Velocity field for Taylor–Couette flow with an axial flow

Abstract

The flow in the gap between an inner rotating cylinder concentric with an outer stationary cylinder with an imposed pressure-driven axial flow was studied experimentally using particle image velocimetry (PIV) in a meridional plane of the annulus. The radius ratio was η=0.83 and the aspect ratio was Γ=47. Velocity vector fields for nonwavy toroidal and helical vortices show the axial flow winding around vortices. When the axially averaged axial velocity profile is removed from the velocity field in a meridional plane, the velocity field looks much like it would with no imposed axial flow except that the vortices translate axially and the distortion of the azimuthal velocity contours in meridional plane related to the vortices is shifted axially by the axial flow. The velocity vector fields for wavy vortices also show axial flow winding around the vortices. Again, removing the axial velocity profile results in a flow that appears similar to that with no axial flow. The path of the vortices is generally axial, but the vortices periodically move retrograde to the imposed axial flow due to the waviness of the vortices. The axial velocity of helical vortices, both nonwavy and wavy, is twice the rotational frequency of the inner cylinder indicating a coupling between the axial translation of the vortices and the cylinder rotation. Little fluid transport between vortices occurs for nonwavy vortices, but there is substantial transport between vortices for wavy vortex flow, much like supercritical cylindrical Couette flow with no axial flow.