A NUMERICAL STUDY OF A RAREFIED GAS IN COUETTE FLOW

The Taylor-Couette flow for a rarefied gas is supposed to be contained in an annular domain, bounded by two coaxial rotating circular cylinders. The top and bottom of boundaries of domain is assumed to be speculary-reflecting. The field is investigated on the basis of the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Special attention is focused on the Argon gas and the effect of rotation of the two cylinders. It is shown that different type of flow patterns create in a wide range of speeds of rotation of inner and outer cylinders. Computed results such as density fields and velocity profiles are shown and discussed.

Keywords:

Rarefied Gas , DSMC Method , Rotating Cylinder , Centrifuge