European Journal of Mechanics B/Fluids 31 (2012) 158167

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European Journal of Mechanics B/Fluids

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Transient dynamics of the wavy regime in TaylorCouette geometry

Roland Kdr , Corneliu Balan
REOROM Group, Politehnica University of Bucharest, Splaiul Independentei 313, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

article

info

Article history:
Received 12 August 2010
Received in revised form
10 June 2011
Accepted 14 July 2011
Available online 23 July 2011
Keywords:
TaylorCouette flow
Wavy regime
Preferred states

abstract
The paper is concerned with experimental investigations of the TaylorCouette flow between two finite
length large aspect ratio concentric cylinders, with asymmetric end disturbances. The fluid sample is
Newtonian and the working conditions are isothermal. The applied experimental protocol consists of a
constant inner cylinder angular velocity ramp (the outer cylinder is at rest), followed by a period of 40 min
with constant velocity. During this experimental time, the dynamics of the wavy regime is investigated by
means of the average azimuthal amplitude, number of vortices, wave frequency and power spectra time
dependences. The dimensionless ramp rate is chosen above critical rates for quasi-stationary flows used
in similar studies. The results feature transient patterns of unstable wavy vortices that return in time to
the simple Taylor regime or settle for two preferential states within the wavy regime. The investigation
of WVF dynamics is of great importance due to the applications such as TaylorCouette mixing-reaction
devices.
2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The TaylorCouette flow is the motion generated between
two concentric cylinders in relative rotational motion (Fig. 1(a)).
This type of flow exhibits a wide spectrum of hydrodynamic
instabilities in the transition from laminar to turbulent flow, as the
relative angular velocity between the cylinders is increased. Ever
since their discovery by Taylor [1], the TaylorCouette instabilities
are of perpetual interest for understanding the phenomenology
associated to flow stability.
Flow stability between concentric cylinders is determined by
the magnitude of Taylor number (Ta) that can be defined as
Ta = Re Ti =

R 2
2 R 2 3

=
,

(1)

where Re and Ti are the Reynolds and temporal numbers respectively, and result from the dimensionless form of the Cauchy momentum equation ( see [2] and also [3]); is the mass density
of the fluid, R is the radius of the inner cylinder, is the angular velocity of the inner cylinder, is the gap width and is the
dynamic viscosity. In particular, the Re number can be sought as
the ratio between the viscous, 2 /, and the inertial, /R , characteristic time scales. Finite length geometries are characterized

Corresponding address: Institut fr Technische Chemie und Polymerchemie,

Karlsruher Institut fr Technologie, Engesserstr. 18, 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Tel.: +49 15126143555; fax: +49 72160843153.
E-mail address: Roland.Kadar@kit.edu (R. Kdr).
0997-7546/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.euromechflu.2011.07.003

by the aspect and radius ratios: R/R1 and L/ , with R1 and L being
the outer cylinder (stationary) radius and the fluid column length,
respectively. Phenomenologically, flow instability in isothermal
TaylorCouette motion, is due to increase of inertial forces, as the
relative rotation of the cylinders is increased, against viscous forces
(Re number increases). Therefore, at a critical value of the control parameter (i.e. Re number), in order to maintain equilibrium,
the flow reorganizes itself from the basic one dimensional Couette
flow (Fig. 1(b)) to a three dimensional pattern that consists of stationary axisymmetric counter rotating toroidal vortices (Fig. 1(c)
and (d)). These vortical structures called Taylor vortices represent the first instability mode of the TaylorCouette flow (i.e. TVF).
By further increasing the relative rotation of the cylinders, a wide
variety of instability modes can be observed, e.g. see [4]. For the
simple case in which the inner cylinder is rotating and the outer
cylinder is at rest, the main types of vortical structures are:
(i) Taylor, (ii) wavy and, (iii) turbulent Taylor vortices, corresponding visualizations of the modes being presented in Fig. 2. Following TVF, due to excessive increase of the radial outward flow,
the Taylor vortices deform both axially and radially [5], leading to a non-axial symmetric complex flow wavy patternWVF
(wavy vortex flow). From this point onward, the evolution of the
flow can be characterized by the development of the characteristic frequencies of the flow (WVF is characterized by the azimuthal wave frequency, fw ). While the transition from TVF to
WVF is due to a Hopf bifurcation (see [6]), within WVF there
are many bifurcation scenarios that have been observed, such
as Shilnikov, homoclinic and SNIC (Saddlenode on invariant
circle) bifurcations; see [79]. The known wavy flow patterns

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159

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic representation of the concentric cylinders used in the present experiments; (b) Schematic representation of the laminar Couette flow between
concentric cylinders; (c) Schematic representation of the primary instability mode, the Taylor vortex flow (TVF) (d) Experimental visualization (left) and numerical solution
(right; solution obtained with ANSYS Fluent on a 3D periodic model) of TVF for the present investigations.

Fig. 2. Main instability modes observed in the present experiments: Taylor vortices, wavy vortices (wavy modes) and turbulent Taylor vortices. The diagrams represent the
measured torque (T ) and the number of vortices (N), as function of the angular velocity of the inner cylinder ( ).

include modulated wavy vortices (MWV; additional characteristic frequency: fm , the modulation frequency), chaotic wavy vortices (CWV; multiple dominant characteristic frequencies) and
wavy turbulent vortices (WTV; broad frequency spectra), e.g. see
[1013]. With emerging turbulence, CWV, the azimuthal amplitude of the waves diminishes until a Taylor-like axisymmetric
mode is achieved, the turbulent Taylor vortex flow (TTV).
In the past decade, the transitory motions and bifurcations in
the TaylorCouette flow were intensively studied for lower and
higher order transitions, using different imposed dynamics and
boundary conditions, in relation to: (i) modification of WVF due
to rotation of the end plates [14,15], (ii) influence of heating on
the onset of TVF [16], (iii) influences of time harmonic modulation
of the inner cylinder [17,18], (iv) characteristic time scale of the
TVF [19], (v) the influence of counter-rotating outer cylinderthe
so called Spiral mode [20,21], (vi) helical TCPF [22]. With respect
to the time harmonic modulation problem, we note that the lowfrequency limit may be relevant to the problem investigated in this
paper, as complex dynamics arise in that regime; see also [23,24].
The hydrodynamic instabilities associated with transient TVF
and WVF have been investigated by Abshagen et al. [14],

Manneville and Czarny [25] respectively Abshagen and Pfister [26],

in relation to the imperfections generated by the influence of
the so-called Ekman vortices produced at the ends of the inner
cylinder of the finite flow geometry. The authors studied the
transient dynamics at the onset, respectively decay, of the flows
around the critical Reynolds numbers Recr1
= 69 (TVF) and
Recr2
= 384 (WVF), for a wide gap set-up with the radius ratio
of 0.5. One main conclusion of Abshagen and Pfister [26], with
relevance for the present study, is the alteration of the Hopf
bifurcation by the experimental imperfections. A consequence of
this effect is the appearance of spurious effects as the oscillatory
character of the wave amplitude and possible evolution of WVF to
the subharmonic small-jet mode. The phenomena was previously
remarked by Jones [27], who mentioned that end-effects control
the axial wavelength in WVF. For a given setup, the selection of the
axial wavelength and its dynamics for post-critical values of the
Reynolds numbers is also dependent on the applied experimental
protocol, through the magnitude of the input step or ramp
increasing/decreasing time of the inner cylinder velocity, for TVF
see [28].

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1.1. Ramped experimental protocols

In most of the previously mentioned studies, as well as others,
the flow kinematic history is an important factor in studying the
stability of flow between concentric cylinders. Different histories
i.e. paths to access a flow state can change the critical
parameters and lead to different states under identical control
parameters (i.e. Reynolds numbers); see [29] and the comments of
White and Muller [30], Dutcher and Muller [13]. The experimental
ramped input protocols used in the published literature were
recently reviewed by Dutcher and Muller [13] (see Table 1 in
their paper). Most studies typically apply experimental protocols
designed to ensure steady-state conditions before the beginning
of the actual observations. These experimental protocols include
very low ramped input velocity signals followed by long periods
of stabilization at constant velocity. While it is quite clear that
appropriate ramp rates have to be used in order to create
undisturbed flows, there is little emphasis on the influence of high
ramps on subsequent flow dynamics.
For experimental protocols with ramped input signals in
geometries with rotating inner and stationary outer cylinders, one
can define a dimensionless ramp rate dRe/dt, with Re being the
Reynolds number of the inner cylinder as control parameter, by
normalizing the time with a reference time scale of the flow.
Common choices for the dimensionless
time are t = t /( L/),

e.g. see [31,19], and t = t / 2 / the dimensionless time with

2 / the viscous time scale. In this paper we represent data in
terms of the former, as [13] found an equivalence between the
two quantities with respect to the critical ramp rates. The effect
of ramp rate on the critical parameters was considered by Park
et al. [31], Baxter and Andereck [32], Xiao et al. [33] and Dutcher
and Muller [13]. The critical parameters obtained using different
ramp rates were compared to theoretical results of the linear
stability theory. Thus, Xiao et al. [33] found an increase in critical
values at dRe/dt > 10, for a geometry with radius ratio of 0.894
and an aspect ratio of 94; Dutcher and Muller [13] observed the
same tendency for dRe/dt > 1 on a geometry having a radius ratio
of 0.912 and an aspect ratio of 60.7 (i.e. the ratio between the radii if
the inner and the outer cylinder and the ratio between the height
of the column and the gap). However, in most of the works cited
little emphasis is given on the transient phenomena leading to the
stabilized states on interest, and therefore many open questions
still remain.
1.2. Goal of present investigations
In the stated framework, the present work is focused on the
onset and transition from TVF to WVF and the time evolution of
the wavy patterns, at different constant values of the Reynolds
(Taylor) number. The input Re number signal consists of a
dimensionless ramp rate chosen above the critical rate for
quasi-stationary flows used in similar studies. The experimental
method is straightforward and brings to focus the dynamics
immediately after the rotational velocity is fixed. The flow
dynamics is emphasized via the structural characteristics of the
flow, namely the average azimuthal amplitude, number of vortices
in the fluid column and frequency spectra. The experimental
geometry used is a high radius and aspect ratios geometry with
asymmetric boundary conditions. The asymmetric particularity of
our experimental device, and mostly the free surface condition,
is a de facto condition for all rheometer-based TaylorCouette
systems. The imposed asymmetric boundary conditions i.e. the
lack of reflection symmetry about the annulus half-length (L/2)
can play a major role in the subsequent dynamics (e.g. see [3436]
for low aspect ratio geometries). We limit our tests to relatively
low Reynolds numbers, so that no deformation of the free surface

can be observed, and we concentrate our attention on the lower

boundary. As it is later shown, the lower boundary effects seem
to influence mostly the wavy regime dynamics in the parameter
range studied.
The present work is part of an extensive study regarding the
dynamics of the wavy regime subjected to ramped input signals in
isothermal (angular velocity ramp), non-isothermal (temperature
and angular velocity ramps) and weakly elastic polymer flows
(dimensionless ramp rates via polymer relaxation time) [3]. While
the paper does not constitute an exhaustive overview of the
dynamics in steep ramped input signals it elaborates experiments
using protocols not previously investigated and features novel
particularities of the wavy regime.
2. Experimental setup and procedures
The experimental setup consists of an Anton Paar Physica
Rheolab MC-1+ Rheometer, modified by the addition of a
transparent stationary outer cylinder. The working geometry
is sketched in Fig. 1(a), and is characterized by the following
parameters: the radius ratio R/R1 = 0.87 (R = 23.6 mm and R1 =
27 mm) and the aspect ratio L/ = 33.5 (L = 114 mm and =
3.4 mm). The temperature was monitored using a temperature
sensor mounted on the lower end of the outer cylinder, thus
being at distance l from the concentric cylinders. The maximum
observed temperature variation in the range (1.5, +2.5) C
around the operating temperature of 20. The effect of the viscosity
gradient due to the temperature gradient is quantified by the
NahmeGriffith number (Na), [30,37], and is defined as Na =
Br , where Br = (R )2 /k is the Brinkman number (obtained
from the energy equation written in dimensionless form) and
= |(/) (/)| is the sensitivity of the viscosity to
the temperature gradient. While the temperature control error
may seem to be significant, in the present experiments, the
NahmeGriffith number is in the range of Na [2.4 108 , 3.4
106 ] (values computed for the range of investigated; the
water viscosity data used was taken from [38]). Therefore, the
present data is well below the range of Na numbers for which
destabilization was observed in the data of White and Muller [30].
For easier comparison with similar studies Ta, Re, as well as the
reduced Reynolds number [5] defined as = Re/Recr1 1, were
specified whenever appropriate (here Recr1 is the critical value for
the onset of TVF).
The upper-end of the apparatus is opened to a free surface, a
common condition for rheometer based systems. The lower end
of the rotated inner cylinder is followed by a closed zone of fixed
length l = 21 mm (see Fig. 1(a)) and then by a solid nonrotating wall. Thus, for the present configuration, the reflection
symmetry is not valid. Asymmetric boundary conditions have been
studied relatively broadly in the published literature, mainly by
applying at one or both ends a rotating plate, e.g. [3942] or
by forcing an oscillation at one of the ends, e.g. see [43,44]. A
comparison between symmetric and asymmetric end-conditions
TaylorCouette flows with free surface was performed by Toya
et al. [45], Watanabe et al. [46,47] (radius ratio 0.67 and low aspect
ratios).
For flow visualization, water samples (
= 103 Pa s at 20 C)
were mixed with small amounts of reflective flakes (no measurable
influence on the sample viscosity). The annulus was filled with
the mixture and the fluid was allowed to settle until no motion
could be visually observed, before the commencement of tests.
Afterward, the velocity of the inner cylinder was increased quasisteadily up to the desired value. All tests were performed using the
same acceleration (slope) of the ramped input signal, and namely
d /dt = 3.14 102 s2 , in terms of Re, dRe/dt = 2.52 s1 or
dRe/dt = 29.1 in terms of dimensionless ramp rate. The ramp

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161

Fig. 3. Description of experimental procedures: (a) the angular velocity input signals, (b) spacetime plot (Ta = 5859) with the measurement area for azimuthal amplitude,
A = a/2 and (c) typical azimuthal amplitude result over 30 s (Ta = 36 619, Re = 504).

is achieved by a series of small steps in angular velocity of =

0.03 rad/s over time intervals of 1t = 1 s, values arbitrary chosen.
The ramp rate used in the present experiments was chosen based
on preliminary investigations so that the flow thereby generated
would not exhibit initial rapid azimuthal amplitude variations
that would be missed by averaging. After reaching a desired
velocity of the inner cylinder (corresponding to the established
value of the Ta-number), velocity was maintained constant for a
period of up to 2500 s, period which defines the experimental
time (texp
= 40 min), (Fig. 3(a)). Within the experimental time
the measurements were performed over periods of 30 s at fixed
intervals of time namely: tr [0, 30] s, tr [300, 330] s, tr
[600, 630] s, tr [1200, 1230] s, tr [1800, 1830] s and tr
[2400, 2430] s with tr = t tinc being the relative time, t is the
actual time elapsed since the beginning of the experiment and tinc
is the time required to increase the speed up to the desired Ta on
the given ramp. In these time intervals the following parameters
were considered: the azimuthal amplitude, the number of vortices
in the annulus and the azimuthal wave frequency. We obtain the
following ratios between the viscous dissipation time scale and
the observation times: ( 2 /)/30
= 0.4 and ( 2 /)/2500
=
0.005, respectively. The ratio between averaging time and the total
experimental time is 30/texp 103 . The measurements were
performed at Ta in the range of [103 , 105 ] (Re [102 , 103 ],
[0.17, 7.1], [1, 12] rad/s) which corresponds to less than
the first third of the wavy regime as represented in Fig. 2. The
limitation of Ta numbers investigated is mainly due to the video
acquisition frame rate (12 fps) and to avoid the penetration of
major disturbances via the free surface (a visual deformation of
the free surface was observed in our experiments at around Ta
=
3.2 103 (Re
= 1500)).
In the case of the azimuthal amplitude measurements, or axial
oscillation of the vortices, using the notations from Fig. 3, the
quantity measured is the distance a (Fig. 3(b)) whilst the quantity
taken into consideration the actual amplitude is A = a/2.
This amplitude was measured by extracting frames of all the
amplitudes from movies recorded during the 30 s intervals (in
Fig. 3(b) represented as a spatio-temporal diagram). Due to the
non-symmetry of the end effects, the azimuthal amplitude of the
waves is function of the axial z-coordinate within the annulus of

length L. A zone in which the amplitude reaches maximum and

does not vary significantly (within its vicinity) is located in the
lower half of the annulus; see Fig. 3(b) (measurement zone). The
extracted frames were imported into a CAD software, where a
linear dimension under zoomed conditions was assigned to the
amplitude in each frame. A total of about 2500 frames have been
in this way processed. In order to investigate the time-dependent
behavior of the flow, the ratio of average values of A over the 30 s
intervals to the gap was considered (see also [5,33])
n

Aaz :=

Aaz

1 i=1

Ai

(2)
n
where n is the number of amplitude peaks recorded in 30 s.
The ratio between the fluid column of length L and the gap
equals 33.53. Since the height of the Taylor vortex is 1z /2
=
, the flow has the tendency to settle at 34 vortices. However,
due to the presence of the lower-end zone, the 34th vortex is
contained therein, leaving a number of N = 33 vortices for
the TaylorCouette fluid column. This is the reason why the
number of vortices was used instead of the number of vortex pairs,
i.e. cells, using the notations of Koschmieder [48]. The variation of
N with Re is of importance for applications such as TaylorCouette
mixers/polymerization reactors, where the mixing model implies
the existence of N serially connected stirred tanks, [49,50].
Spatio-temporal diagrams were constructed by extracting a
vertical pixel line from each frame and the Fourier-transform
analysis of the reflected light intensity was performed. This
technique is standard for the stability analysis in various flow
systems, e.g. see [51,13,52]. In addition, the end zones were
compared to the measurement zone in terms of frequency spectra
in order to emphasize the effect of the boundary effects. The
azimuthal wave frequency was also computed as fw = n/1t,
where n is the number of oscillations in the 1t = 30 s intervals.

3. Results and discussion

In this section, we present the experimental results structured
as follows. First, we analyze the onset of instabilities and the
influence of end-effects. Thereafter, the transient behavior during
the experimental time is discussed. The azimuthal amplitude,
number of vortices and frequency spectra are therein analyzed.

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Fig. 4. Spacetime plot showing the propagation of instabilities in the fluid column for tr [0, . . . , 30] s: (a) Ta = 2476, the fluid exhibits merging/splitting of vortices
marking the transition to WVF; (b) Ta = 2871, there is no TVF prior to the filling of the column with oscillatory vortices and a local state selection is achieved in shorter time.

Fig. 5. The time dependent character of the flow patterns in the range of Taylor numbers investigated, as function of the relative time (tr ). Starred critical Ta refers to the first
occurrence of a certain regime at tr = 0 s whereas the unstarred ones for stationary flows. The small gray rectangles represent the 30 s measurement periods. The pictorial
sequence represented at the top corresponds to Ta = 2000 (principal representation); the two lower positioned pictures correspond Tacr1 = 1800 (TVF) and Ta = 2.1 104
(WVF).

3.1. Onset and end-effects

In a finite TaylorCouette geometry, transition from the laminar
Couette flow to the TVF is first marked by the appearance of endeffects within the gap between the cylinders. As the flow draws
close to the first critical point, the disturbances generated by the
end vortices penetrate into the fluid column. The asymmetric
end-conditions generate asymmetric end-effects which propagate

toward the interior of the annulus triggering the first instability

mode, TVF, Fig. 4. The obtained Taylor critical number for the
occurrence of Taylor vortices in the whole annulus is Tacr = 1800
(i.e. Recr = 112 at cr = 1.4 rad/s), in good accordance with the
linear stability theory [5355]. The good correspondence with the
theoretical results is due to the low Na numbers obtained in these
types of flows. For our geometry, the TVF regime was reached after
tr = 29 s at constant Tacr1 . For Ta = 2476, tr = 0 s (Fig. 4(a))

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163

Fig. 6. Comparison between experimental and numerical critical points (tr = 0). The numerical values are obtained from the torque of the inner cylinder while the
experimental points are based on visualizations.

Fig. 7. Power spectral analysis for end effects compared to the measurement area (Fig. 3), for Ta = 23 436, tr = 300, . . . , 330 s. Power density exhibits broader spectra due
to the free surface condition and less intensity due to the illuminating light gradient. Here, f represents the frequency corresponding to the rotational speed of the inner
cylinder and fw the azimuthal wave frequency.

after a brief time in which the vortices fill the column, there is also
a period characterized by TVF followed by a regime characterized
by unstable changes in the number of vortices, successive vortex
splitting/merging, that determines the appearance/disappearance
of a pair of vortices marking the transition to WVF. With increasing
Ta the time necessary for the development of Taylor regime
decreases, e.g. at Ta = 2109 the time elapsed being tr = 11 s. In
addition, the splitting/merging of vortices becomes scarce, and the
flow settles easily from LCF to WVF (Fig. 4). For Ta = 2871, tr = 0 s
(Fig. 4(b)) there was no TVF observed in-between column filling
and WVF, a local state selection toward WVF being achieved faster.
For Ta = 2109, however, at about tr 600 s, the flow changed to a
WVF characterized by small azimuthal amplitude and a number of
wave crests per circumference m = 1. Furthermore, at tr 2300 s
the azimuthal amplitude A decreased to zero, settling again the TVF
regime. In the interval Ta (3285, 4463) TVF regime is installed
almost instantaneously in the whole gap; however, after a finite
elapsed time (the onset time is decreasing with increasing velocity)
the pattern became WVF, which is maintained until the end of
the experimental period; see Fig. 5. At Ta > 4463 the WVF is
achieved immediately at the end of the ramp and is stable during
the experimental time.
Owing to the steep ramp protocol, duplicate critical values of
the Taylor number associated with TVF and WVF are obtained:
overshooted values due to the unstable conditions generated by

Fig. 8. Experimental results of average azimuthal amplitude divided by the gap (2)
and a scaling based on the Landau amplitude equation; see [56,15].

the ramp rate (tr = 0) and stabilized values (tr texp ). For
the onset of TVF, Tacr1 = 1800 is a first critical value obtained

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Fig. 9. 3D plot of average azimuthal amplitude results as function of the angular velocity (Taylor number) and time. Ai , i = 1, . . . , 3 are preferential values/states of the
average azimuthal amplitude.

for tr texp and Tacr1 = 3285 for tr = 0. In the case of

WVF, at Tacr2 = 4463 for tr = 0, however the lowest Ta for
occurrence of WVF, Ta = 2019 ultimately ended in TVF at tr
texp . Ta = 2476 is the lowest point with WVF at tr texp .
The dimensionless ramp rate used here is in the range of the data
considered by Dutcher and Muller [13] for Recr1 (Xiao et al. [33]
considered Recr2 however, the dimensionless ramp rate considered
is in the range dRe/dt [0.1123, 2.247]). By computing the
reduced Reynolds number, , one obtains the analogous values for
dRe/dt = 20: = 0.26 in this case and = 0.28 for Dutcher and
Muller [13] (approximative fitting; for similitude Recr1 was counted
from the appearance of a third vortex). The critical parameters
for primary and secondary transition, Tacr1 and Tacr2 have also
been numerically computed using the ANSYS FLUENT code on a
3D periodic model of the experimental device (for more details,
see [3]). Based on the torque variation during transition, one can
see a fairly good correspondence between the experimental and
numerical results; see Fig. 6.
By analyzing spacetime plots one can learn the effect of
asymmetric boundary conditions on the wavy regime. Thus, it can
be seen that at the upper boundary the end vortices exhibit almost
zero azimuthal amplitude because of relatively weaker coupling
between the axial and azimuthal phase variables than in the
bulk, [44]. Toward the bulk of the column the azimuthal amplitude
is increasing, with a maximum in the lower part followed by a small
decrease toward the lower end. The power spectra at Ta = 23 436,
for the end and azimuthal measurement zones is shown in Fig. 7.
The diagram shows qualitatively similar spectra for zones 2 and 3.
As expected, in zone 1, at the upper end, the signal is somewhat
noisier (high frequencies) due to the free surface end condition.
One observes that from the phase dynamics point of view, the
azimuthal amplitude distribution along the axis of the cylinders is
similar to results obtained using forced end-disturbances at one of
the end-zones. By applying a forced modulation on one of the ends
in TVF mode, Wu and Andereck [43] found an azimuthal amplitude
variation in the axial direction from zero to a maximum at the
modulated end. While applying a similar protocol on a WVF mode,
Wu and Andereck [44] found an azimuthal amplitude varying from
a very low value to a maximum at the modulated end, for weak
coupling between azimuthal and axial phase variables.
The average azimuthal amplitude Aaz is shown in Fig. 8 as
function of the Ta-number. The WVF is a regime characterized by

a non-monotonic variation of the azimuthal amplitude with Tanumber, from zero (TVF) to zero (TTV), reaching a maximum at a
certain value of -parameter, which is dependent of the applied
protocol. The maximum value for the azimuthal amplitude was
found by Bust et al. [57] to be around = 1, while Wereley and
Lueptow [5] found a maximum at < 1, this difference being
attributed to experimental protocols by Wereley and Lueptow [5].
In our case, as the input ramp is steeper than in the two previously
mentioned studies, it is expected that the maximum value of
azimuthal amplitude to be shifted to higher values of Ta-number.
In our data, for tr > 300 s, the maximum of amplitude is found
around Ta = 14 000, value which corresponds to
= 1.7.
It is important to mention that for Ta < 6000, the measured
azimuthal amplitude is proportional to the square root of , which
is consistent with the scaling obtained from the Landau amplitude
equation; see [26].
3.2. Time dependences
In order to characterize the time dependence of the flow within
the wavy regime, the average azimuthal amplitude, the number of
vortices and the azimuthal wave frequency were considered in the
experimental time. The results concerning these measurements
are presented in Figs. 810. An overview of the average azimuthal
amplitude as function of both Ta and time can be found in
Fig. 10. The measurements at Ta = 2476 (Re = 131) , Ta =
2871 (Re = 141) and even Ta = 5859 (Re = 202) show
WVF regimes that decrease in amplitude over time. Based on
the previous findings, they can be considered wavy modes that
return to TVF (regime with zero azimuthal amplitude, A1 = 0).
The dynamics of WVF and the selection of preferred states is
strongly dependent upon the initial and boundary conditions,
represented by: (i) the particular geometry of the setup, (ii)
the applied experimental protocol, in particular the slope of the
increasing/decreasing ramp of the velocity [58,59]. The present
experimental results of the amplitude evolution evidence the
unstable character of WVF, most probably generated by the same
mechanism described by Abshagen and Pfister [26]; see also the
observation from page 2 in [21]: in the majority of publications
WVF solution branch has to be seen to return to the TVF branch
or to undergo higher order bifurcation, at larger driving. The

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165

Fig. 10. Experimental results of the number of vortices (N) and azimuthal wave frequency (fw ): (a) number of vortices as function of angular velocity (Ta), (b) azimuthal
wave frequency as function of angular velocity (Ta) for the time intervals considered; (c) number of vortices as function of time and (d) azimuthal wave frequency as function
of time, for the range of Ta investigated.

measurements at Ta = 3296 (Re = 151), Ta = 9155 (Re =

252), Ta = 13 183 (Re = 303) and Ta = 17 953 (Re = 353)
show a settlement around an average azimuthal amplitude of A2 =
0.35, within the experimental time. For Ta = 23 436 (Re =
403), Ta = 29 662 (Re = 454), Ta = 36 619 (Re = 504) and
Ta = 71 774 (Re = 706) the average azimuthal settles around the
value of A3 = 0.47. These three characteristic average amplitude
values were used to identify preferred states of the flow: preferred
state A1 (being the TVF) and states A2 , A3 two characteristic values
associated to WVF (see Fig. 10). Therefore, there are ranges of Ta
for which the preferred state is the same rather than preferential
states for each Ta studied. The term preferred state, as implied by
our experiments, is to be considered in the sense of a preferential
value as used by Coles [29]. The existence of a discrete number of
preferential states could indicate the presence of attractors in the
flow dynamics. Thus, according to its kinematic history (i.e. initial
values of the problem) the flow will chose its correspondent out of
the attracting set; see [60].
The variation of azimuthal amplitude (see Fig. 8) determines the
change in number of vortices N, as is shown in Fig. 10(a) and (c).

The time variation of discrete number N, for a given Re number

reveals a decreasing trend within most tests, as function of the
relative time, tr . In general, this decrease took place in the time
range of tr [30, 300] s. Unstable regimes with high N at tr 0
could be reached followed, in time, by a decrease of up to 4 pairs
of vortices (e.g. Ta = 29 662). Stable configurations were found for
small Ta but also for higher Ta (Ta = 61 886 and Ta = 82 393, N =
27 and N = 25 respectively). Related to Ta-numbers that were
attracted to the first preferred state (A1 = 0), the results confirm
the previous ones: Ta = 2476, Ta = 2871 and Ta = 5859 settle
for the same value of the number of vortices, N = 33, which
was found to correspond to Tacr1 . For the case of the Ta numbers
that tend to the second preferred state (A2 ), there is a higher data
scattering, (similar in pattern with the measurements of average
azimuthal amplitude): Ta = 3296 goes for N = 31, Ta = 9155
for N = 29, and Ta = 13 183 and Ta = 17 953 both settle for
N = 27. And finally, for the case of the Ta-numbers that tend to the
third preferred state (A3 ) the observations disclose the following:
Ta = 23 436 and Ta = 29 662 settle for N = 25, Ta = 36 619 for
N = 27 and Ta = 71 774 for N = 23. Within the results obtained,

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R. Kdr, C. Balan / European Journal of Mechanics B/Fluids 31 (2012) 158167

Fig. 11. Translation of vortices toward the lower-end boundary that allows the increase of azimuthal amplitude without modifying the number of vortices.

there is also evidence to suggest the downward translation of the

vortices (given the nature of the lower-end condition, Fig. 1(a)) as
a possible mechanism for azimuthal amplitude variation, Fig. 11.
In the second case, the amplitude can vary independent of N, thus
contributing to the complex dynamics observed.
Regarding the characteristic frequencies, we emphasize the
variation of the azimuthal wave frequency, fw ; see Fig. 10(b)
and (d) for the Ta number and time dependences. The azimuthal
wave frequency is increasing with Ta-number for all observation
intervals, meaning that the increase in the number of wave crests
outruns the increase in the angular velocity of the vortices. As
function of time, the azimuthal wave frequency is maintained
constant for the most angular velocities studied. Moreover, the
measurements evidence three distinguishable groups. The first one
is formed by Ta = 2476, Ta = 2871 and Ta = 2396. The second
group contains Ta = 13 183, Ta = 23 436, Ta = 29 662, Ta =
36 619, Ta = 44 309, Ta = 118 646 and the third corresponds
to Ta = 71 774, Ta = 93 745, Ta = 61 886, Ta = 82 329
and Ta = 105 829. This grouping is slightly different from what
constitutes the previously defined preferred states, and may well
be an indication of the final outcome of the cases studied, in terms
of preferential average azimuthal amplitude for t . The Ta
for which fw is not constant in time, Ta = 23 436, Ta = 36 619,
Ta = 44 309, Ta = 71 774 and Ta = 82 393 are due to a change
in the number of waves per circumference (m). In addition to fw ,
with increasing Ta low modulation frequencies could be identified
in the frequency spectra.
4. Final remarks
In this paper, the complex dynamics of the wavy Taylor regime
under a steep ramp input was considered in a TaylorCouette
apparatus with asymmetric end-effects. During the experimental
time of 40 min (Ta = ct .), the flow was characterized using
the average azimuthal amplitude, number of vortices, azimuthal
wave frequency and power spectra. The results show unstable
behaviors that lead to overshooting phenomena. Thus, transitions
from TVF to WVF and then back to TVF were observed in the
vicinity of Tacr1 . For higher Ta, within the experimental time
limits, the overshooting dynamics exhibits a complex behavior,
showing tendency toward preferential values of average azimuthal
amplitude. Overall, three preferential values were identified: A1 =
0 (TVF), A2 and A3 (A2 < A3 ). The number of vortices was found
to decrease in time for most Ta investigated. Usually, the decrease
occurred at the beginning of experimental time and no later than
tr = 1200s. A large decrease in the number of vortices was related
to significant increase in azimuthal amplitude. The azimuthal wave
frequency remained constant throughout experimental time, with
exceptions in the cases where a modification in the number of
waves per circumference occurred. This process consists in the
splitting of a high amplitude wave into two small amplitude
waves. The changes in the number of vortices, azimuthal wave
frequency and the development of low frequency components in
the spectra could be mechanisms by which the flow tends toward

its preferred amplitude. The presence of length l between the

fluid column and the stationary solid lower boundary seems to
be one of the important factors in the development of the flow
toward its preferred states. The investigated transition from TVF
to WVF, and the dynamics within the WVF regime, evidence the
possible existence of some discrete preferred stationary states. This
pattern of the dynamics evolution might be of great importance
for practical applications, in particular for establishing the working
conditions and reaction control in TaylorCouette reactors.
Acknowledgments
Roland Kdr acknowledges the financial support of CNCSIS
BD grant no. 349 for doctoral studies. The experiments have been
performed at the BIOINGTEH platform, Field-Matter Interaction
laboratory, Politehnica University of Bucharest.
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