Transition from vortex to wall driven turbulence production in the Taylor-Couette system with a rotating inner cylinder

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Description/Abstract

Axisymmetrically stable turbulent Taylor vortices between two concentric cylinders are studied with respect to the transition from vortex to wall driven turbulent production. The outer cylinder is stationary and the inner cylinder rotates. A low Reynolds number turbulence model using the k- formulation, facilitates an analysis of the velocity gradients in the Taylor-Couette flow. For a fixed inner radius, three radius ratios 0.734, 0.941 and 0.985 are employed to identify the Reynolds number range at which this transition occurs. At relatively low Reynolds numbers, turbulent production is shown to be dominated by the outflowing boundary of the Taylor vortex. As the Reynolds number increases, shear driven turbulence (due to the rotating cylinder) becomes the dominating factor. For relatively small gaps turbulent flow is shown to occur at Taylor numbers lower than previously reported.