Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

www.elsevier.com/locate/compuid

Numerical study of TaylorCouette ow with an axial ow

Jong-Yeon Hwang, Kyung-Soo Yang

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-020, Republic of Korea

Received 20 April 2002; received in revised form 30 October 2002; accepted 23 January 2003

Abstract
The ow between two concentric cylinders with the inner one rotating and with an imposed pressuredriven axial ow is studied using numerical simulation. This study considers the identical ow geometry
and ow parameters as in the experiments of Wereley and Lueptow [Phys. Fluids 11 (12) (1999) 3637],
where particle image velocimetry measurements were carried out to obtain detailed velocity elds in a
meridional plane of the annulus. The objectives of this investigation are to numerically verify the experimental results of Wereley and Lueptow and to further study detailed ow elds and bifurcations related to
TaylorCouette ow with an imposed axial ow. The vortices in various ow regimes such as non-wavy
laminar vortex, wavy vortex, non-wavy helical vortex, helical wavy vortex and random wavy vortex are all
consistently reproduced with their experiments. It is demonstrated that shift-and-reect symmetry holds in
TaylorCouette ow without an imposed axial ow. In case of TaylorCouette ow with an imposed axial
ow, one can nd that the shift-and-reect symmetry is roughly valid for the remaining velocity eld after
subtracting the annular Poiseuille ow. The axial ow stabilizes the ow eld and decreases the torque
required by rotating the inner cylinder at a given speed. Growth rate of the ow instability is dened and
used in predicting the type of the vortices. The velocity vector elds obtained also reveal the same vortex
characteristics as found in the experiments of Wereley and Lueptow.
2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: TaylorCouette ow; Axial ow; Instability; Simulation; Vortex; Shift-and-reect symmetry

1. Introduction
The ow between two concentric cylinders with the inner one rotating and the outer one stationary, called TaylorCouette ow, has been studied by many researchers for decades. With a
low rotating speed of the inner cylinder, the exact solution of the laminar velocity eld consists of
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +82-32-860-7322; fax: +82-32-863-3997.

E-mail address: ksyang@inha.ac.kr (K.-S. Yang).

0045-7930/04/$ - see front matter 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0045-7930(03)00033-1

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J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

vr vz 0;

vh Xi ri

ro =r  r=ro
;
ro =ri  ri =ro

where r, h and z represent the radial, azimuthal, and axial directions of the cylindrical coordinate
system, respectively. The angular velocity of the inner cylinder is denoted by Xi ; the inner and
outer radii are represented by ri and ro , respectively. It should be noted that Eq. (1) is the solution
under the idealization of innitely long cylinders where endwall eects are ignored; this solution is
not realized exactly in an physical experiment or simulation that include endwall eects. If the
Taylor number (Ta) based on Xi goes over a critical one (Tac1 ), the ow instability caused by the
curved streamlines of the main ow produces axisymmetric Taylor vortices. This fact was rst
noticed by Taylor (1923) in an analytical study of the related ow instability [1]. Since then, many
researchers have studied the instability causing Taylor vortices [24]. In the early days of studying
Taylor vortices, researchers attention was mainly focused on determining Tac1 by experimental or
analytical methods. As Ta further increases over a higher threshold value (Tac2 ), the Taylor
vortices become unsteady and non-axisymmetric, called wavy vortices [5]. Davey et al. [5] analytically determined the value of Tac2 ; that was subsequently conrmed by Eagles experiment [6].
Many measurements using laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) were also carried out [7,8]. However,
they could not obtain detailed ow information but only local velocity elds. Even though some
researchers [9,10] have performed numerical investigation of Taylor and wavy vortices, their attention was paid mainly to numerical methods. However, Marcus [11] investigated wavy vortices
without an axial ow to get velocity elds and characteristics of traveling waves in detail.
In the case of Taylor vortices with a fully developed axial ow, Chung and Astill [12] developed
a linear stability theory for the spiral ow. Gravas and Martin [13] studied Taylor vortices in the
presence of an axial ow with various ratios of the inner radius to the outer one. They reported
that the axial ow stabilizes the ow eld and Tac1 is increased. Takeuchi and Jankowski [14]
made both experimental and numerical investigations into toroidal vortex structures of the spiral
ow; especially ows between two independently rotating concentric cylinders with wide gap were
considered. Meseguer and Marques [15] studied the shear instability associated with the axial ow
and the centrifugal instability due to rotation using linear stability theory. Recently, measurements of velocity elds for TaylorCouette ows with and without an imposed axial ow were
performed by Wereley and Lueptow [16,17] using particle image velocimetry (PIV).
TaylorCouette ow is often observed in various types of engineering application, for example,
journal bearing lubrication and cooling of rotating machinery among others. Since the axial ow
not only stabilizes the ow eld but also decreases the torque required by rotating the inner
cylinder at a given speed as shown in the later part of this paper, understanding TaylorCouette
ow with an imposed axial ow allows us to control the related ow elds.
In this study, we investigate the characteristics of the vortices in TaylorCouette ow having
the identical cross-sectional geometry as in the experiments of Wereley and Lueptow [16,17].
Technical limitations of experimental methods keep researchers from getting detailed ow information. They have been limited to obtain only temporally and spatially averaged torque on the
inner cylinder or unsteady ow characteristics on a meridional plane in the ow eld. Numerical
simulations are suitable for eciently studying eects of ow geometry and ow parameters, and
can make up for the shortcomings of experimental techniques by providing detailed information
on full three-dimensional (3D) time-dependent ow elds. The objectives of this investigation are

J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

99

to numerically verify the experimental results of Wereley and Lueptow [16,17] and to further
study detailed ow elds and bifurcations related to TaylorCouette ow with an imposed axial
ow.

2. Formulation
The governing incompressible continuity and momentum equations are
r  u 0;

ou
1
u  ru  rp mr2 u;
ot
q

where u, q, p and m denote velocity, density, pressure, and kinematic viscosity of the uid, respectively. The governing equations are discretized using a nite-volume method in a generalized
coordinate system. Spatial discretization is second-order accurate. A hybrid scheme is used for
time advancement; non-linear terms and cross diusion terms are explicitly advanced by a thirdorder RungeKutta scheme, and the other terms are implicitly advanced by the CrankNicolson
scheme. A fractional step method [18] is employed to decouple the continuity and momentum
equations. The resulting Poissons equation is solved by a multigrid method. For the details of the
numerical algorithm used in the code, see [18].

3. Choice of parameters and boundary conditions

There are two non-dimensional parameters of importance, namely, Ta and Re. Although Ta can
be dened in several dierent ways, we choose Ta ri Xi d=m, where d is the dierence between ro
and ri . The axial Reynolds number is dened as Re wd=m, where w is the averaged axial velocity.
Radius ratio, g, is selected 0.83 as in the experiments of Wereley and Lueptow [16,17].
A special care is required in selecting the size of the axial domain (H). A considerably large
axial domain, H 27d32d depending on Ta; Re, is employed for natural selection of the
dominant axial wavelength of the vortex pairs (k). In each case of Ta; Re, we rst estimate k
using Fig. 11 in Ref. [17], and take 16 multiples of the estimated k as the size of H , anticipating
appearance of 16 pairs of vortices. It turns out that exactly 16 pairs of vortices show up in all cases
reported here. Since the dominant axial wavelength is not imposed a priori but naturally selected,
it is estimated that the axial computational domain allows at worst 3.13% error in k. In fact, the
error should be much smaller than our conservative estimate because the axial domain is
tuned according to the experimental measurements of k.
Temporal instability is considered in association with the axial ow; a periodic boundary
condition is employed in the axial direction. For convective instability related to the spiral ow,
see [14,15]. Selecting the size of the azimuthal domain needs a special care, too. Once wavy
vortices are formed, traveling waves show up. In order to capture the longest wavelength spanning
the whole azimuthal domain, if any, we have to consider the full azimuthal domain. Fig. 1 shows
the computational grid system employed in this study. Fig. 1(a) and (b) exhibit the computational

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Fig. 1. Computational domain and grid system; (a) cylinder cross-section, (b) meridional section.

domain at one cylinder cross-section and at one meridional section, respectively. The grid is a
body-tted O-grid system which is the most adequate for this ow; it has more resolution near the
cylinder walls where gradients are steep. The number of grid points determined by grid-renement
study was 128  32  256 in the azimuthal, radial, and axial directions, respectively. No signicant
dierence in the ow elds is noticed in comparison with those obtained by a 256  64  512 grid
system; qualitative dierence is hardly visible and the dierence in growth rate of the primary
instability is less than 1.42% between the two.
No-slip boundary condition is imposed on the solid boundaries. An initial ow eld for the case
of a particular Ta; Re is constructed using the exact steady solution corresponding to the particular Ta; Re which would be present at the same Ta; Re if there were no instability present. In
this study, 12 cases with various values of Ta; Re are computed. For each case, about 15,000 time
steps are computed before the ow eld is taken for ow analysis; the time span is corresponding
to dimensionless time of 35006500 based on d and ri Xi or 114212 revolutions of the inner
cylinder depending on Ta; Re. The vortices appear rather quickly between ri Xi t=d 150 and 600
depending on Ta; Re.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. TaylorCouette ow without an axial ow
Wereley and Lueptow [16] reported that the value of Tac1 over which Taylor vortices are formed
is 102 and that the value of Tac2 is in the range of 124 < Tac2 < 131. Wereley and Lueptows result

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101

Fig. 2. Velocity vectors and magnitude contours of azimuthal velocity on an rz plane without an axial ow, contour
increment: 0:1Xri ; (a) Wereley and Lueptows experiment [16], Ta 124, (b) current study, Ta 123. The lower and
upper lines represent the inner and the outer cylinder surfaces, respectively.

in Fig. 2(a) shows the velocity vector eld on an rz plane at Ta 124; Fig. 2(b) shows the result
of present numerical study at Ta 123. The solid curves denote the magnitude contours of azimuthal velocity, while the lower and upper lines represent the inner and the outer cylinder surfaces, respectively. One can notice in both gures that on the boundaries of Taylor vortices the
magnitude of the outer directional velocity is larger than that of the inner directional velocity, and
that the two adjacent vortices which have outer directional velocity at their boundary (hereafter
called Vortex Pair) get closer to each other. Distributions of the radial and axial velocity
components along the axial and radial directions on an azimuthal plane are compared with the
corresponding results of Wereley and Lueptows experiment in Fig. 3(a) and (b), respectively.
Each velocity is non-dimensionalized by the surface velocity of the inner cylinder. Radial location
is denoted by n r  ri =d, and axial location by f z=d. One can notice that the shape of each
peak of the experimental result in Fig. 3(a) is dierent from one another; this could be explained in
part by the end eects of the cylinder in the experimental setup. Since the axial direction is
assumed homogeneous in our simulations, the shape of each peak is identical in the computational result. The peak corresponding to the outow is narrower and stronger than the one
corresponding to the inow; that is the case not only in the simulation but also in the experiment.
This is due to the fact that the distance between the two vortex centers of a Vortex Pair is shorter
than that of two adjacent Vortex Pairs, and the outow between the vortex centers of a Vortex
Pair is stronger than the inow between two adjacent Vortex Pairs as explained in Fig. 2. In Fig.
3(b), computation slightly overpredicts vz along the radial line; this situation may be due to the
fact that experimentally measured value of vz at a given point is actually smaller than the corresponding real value of vz . This comes about because the measurement actually reects the velocity at a region around the measurement point called interrogation region, not just the
measurement point. As a result, at a maximum, the value is slightly reduced due to spatial averaging because the nearby values are slightly less than the maximum [19]. One can also notice that

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present
Wereley and
Lueptow [16]

0.05

vr /r i i
0

-0.05
1

(a)

0.05

present
Wereley and
Lueptow [16]

vz /r i i
0

-0.05

(b)

0.25

0.5

0.75

Fig. 3. (a) Distribution of the radial velocity component along an axial line through the center of the annular gap, (b)
distribution of the axial velocity component along a radial line through a Taylor vortex center; n r  ri =d, f z=d,
without an axial ow, Ta 123.

the numerical results can accurately predict the peak locations and the tendency of higher magnitudes near the inner cylinder.
Wavy vortices exhibit oscillations in the azimuthal direction as well as in the axial direction.
This fact can be explained by a traveling wave. On a given rz plane, oscillation is noticed as a
traveling wave passes through that plane. Therefore, time-dependent characteristics on that plane
must be consistent with those along the azimuthal direction. Fig. 4(a) shows time-dependent
results of Wereley and Leuptow [16] on a typical rz plane at Ta 131, where each frame is taken
at a xed azimuthal location during passage of one wavelength of the traveling wave. Fig. 4(b)
shows our results at Ta 129, where each frame is taken along the azimuthal direction at a given
time and at the same phase as the corresponding frame of Fig. 4(a). The symbol ( ) denotes the
centers of the vortices. In order to show the computed ow eld more clearly, velocity vectors
were slightly magnied in Fig. 4(b). The two gures are consistent with each other as shown,
conrming the traveling wave found in Wereley and Lueptows experiment. The averaged oscillation distance of the centers of the vortices (1:1d) in Fig. 4(b) is slightly longer than that (0:9d) in
Fig. 4(a). In addition, the vortex centers oscillate slightly in the radial direction consistent with
experimental results [16].
If we compare each frame of Fig. 4(b) with that of half period later, a symmetry rule can be
identied. For instance, comparing the second frame with the sixth one in Fig. 4(b), one can
notice that vortex 1 and vortex 2 in the second frame are shifted to the counterparts in the sixth

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103

Fig. 4. Velocity vectors on rz planes; (a) Wereley and Lueptows experiment [16]: Each frame is taken on a xed
azimuthal plane during passage of one wavelength of the traveling wave (from top to bottom), Ta 131. (b) Current
study: at a given instant, each frame is taken along the azimuthal direction at the same phase as the corresponding
frame of Fig. 4(a), Ta 129. The lower and upper lines of each frame represent the inner and the outer cylinder
surfaces, respectively.

frame and that vortex 2 in the sixth frame is a reection of vortex 1 in the second frame with
respect to the boundary between vortex 1 and vortex 2. This is called shift-and-reect symmetry
which can be expressed as follows;
vr r; h; z; t vr r; h Dh; z; t;

vh r; h; z; t vh r; h Dh; z; t;

vz r; h; z; t vz r; h Dh; z; t;

where z 0 corresponds to a vortex boundary, and Dh represents the angle corresponding to one
half of azimuthal wavelength. Marcus [11] claimed that shift-and-reect symmetry is adequate to

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J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

1

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2

(a) 0 1.5

2.5

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2

(b)

1.5

2.5

Fig. 5. Velocity vectors on an rz plane, n r  ri =d, f z=d; (a) Reected velocity vectors of vortex 1 and vortex 2
in the second frame of Fig. 4(b) with respect to their boundary, (b) velocity vectors corresponding to vortex 1 and
vortex 2 in the sixth frame of Fig. 4(b). Solid lines represent magnitude contours of azimuthal velocity, contour increment: 0:14Xri .

be implemented in numerical simulation. Fig. 5(a) shows vortex 1 and vortex 2 in the second
frame of Fig. 4(b) after reection with respect to their boundary and Fig. 5(b) shows the corresponding vortices in the sixth frame of Fig. 4(b). Fig. 5 conrms that shift-and-reect symmetry is
correct, based on our calculation in which such a symmetry was not imposed. In order to quantify
the degree of shift-and-reect symmetry, one can dene a root-mean-squared ratio (c) as follows;
q
jua  ub j2
7
c q :
2
jub j
Here, ua and ub represent two velocity elds on rz planes which are one half of azimuthal
wavelength apart, and ua is the reected eld. For example, ua and ub are corresponding to the
velocity elds in Fig. 5(a) and (b), respectively. The overline denotes averaging over all the grid
points on an rz plane containing a pair of vortices. In Fig. 5, it turns out that c 0:00262.
4.2. TaylorCouette ow with an axial ow
Since the axial ow stabilizes the ow eld, both Tac1 and Tac2 increase in the presence of the
axial ow [17]. Fig. 6(a) shows the velocity eld at an rz plane at Ta 123 and Re 4:9, corresponding to non-wavy Taylor vortices. One can nd that the axial ow makes the uid ow up
and down alternately around the vortices. Wereley and Lueptow [17] called this a winding ow.

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105

0.5

(a)

0.5

(b)

Fig. 6. Velocity vectors and magnitude contours of azimuthal velocity on an rz plane at Ta 123 and Re 4:9,
n r  ri =d, f z=d, contour increment: 0:11Xri ; (a) including the axial velocity prole, (b) with the axial velocity
prole removed.

The vortices shrink due to the axial ow and the vortices located toward the inner cylinder is
slightly larger than those toward the outer cylinder. Fig. 6(b) reveals the remaining velocity eld
after subtracting the exact laminar axial velocity prole of annular Poiseuille ow at Re 4:9,
wr K

ro2  ri2
lnro =r  Kr2  ro2 ;
lnri =ro

where K 1=4ldp=dz and l is the viscosity coecient of the uid. Fig. 6(b) is very similar to
Fig. 2. Thus one can speculate that the TaylorCouette ow with an imposed axial ow (Fig. 6(a))
is nearly a linear superposition of non-wavy Taylor vortex ow at Ta 123 and annular Poiseuille
ow at Re 4:9, as reported in [17]. In order to make an estimate of legitimacy of the speculation, one can substract wr from the axial velocity component at Ta 123 and Re 4:9, and
compare the remainder with that of Ta 123 and Re 0. In Fig. 7, the radial distributions of the
two are presented in the same format as Fig. 3(b). Even though there exists a slight quantitative
dierence in the peak magnitudes, it is not dicult to expect a qualitative resemblance between
the two ow elds. The reduction in peak magnitudes implies reduction of circulation around a
Taylor vortex; this is consistent with the notion that axial ow stabilizes TaylorCouette ow.
Fig. 8 shows the velocity eld on an rz plane at Ta 129 and Re 13:1, corresponding to
non-wavy helical vortices. Vortices are hidden by the relatively strong axial ow; no vortices are
observed in Fig. 8(a).
Helical vortices do not occur without an axial ow. To visualize helical-type structure of
Taylor vortices, Fig. 9 presents instantaneous contours of azimuthal velocity component on a
portion of the center surface of the annulus for various types of Taylor vortices for comparison.
The regions of higher (lower) azimuthal velocity than the median is marked by black (white). Fig.
9(a) represents the characteristics of laminar vortex (LV) at Ta 123 and Re 0. Traveling
waves are not seen and the vortices are stationary. Traveling waves are observed in Fig. 9(b) for

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J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

Ta=123, Re=0
Ta=123, Re=4.9

0.05

vz /r i i
0

-0.05

0.25

0.5

0.75

Fig. 7. Distribution of the axial velocity component along a radial line through a Taylor vortex center; n r  ri =d,
without an axial ow (Ta 123 and Re 0) and with the exact laminar axial velocity prole substracted (Ta 123 and
Re 4:9).

Fig. 8. Velocity vectors and magnitude contours of azimuthal velocity on an rz plane at Ta 129 and Re 13:1,
n r  ri =d, f z=d, contour increment: 0.11Xri ; (a) including the axial velocity prole, (b) with the axial velocity
prole removed.

the case of Ta 139 and Re 4:9; this type of Taylor vortex is called wavy vortex (WV). Two
wavelengths are seen in Fig. 9(b). Fig. 9(c) shows the features of helical vortex (HV) appearing
at Ta 129 and Re 24. Traveling waves do not occur in this case, and the helix angle is approximately 2.9. Traveling waves do appear at a higher Ta than HV; two wavelengths are contained in Fig. 9(d) for the case of Ta 167 and Re 13:1. This type of Taylor vortex is called
helical wavy vortex (HWV). Fig. 9(e) reveals the features of random wavy vortex (RWV) at
Ta 215 and Re 24. Approximately four wavelengths of dominant traveling waves are identied in the gure. It turned out, however, that unlike the other types of Taylor vortices, circulation around an RWV signicantly varies in h within one wavelength as explained later.
Nevertheless, RWV maintains quasi-periodicity both in h and in z.

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107

Fig. 9. Instantaneous contours of azimuthal velocity component on a portion of the center surface of the annulus; (a)
laminar vortex (LV) at Ta 123 and Re 0, (b) wavy vortex (WV) at Ta 139 and Re 4:9, (c) helical vortex (HV) at
Ta 129 and Re 24, (d) helical wavy vortex (HWV) at Ta 167 and Re 13:2, (e) random wavy vortex (RWV) at
Ta 215 and Re 24. The regions of higher (lower) azimuthal velocity than the median is marked by black (white).

More detailed description on the helical structure is given in Figs. 10 and 11 for the case of
Ta 129 and Re 24 (HV). Fig. 10 shows instantaneous velocity vectors of helical vortices on a
portion of an rz plane in the ow domain along with arrows pointing the corresponding vortex
on the other side. Solid and dotted lines represent foreground and background pointers,
respectively. The helical vortices form a negative angle with respect to the axis of rotation, and
they are shifted by a vortex pair after one revolution. Three-dimensional vortical structures of HV
are presented in Fig. 11 for the case of Ta 129 and Re 24. Fig. 11(a) shows contours of azimuthal component of vorticity (xh ) in a portion of the ow domain; regions of positive (negative)
xh are denoted by dark (bright) color. Nevertheless, the helical structure is clearly seen. See the
arrows which point corresponding vortices. To highlight vortex cores only, positive values of
J  0:25D2 are plotted in Fig. 11(b) where J represents Jacobian of shear-stress vectors and D
denotes divergence of shear-stresses. This method is based on the topological consideration that a
vortex core constitutes a focus which satises J > 0:25D2 [20]. Vortex cores are clearly visualized
by this method (Fig. 11(b)), even though their rotational direction cannot be distinguished.

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J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

O.C.

I.C.

axis of
rotation

I.C.

O.C.

Fig. 10. Instantaneous velocity vectors of helical vortices on a portion of an rz plane in the ow domain along with
arrows pointing the corresponding vortex on the other side; Ta 129 and Re 24 (HV). Solid and dotted lines represent foreground and background pointers, respectively. OC and IC denote outer cylinder and inner cylinder, respectively.

Fig. 11(a) and (b) are complementary to each other; one can grasp 3D structures of helical vortices
using those two gures.
A TaRe map is presented in Fig. 12, where solid lines, taken from [17] denote the approximate
boundaries of various types of vortices in TaylorCouette ow. As Re increases, so does Tac2 . For
example, the four data points corresponding to Ta 139 show that Hopf bifurcation to wavy
vortices occurs between Re 13:1 and Re 24, while the four data points at Ta 129 imply a
lower Re for the bifurcation. Random wavy vortices do not occur without an imposed axial ow.
It should be also noted that all the numerical data points are in accordance with the TaRe map.
Fig. 13 shows velocity vectors and magnitude contours of azimuthal velocity on rz planes at
Ta 139 and Re 4:9 for one azimuthal wavelength of the traveling wave. Each frame was taken
at a given instant at equal circumferential distance in the azimuthal direction. In Fig. 13(a), the
axial velocity prole is included; it is removed in Fig. 13(b). The axial ow is winding in Fig.
13(a). Oscillation of the vortices is clearly seen as in Fig. 4(b) after the axial velocity prole is
subtracted from the vectors. This spatial observation reveals the oscillation pattern of the wavy
vortices better than the temporal approach reported in [17]. They measured time-dependent velocity elds on a given meridional plane; their measurements include not only the oscillation
pattern but also the translation movement along the axis due to the imposed axial ow (see Fig. 7

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109

Fig. 11. Three-dimensional structures of helical vortices; (a) contours of azimuthal component of vorticity (xh ) in a
portion of the ow domain, dark color: positive xh , bright color: negative xh , (b) contours of positive J  0:25D2 where
J represents Jacobian of shear-stress vectors and D denotes divergence of shear-stresses.

in [17]). For direct comparison of the numerical result with the experimental one, a time-sequence
of the same case is shown on a typical rz plane in Fig. 14. Both the winding axial ow (Fig.
14(a)) and the non-uniform translation of the vortex centers (Fig. 14(b)) are clearly seen and well
match Fig. 7 in [17]. Especially, the retrograde motion of the vortex centers is also identied as
noticed in Fig. 7(b) in [17]. See the retrograde axial motion of the center of vortex 1 in frames 45
of Fig. 14(b).
In the case with an imposed axial ow, shift-and-reect symmetry is expressed as follows;
vr r; h; z; t vr r; h Dh; z; t;

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25

HV

20

HWV

CP

Re

RWV

15
10
5

LV

WV

0
100

150

Ta

200

Fig. 12. Flow types indicated on the TaRe plane, non-vortical CouettePoiseuille ow (CP, M), non-wavy laminar
vortex (LV, ), wavy vortex (WV, j), non-wavy helical vortex (HV, ), helical wavy vortex (HWV, ), random wavy
vortex (RWV, }). Notations and solid lines are taken from [17].

vh r; h; z; t vh r; h Dh; z; t;

10

vz r; h; z; t  wr vz r; h Dh; z; t  wr:

11

As shown in Fig. 15, shift-and-reect symmetry is roughly valid in the case with an imposed axial
ow; the symmetry is less perfect than that in the case without an axial ow (c 0:0294 in Fig.
15). It should be noted that unlike TaylorCouette ow without an imposed axial ow, this
symmetry is applicable only to the remaining ow eld after subtracting the annular Poiseuille
ow from the computed ow eld.
In the following two gures, are shown velocity vectors for HWV ow at Ta 167, Re 13:1
(Fig. 16), and for RWV ow at Ta 215, Re 24:0 (Fig. 17), respectively. Each frame is taken on
a typical azimuthal plane during passage of one wavelength of the traveling wave for direct
comparison with Wereley and Lueptows result [17]. In Fig. 16, the vortex centers persistently
move downstream without the retrograde motion (Fig. 16(b)). Fig. 17 shows that the behaviors of
the vortices are somewhat random, and some of the vortices sometimes almost disappear (the
2nd and 6th frames of Fig. 17(b)). This kind of signicant variation in vortex strength does not
occur in the other types of Taylor vortex. All these features are also experimentally observed. See
Fig. 8 for HWV ow and Fig. 9 for RWV ow in [17], respectively. It should be noted that the
behaviors of RWV are random in one wavelength of the traveling wave, but quasi-periodic in the
azimuthal and the axial directions from the viewpoint of the entire ow domain (Fig. 9(e)).
Therefore, velocity vectors for a given rz plane reveal a random behavior quasi-periodically
in time.
Fig. 18 exhibits the speed of the center of a vortex in TaylorCouette ow in the axial direction
(wvortex ) at various Ta=Re, where wvortex is non-dimensionalized with the mean axial velocity. The
theoretical value [21] was obtained for the wavy vortices in the range of 1:6 < Re < 20. The
theoretical, experimental, and computational results are all consistent with one another. Furthermore, the tendency persists even beyond Ta=Re 20.

J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

(a)

111

(b)

Fig. 13. Velocity vectors and magnitude contours of azimuthal velocity on rz planes at Ta 139 and Re 4:9 for one
azimuthal wavelength of the traveling wave (from top to bottom), contour increment: 0:14Xri . Each frame was taken
at a given instant at equal circumferential distance in the azimuthal direction; (a) including the axial velocity prole,
(b) with the axial velocity prole removed. The lower and upper lines of each frame represent the inner and the
outer cylinder surfaces, respectively.

Phase speeds of the traveling waves of various wavy vortices are presented in Fig. 19; they are
normalized by corresponding angular velocity of the inner cylinder. One can notice that the
normalized phase speed is almost constant at c=Xi 0:42 regardless of Ta or Re.
In order to quantify the ow instability, we dene a non-dimensional variable (Vcl ) on the hz
surface at the center of the annulus (r ri 0:5d);
Z H Z 2p
1
jvr h; r ; zjr dh dz;
12
Vcl
Xi ri 2pr H 0
0

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J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

Fig. 14. Velocity vectors for wavy vortex ow on an rz plane at Ta 139, Re 4:9. Each frame is taken on a typical
azimuthal plane during passage of one wavelength of the traveling wave (from top to bottom); (a) including the axial
velocity prole, (b) with the axial velocity prole removed. The lower and upper lines of each frame represent the inner
and the outer cylinder surfaces, respectively.

which is a quantitative measure of absolute ow rate through the center surface. As ow instability induces vr , the onset of bifurcation can be detected by exponential temporal growth of Vcl .
Fig. 20 shows time history of Vcl at various Ta; Re in a linear-log scale, where time (t) is nondimensionalized with d=Xi ri . In the case of higher Ta for a xed Re, Vcl grows more rapidly.
However, the slopes of the curves for Ta 123, Re 4:9 and for Ta 129, Re 13:1 are almost
identical, which means that a stronger axial ow stabilizes the ow eld. Growth rate(r) of Vcl is
dened as Vcl  exprt. Fig. 21 reveals growth rates of Vcl in various cases of Ta and Re, computed
from the sloped portion of the curves in Fig. 20; the solid line denotes an approximate boundary
between non-wavy and wavy vortices. The smaller the value of Re is, the larger the value of r is at
a given Ta. The simulation results corresponding to Ta 139 tell us that wavy vortices do not
show up in the case of stronger axial ow (Re 24:0). The type of vortices at particular values of
Ta and Re can be predicted using Fig. 21 and the corresponding growth rate of Vcl without a full
simulation. In other words, a big saving in computing time can be achieved because the growth
rate of Vcl can be computed in an early stage of full simulation.

J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

113

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

(a)

5.25

5.5

5.75

6.25

6.5

6.75

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

1.25

1.5

(b)

1.75

2.25

2.5

2.75

Fig. 15. Velocity vectors and magnitude contours of azimuthal velocity on an rz plane, n r  ri =d, f z=d,
contour increment: 0:13Xri ; (a) reected velocity vectors of vortex 1 and vortex 2 in the rst frame of Fig. 13(b),
(b) velocity vectors of vortex 1 and vortex 2 in the fth frame of Fig. 13(b).

The torque coecient (CM ) is dened as

2

CM Ti =0:5pqXi ri ri2 H;

13

where Ti is the torque required by rotating the inner cylinder at a given speed. Fig. 22 shows CM at
various Ta and Re, where the solid line denotes the exact values [22] for non-vortical Couette
Poiseuille ow. One can see that the axial ow signicantly reduces CM . In order to elucidate
this point more clearly, instantaneous wall shear-stresses (s) along a typical axial line on the
inner cylinder surface are presented in Fig. 23, where s is normalized by the wall shear stress (so )
obtained analytically by assuming that no vortices are present. It can be noticed that s=so is
larger than unity in most of the range, and this tendency is more evident as Ta increases for a xed
Re. This tells us that the vortices in TaylorCouette ow actually increase the wall shear stress.
This is also consistent with a well-known fact that vortices increase the shear stress. Furthermore, the peaks and valleys in each curve are corresponding to the inner and outer directional
boundary ows of neighboring vortices, respectively; for example, compare the case of
Ta 139, Re 4:9 in Fig. 23 with Fig. 15(b). In Fig. 22, it is not surprising that the torque coecient decreases in the range of Ta > 139 as Ta increases. This is due to the particular way of
normalization of Ti ; the denominator of CM contains a square of Xi term. Axial ow, however, has
the opposite eect on s=so . Compare the case of Ta 123, Re 0 with that of Ta 123, Re 4:9
in Fig. 23.

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J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

Fig. 16. Velocity vectors for helical wavy vortex ow on an rz plane at Ta 167, Re 13:1. Each frame is taken on a
typical azimuthal plane during passage of one wavelength of the traveling wave (from top to bottom); (a) including the
axial velocity prole, (b) with the axial velocity prole removed. The lower and upper lines of each frame represent the
inner and the outer cylinder surfaces, respectively.

5. Conclusion
In this study, numerical simulations of TaylorCouette ow with an imposed axial ow were
carried out for the identical ow geometry and ow parameters as in the recent PIV measurements
of Wereley and Lueptow [17]. The numerical results obtained are in excellent agreement with their
experimental results both qualitatively and quantitatively. The vortices in various ow regimes
such as non-wavy laminar vortex, wavy vortex, non-wavy helical vortex, helical wavy vortex and
random wavy vortex are all consistently reproduced with their experiments. It is conrmed that
the shift-and-reect symmetry is valid for TaylorCouette ow without an imposed axial ow.
The symmetry is roughly valid for TaylorCouette ow with an imposed axial ow, if the annular
Poiseuille ow at the corresponding Reynolds number is subtracted from the computed ow eld.

J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

115

Fig. 17. Velocity vectors for random wavy vortex ow on an rz plane at Ta 215, Re 24:0. Each frame is taken on a
typical azimuthal plane during passage of one wavelength of the traveling wave (from top to bottom); (a) including the
axial velocity prole, (b) with the axial velocity prole removed. The lower and upper lines of each frame represent the
inner and the outer cylinder surfaces, respectively.

It is revealed that an axial ow stabilizes the ow eld as expected. A traveling wave along the
azimuthal direction can be detected from instantaneous velocity elds; it is veried that the
temporal measurements of Wereley and Lueptow on a given meridional section are valid. In
various cases of Taylor and Reynolds numbers, detailed ow information is obtained and the type
of the vortices is identied. The computed speed of vortex translation is in consistent with the
experimental and theoretical values, and the normalized phase speed of traveling waves is almost
constant in the range of Taylor and Reynolds numbers considered in this study. Growth rate of
the ow instability is dened and used in predicting the type of the vortices. It is also shown that
the torque coecient on the inner cylinder surface is signicantly reduced by the axial ow. The
results obtained in this study demonstrate that the numerical simulation employed for the current
investigation is suitable and economical.

J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

2

Wereley and Lueptow [17]

present
theory [21]

1.8
1.6

wvortex /w

116

1.4
1.2
1
0.8
5

10

15

20

25

30

Ta /Re

Fig. 18. Vortex translation speed as a function of Ta=Re. Here, w is the mean axial velocity.

1.2

Re=4.9
Re=13.2
Re=24.0
Re=0

c/ i
0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

Ta
Fig. 19. Normalized phase speeds of traveling waves.

10

Vcl

10

-1

10

-2

10

-3

10

-4

10

-5

10

-6

10

-7

10

-8

10

-9

Ta=123, Re=4.9
Ta=129, Re=13.1
Ta=139, Re=4.9
Ta=167, Re=13.2
Ta=215, Re=24.0

500

tri i /d

1000

Fig. 20. Time history of Vcl .

1500

J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

117

Re=0
Re=4.9
Re=13.1
Re=24.0

0.1

wavy vortex

0.05

non-wavy vortex

120

140

Ta

160

180

Fig. 21. Growth rates of Vcl in various cases of Ta and Re.

Fig. 22. Torque coecient (CM ) for the inner cylinder vs. Ta at various Re, Re 0:0 (j), Re 4:9 (M), Re 13:1 ( ),
Re 24:0 (}). The linear theory is taken from [22].

Fig. 23. Instantaneous wall shear-stresses along an axial line on the inner cylinder surface.

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J.-Y. Hwang, K.-S. Yang / Computers & Fluids 33 (2004) 97118

Acknowledgement
This work was supported by grant no. R01-2002-000-00060-0 from the Basic Research Program
of the Korea Science & Engineering Foundation.

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