Theoretical and experimental studies of the boundaries between two immiscible liquids in a vortex flow with a free surface

This paper discusses an analytical representation of phase boundaries in a composite vortex that result from the circular motion of a given volume of water with a given volume of a light immiscible admixture (oil) on its surface in a cylindrical container. The vortex structure consists of a vortex cavity in the center of a container and an oil body inside the vortex. Under the assumption of axial symmetry, analytical expressions were first derived describing the shape of the phase boundaries. A series of experiments was carried out and numerical calculations were compared with the experimental data. The calculated and measured phase boundary shapes were found to be satisfactorily consistent with each other. Requirements were determined regarding the experimental study of the shape of an oil body in a composite vortex and its stability depending on the governing parameters.