Paper 3, Section II, A

Fluid Dynamics II
Part II, 2013

A disk hovers on a cushion of air above an air-table - a fine porous plate through which a constant flux of air is pumped. Let the disk have a radius RR and a weight MgM g and hover at a low height hRh \ll R above the air-table. Let the volume flux of air, which has density ρ\rho and viscosity μ\mu, be ww per unit surface area. The conditions are such that ρwh2/μR1\rho w h^{2} / \mu R \ll 1. Explain the significance of this restriction.

Find the pressure distribution in the air under the disk. Show that this pressure balances the weight of the disk if

h=R(3πμRw2Mg)1/3h=R\left(\frac{3 \pi \mu R w}{2 M g}\right)^{1 / 3}