Stability of flow between two rotating cylinders in the presence of a constant heat flux at the outer cylinder and radial temperature gradient – wide gap problem

The stability of Couette flow of a viscous incompressible fluid between two concentric rotating cylinders in the presence of a radial temperature gradient due to a constant heat flux at the outer cylinder is studied. The critical values of `a' (the wave number) and Ta (the Taylor number) are listed in a table and some critical Taylor numbers are shown graphically. It is shown that as the heat flux is increased the flow becomes more unstable for all values of μ calculated, where μ is the ratio of the angular velocity of the outer cylinder to that of the inner cylinder. Received on 04 March 1997