Unified torque scaling in counter-rotating suspension Taylor-Couette flow.

Abstract

Torque measurements are reported for the Taylor-Couette flow of a neutrally buoyant non-colloidal suspension in the counter-rotation regime up to a particle volume fraction of [Formula: see text]. A unified scaling relation for the dimensionless torque (the pseudo-Nusselt number) of the form [Formula: see text] is shown to hold over a range of Taylor numbers [Formula: see text] that covers primary, secondary and tertiary bifurcating states; here, [Formula: see text] is the reduced Taylor number, [Formula: see text] is the critical Taylor number at primary bifurcation and [Formula: see text] is the relative viscosity of the suspension. Possible effects of flow transitions and inhomogeneous distribution of particles on torque scaling are discussed. This article is part of the theme issue 'Taylor-Couette and related flows on the centennial of Taylor's seminal Philosophical Transactions paper (part 1)'.