Abstract
The influence of gap width on the stability of viscous Taylor-Couette flow is examined by a truncated Fourier representation up to second-order in the gap width. In order to validate the choice of the modes, the results for the critical Taylor number obtained from the truncated series are compared with numerical results from linear stability theory. It is found that both results agree with an error less than about two percent. The dynamics of the truncated system describes well the transition from laminar flow to Taylor-vortex flow, but no further bifurcations to more complicated flows are found. It is argued that this result, which contrasts with the real flow behaviour, is due to the omission of non-axisymmetric disturbances.
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