From global to local bifurcations in a forced Taylor–Couette flow

The unfolding due to imperfections of a gluing bifurcation occurring in a periodically forced Taylor–Couette system is analyzed numerically. In the absence of imperfections, a temporal glide-reflection Z₂ symmetry exists, and two global bifurcations occur within a small region of parameter space: a heteroclinic bifurcation between two saddle two-tori and a gluing bifurcation of three-tori. As the imperfection parameter increase, these two global bifurcations collide, and all the global bifurcations become local (fold and Hopf bifurcations). This severely restricts the range of validity of the theoretical picture in the neighborhood of the gluing bifurcation considered, and has significant implications for the interpretation of experimental results. PACS 47.20.Ky, 47.20.Lz, 47.20.Ft     

Particle tracking in Taylor–Couette flow

The paths of small inertial particles are computed in a steady Taylor vortex background flow. When buoyancy effects are neglected we find that particles denser than the background fluid tend to a limit orbit in the meridional plane. The difference in settling time and orbit size, with varying Reynolds number of the background flow, is investigated. We also consider the effect of the various forces on the limit orbit of the particle.     

Spectral methods for the viscoelastic time-dependent flow equations with applications to Taylor–Couette flow

The time evolution of finite amplitude axisymmetric perturbations (Taylor cells) to the purely azimuthal, viscoelastic, cylindrical Couette flow was numerically simulated. Two time integration numerical methods were developed, both based on a pseudospectral spatial approximation of the variables, efficiently implemented using fast Poisson solvers and optimal filtering routines. The first method, applicable for finite Re numbers, is based on a time-splitting integration with the divergence-free condition enforced through an influence matrix technique. The second one, is based on a semi-implicit time integration of the constitutive equation with both the continuity and the momentum equations enforced as constraints. Stability results for an upper convected Maxwell fluid were obtained for the supercritical bifurcations, either steady or time-periodic, developed after the onset of instabilities in the primary flow. At small elasticity values, ? ≡ De/Re, the time integration of finite amplitude disturbances confirms the stability of the single branch of steady Taylor cells. At intermediate ? values the rotating wave family of time-periodic solutions developed at the onset of instability is stable, whereas the standing wave is found to be unstable. At high ? values, and in particular for the limit of creeping flow (? = ∞), the present study shows that the rotating wave family is unstable and the standing (radial) wave is stable, in agreement with previous finite-element investigations. It is thus shown that spectral techniques provide a robust and computationally efficient method for the simulation of complex, non-linear, time-dependent viscoelastic flows.     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent Taylor–Couette flow

The direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the Taylor–Couette flow in the fully turbulent regime is described. The numerical method extends the work by Quadrio and Luchini [M. Quadrio, P. Luchini, Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluids 21 (2002) 413–427], and is based on a parallel computer code which uses mixed spatial discretization (spectral schemes in the homogeneous directions, and fourth-order, compact explicit finite-difference schemes in the radial direction). A DNS is carried out to simulate for the first time the turbulent Taylor–Couette flow in the turbulent regime. Statistical quantities are computed to complement the existing experimental information, with a view to compare it to planar, pressure-driven turbulent flow at the same value of the Reynolds number. The main source for differences in flow statistics between plane and curved-wall flows is attributed to the presence of large-scale rotating structures generated by curvature effects.     

A NUMERICAL PROCEDURE FOR PREDICTING MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS OF A SPHERICAL TAYLOR–COUETTE FLOW

A new numerical procedure for predicting multiple solutions of Taylor vortices in a spherical gap is presented. The steady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in primitive variables are solved by a finite- difference method using a matrix preconditioning technique. Routes leading to multiple flow states are designed heuristically by imposing symmetric properties. Both symmetric and asymmetric solutions can be predicted in a deterministic way. The current procedure gives very fast convergence rate to the desired flow modes. This procedure provides an alternative way of finding all possible stable steady axisymmetric flow modes.     

Effect of inertia on thermoelastic flow instability

Thermal effects induced by viscous heating cause thermoelastic flow instabilities in curvilinear shear flows of viscoelastic polymer solutions. These instabilities could be tracked experimentally by changing the fluid temperature T₀ to span the parameter space. In this work, the influence of T₀ on the stability boundary of the Taylor–Couette flow of an Oldroyd-B fluid is studied. The upper bound of the stability boundary in the Weissenberg number (We)–Nahme number (Na) space is given by the critical conditions corresponding to the extension of the time-dependent isothermal eigensolution. Initially, as T₀ is increased, the critical Weissenberg number, We_c, associated with this upper branch increases. Increasing T₀ beyond a certain value T^* causes the thermoelastic mode of instability to manifest. This occurs in the limit as We/Pe → 0, where Pe denotes the Péclet number. In this limit, the fluid relaxation time is much smaller than the time scale of thermal diffusion. T₀ = T^* represents a turning point in the We_c–Na_c curve. Consequently, the stability boundary is multi-valued for a wide range of Na values. Since the relaxation time and viscosity of the fluid decrease with increasing T₀, the elasticity number, defined as the ratio of the fluid relaxation time to the time scale of viscous diffusion, also decreases. Hence, O(10) values of the Reynolds number could be realized at the onset of instability if T₀ is sufficiently large. This sets limits for the temperature range that can be used in experiments if inertial effects are to be minimized.     

A Taylor–Galerkin-based algorithm for viscous incompressible flow

In this paper the development and behaviour of a new finite element algorithm for viscous incompressible flow is presented. The stability and background theory are discussed and the numerical performance is considered for some benchmark problems. The Taylor–Galerkin approach naturally leads to a time-stepping algorithm which is shown to perform well for a wide range of Reynolds numbers (1 ? Re ? 400).

1 A conventional definition for Re is assumed.

Various modifications to the algorithm are investigated, particularly with respect to their effects on stability and accuracy.     

Heat and fluid flow in cylindrical and conical annular flow-passages with through flow and inner-wall rotation

The flow and heat transfer in cylindrical and conical annular flow-passages with through flow and inner-wall rotation have been numerically simulated by using the large eddy simulation with a Lagrangian dynamic subgrid-scale model. Inlet through-flow Reynolds number was 1000 and the Taylor number was set at 0, 1000, 2000, and 4000. In the conical flow passage, when the inner-wall rotation speed was increased, at first spiral vortices in the downstream region and then much more complicated vortices appeared. The vortices for Ta = 4000 changed the structure in both through-flow and wall-normal directions in the downstream half of the passage. The flow structure and heat transfer of the conical case were completely different from those of the cylindrical case. It was because of the three factors: the expansion of the flow passage, the rotation radius change in the through-flow direction, and the centrifugally driven through-flow. The last factor is due to the acute angle between the centrifugal and through-flow directions.     

A reappraisal of Taylor–Galerkin algorithm for drying–wetting areas in shallow water computations

Non‐linear shallow water equations are a useful approximation to phenomena such as estuary dynamics, tidal propagation, breaking of a dam, flood waves, etc. Quite frequently they involve propagation over dry beds and drying of wet zones, for which boundary changes. To solve this problem either special techniques such as remeshing and Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian formulations or algorithms initially developed for flows exhibiting shocks have been proposed in past years. The purpose of this paper is to show how classical finite elements formulations, such as Taylor–Galerkin can be applied to solve the problem to wetting–drying areas in a simple yet efficient manner. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE SIMULATION OF SOME MODEL VISCOELASTIC EXTENSIONAL FLOWS

The numerical simulation of three model viscoelastic extensional flows is considered: sink flow, model draw-down and conical section draw-down. A transient finite element scheme with a pressure correction method is employed to analyse the numerical treatment of such problems for Oldroyd- Band Phan-Thien/Tanner constitutive models. Both decoupled and coupled formulations are compared for these highly convective flows and effective mechanisms are proposed for removing numerical oscillations in the temporally developing solution. In pure viscoelastic extensional flow from an initial stress-free state, the maximum stress level attained decreases with increase in material relaxation time. When this is followed by stress relaxation, as in conical section draw-down, increasing the relaxation time inhibits stress decay.     

Spots and turbulent domains in a model of transitional plane Couette flow

A review of the globally subcritical transition to turbulence in shear flows is presented, with an emphasis on the cases of plane and circular Couette flows (pCf and cCf, respectively). A Swift–Hohenberg-like model is next proposed to interpret the behavior of plane Couette flow in the vicinity of its global stability threshold. We present results of numerical simulations supporting this proposal and helping us to raise good questions about the growth and decay of intermittent turbulent domains in this precise context, and more generally about the coexistence of laminar flow and turbulence in other spatio-temporally intermittent flows. PACS 47.27.-i, 47.54.-r, 05.45.-a