Visualization of the Flow Pattern Between Co-rotating Disks in HDD

HDD의 동시 회전 디스크 내부 유동 패턴의 가시화

Hard disk drives (HDD) in computer are used extensively as data storage capacity. The trend in the computer industry to produce smaller disk drives rotating at higher speeds requires an improved understanding of fluid motion in the space between disks. Laser sheet and digital camera was used for 2-dimensional visualization of the unsteady flow between the center pair of two co-rotating disks in air with a cylindrical enclosure (or shroud). Geometric parameters are gap height (H) between disks, and gap distance (G) between disk tip and shroud. The lobe-structured boundary between inner region and outer region was detected by inserted particles, and the number of dominant vortices was determined clearly It is found from flow visualization that the number of vortex cells can be correlated with Reynolds number based on H which is defined as $Re_H={\Omega}RH/v$ ranging from $3.18\times10^3\;to\;1.43\times10^4$, and decreases as the disk speed increases. The lobe pattern by vortex cells is changed to a circular pattern for the wide gap than narrow one.