On the numerical capture of Taylor column phenomena in rotating viscous fluid

Abstract

Over the years, a number of researchers have explored the possibilities of capturing the fantastic Taylor column phenomena numerically. However, comprehensive satisfactory numerical results have not been obtained in spite of the presence of well established experimental and theoretical data. One important blockade in the process is that the existing lower-order schemes cannot capture the phenomena appropriately owing to the complexity of the flow which arises due to the effect of several parameters and nonlinearities. Hence we propose to use the Higher Order Compact Scheme (HOCS) to capture the Taylor column phenomena along with all its essential features. The results obtained using HOCS are found to be in line with available experimental results in the literature. The physical analysis of streamlines, swirl velocity, surface pressure, and pressure gradient show that there arises a reverse flow near the front and a cyclonic vortex near the rear stagnation point along with a geostrophic region under certain conditions depending on the balance between the Coriolis force and the pressure gradient.