41

THE STABILITY OF VISCOUS FLUID FLOW BETWEEN

ROTATING CYLINDERS
BY S. GOLDSTEIN, P H . D . , St John's College

[Received 7 October, read 23 November 1936]

1. INTRODUCTION
This paper contains a mathematical investigation, by the method of small
oscillations, of the stability of the flow of an incompressible viscous fluid under the
influence of a pressure gradient parallel to the axis along a narrow annular space
between two infinitely long coaxial rotating cylinders, the disturbance being
assumed symmetrical about the axis and periodic along it. When there is no flow
parallel to the axis, the problem has been fully considered, both mathematically
and experimentally, by G. I. Taylor*; the critical disturbance, which neither
increases nor decreases with the time, is then a steady motion; and for a given
ratio of the angular velocities of the outer and inner cylinders and a given wave-
length of the disturbance along the axis it is possible to calculate the angular
velocity for which instability first occurs. The value of this wave-length which
makes the angular velocity a minimum may then be found. When there is flow
parallel to the axis, no steady disturbance is possible; for any ratio of the angular
velocities of the outer and inner cylinders, any given Reynolds number of the
flow parallel to the axis, and any given wave-length along the axis it is possible
to calculate the angular velocity for which instability first occurs and the time
period of the critical flow; and, as in the case of no flow parallel to the axis, the
wave-length may be found which makes the angular velocity a minimum.
Numerical results have so far been worked out for small Reynolds numbers of
the flow with particular reference to the case in which the outer cylinder is
stationary.

2. THE EQUATIONS OF MOTION AND THE UNDISTTJKBED FLOW

Consider the motion of viscous incompressible fluid, of density p and kine-
matic viscosity v, between two infinitely long coaxial circular cylinders, of radii
a and a + d, where d/a is small. Let r, 6, z be cylindrical polar coordinates, r being
the distance of a point from the axis, z its distance from a fixed plane perpendicular
to the axis, and 6 the azimuthal angle. Let p be the pressure, Q the potential of
* Phil. Trans. A, 223 (1923), 289-343.
42 S. GOLDSTEIN
the external forces, and u, v, w the components of the fluid velocity in the direc-
tions of r, 6 and z increasing, respectively. Then the equations of motion are
du du v du du v2 Id u 2 dv~\
1
dt' '" dz r2 r2 ddj
dv dv vdv dv uv 11 3 [~™ v 2 du~\
U
di* c~r' hrd~d+W dz r pr de \_ r2 r2d9j
dw dw v dw dw 1 ; (1)
U {
"37^' dr~ r dO 'dt ~}l ~z
where t is the time and

The equation of continuity is

du u \dv dw
(2)
dr r r dd dz
Let the inner cylinder be rotating with angular velocity w and the outer one with
angular velocity aco, in the direction of 6 increasing. The boundary conditions
are then „ n ,
= == =
u u, w? = u , V CLCL} a t r (i, i
7 I (3)
M = 0, w> = 0, v=a.(a + d)w &t r = a + d. }
In the steady flow (4)
v = V=Ar+Blr, (5)

where
2ad + d2
(6)
B=

and (7)

where (8)

and is constant, and /J. is the viscosity. (There is also a variation of pressure across
the annulus on account of the centrifugal action.)
If we write r=a +y (9)
and treat dja and yja as small, we find that, approximately,

(10)
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 43

and W=~y(d-y). (11)

If P is positive, W is negative, and we define the Reynolds number of the flow as

where W is the average value of W across the annulus.

3. THE EQUATIONS FOB THE DISTURBANCE

We now assume that the steady flow suffers a small disturbance symmetrical
about the axis, and write
u = u', v=V + v', w=W + w', (13)
where u', v', and w' are independent of 6, and their squares are to be neglected.
Then the pressure must also remain independent of 6. Further, u', v', w' must
vanish at y = 0 and y = d. Consequently
du' 3V u Idu'

and we simphfy the equations by neglecting r~x du'jdy and u'/r2 compared with
dhi'/dy1 in the equations of motion, with similar approximations for v' and w',
and also u'/r compared with du'jdy in the equation of continuity. The equations
then become

(15)
drf_ dW Id /dho' dhu'\
dt dy \ dy* dz2 /
dv^_ 3 M / _
dy dz
We eliminate p +pQ by differentiating the first equation with respect to z and the
third with respect to y, and subtracting. Then, according to the usual theory of
small oscillations, we take u', v', w' to vary as eioi. We also assume that u', v', w'
may be analysed into constituents periodic along the axis, and, the equations
being linear, we earry through the calculations with one constituent. We there-
fore put u>

where A is real. ultv1,w1 are, in general, complex, and in the end only the real
parts oft*', v', w' are to be retained. For stability the imaginary part of a must be
44 S. G O L D S T E I N

positive; for instability it must be negative. The critical flow is that for which a
is real, and the disturbance is a wave, travelling parallel to the axis.
When we eliminate p +pQ by cross-differentiation between the first and third
of equations (15), and make the substitutions (16), we obtain a third order differ-
ential equation with y as independent variable. The second of equations (15)
similarly gives a second order differential equation, and the last of (15) a first
order equation. These three equations, together with the six boundary con-
ditions, u' = v' = w' = 0 at y = 0 and y=d, define a problem in characteristic values;
i.e. the equations can be satisfied only when a certain equation, containing R,
a>, a, A and a, is satisfied. The equation is complex, and ordinarily would give, for
given R, a, A and w, the real and imaginary parts of a. If the imaginary part of a
is put equal to zero in this equation, then the equation will give the real part of a
and one of R, a, A and a>. The plan of the following investigation is to take R, a
and A as known, and find en. The assumption is that, for larger values of CJ, the
imaginary part of a would be negative and theflowunstable, and for smaller values
of <n, the imaginary part of a would be positive, and the flow stable. Hence the
value of at thus found will give the critical speed of rotation for the R, a and A
chosen. Then A is varied, and a search is made for the value of A giving the lowest
value of <o. This gives the angular velocity for which one particular wave just
begins to increase, and is the lowest velocity for which instability of this kind
would be possible for the chosen R and a. If we take the corresponding values of
a and A, then aj2ir gives the frequency, and 2TT/A the wave-length, of the critical
flow.
When we eliminate p+pQ, and make the substitutions (16) in equations (15),
these equations become

dy \oy v v
2 d
-ix(—
\dy2
-X ----w)u
v v j U l + —-v
v rVl+
--lu
vdy\Ul —\
dyj' ^
2
Id ia iXnr\ 2A
5—,-A2 W iv ! = — ux,
\oy" v v ] v

dy

Now put K = 3 , £ = Kt/ = ^ p , so that 5- =/c 57;; (18)

d a ay cl,
4, = *=™, A* + ^ = A", <£' = - , so that f i ^ +4 ; (19)
K 77 V K K*l>

D; (20)
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 45
r=l-a; (21)
XP „ 6<£ „
(22)
2 J til//C* 7T3

where (23)

Then, approximately,

(24)

and in place of (17) we may write (using (11))

(25)

Thus u^^^l^-r-iMW-^. (26)

and, after a slight simplification, the first of equations (25) becomes

-T-^v1. (27)

If we now eliminate ut from (27) and the second of equations (25), we find the
following equation for vl:

(28)
46 S. GOLDSTEIN

From the second of equations (25) and from (26) we see that, in terms of vx only,
the boundary conditions vx = 0, ux=0, wx = 0 at £ = 0 and £ = n become

at £ = 0 and £ = n.
4. THE SOLUTION BY FOTTRIEB SERIES
We now suppose vx and its derivatives expanded in Fourier series for values
of £ between 0 and TT. If any function/(£) is expanded in a cosine series and its
derivative / ' (£) in a sine series, the coefficients in each case being found by the
usual rule, then the coefficients in the second series can be related to those in the
first by a partial integration. The same is true if /(£) is expanded in a sine series
and/' (£) in a cosine series. Thus, if

(30)
then

and if
« 1 I

(31J
then /'(£) = :
u u /(O)-(-l)"/W
where cn = nbn-J \ ', (32)

(We shall use an,bn, cn later with different and more precise meanings. They never
occur again with the meanings ascribed to them above.)
Since vx vanishes at £ = 0 and £ = TT, its expansion in a sine-series will be valid
in the closed interval (0, TT). If we further use the second of equations (29), we
may write
n (33a)
n=l
°°

(336)
»4 n=l
d3v °° (33c)
—!=-5>
at n=i (33d)
at (33 e)
n=i
°° "
/ = K + S (^a,,-^) cos n£+ S (»5an - c2) cosTC£,(33/)
at, n=l,nodd n=2, neven
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 47
«<? (O)-u'f (n)
where c, = c, = - (33^)

(the index indicating that the fourth derivative is to be taken), and

-JY£=— 2 ( — 2 ( . (33A)
"6 n=l,nodd n=2,neven
Note also that, since both v and its second derivative vanish at £ = 0 and £ = TT,
are is 0 («~8).
The first two of the boundary conditions (29) are then satisfied. The third
gives the equations

2 (n3an + <n4'*an) = 0, S ( - )• (n*an + n+'>an) = 0; (34)

n=l n=l
and therefore
(35)
n=l,nodd n=2,neven
We have now to satisfy the differential equation (28) for v1. To do this we first
substitute the series for v1 and its derivatives into (28). We then use the following
expansions: y &
= 2 j3mjnsinn£ (0 =
where &-..„ = 0 (n — m even, TI # m),
(36)
(n = m),
(n — m odd);
772 ( n 2 - m 2 ) 2

- 0 cos ml = 2 ym>n s i n w^ (0
71=1

where _ {n — m even,
Ym n 2 2 (37)
- ~n -m
_ 1 (n = m),
~2»
= 0
(n — m odd);

£(£-7r)sinm£= 2 8m sinwj (0< £<TT),

n=l

where (n — m even,
(38)

(n = m),
= 0 (n — m odd);
48 S. GOLDSTEIN

n=l

192nm(n2
where (n — tn even, n # m),
(39)

=0 — m odd);

- £ ) cos w£ = sin n£

where d_ (n — wi even,
(40)

=0 (n — m odd).

Having substituted the series for vl and its derivatives into (28), and used these
expansions, we invert the order of summation in the repeated summations, and
hence obtain the equation
(41)
n=\
where

f •)
m=l

-4»Jf
m=l

mamdm>n-DC<l>an
m=l m=l

(42)

and we take the term nc1 or nc2 according as n is odd or even. Hence

(43)

where the dash indicates that the term for which m = n is to be omitted; and
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 49

Pn = (n« + f 2 ) 2 (n» + <f>2) - 2» Jf (n2 + ^ 2 ) (rc2 + f 2 )

+ 2iM (2n2 + <j>'2 + <f>2) - 2iM (n* + <f>2) - 8iMn2

= (n2 + <f>'2)2 (n2 + $*) + DC<f> (1 - \r) - i ^ M (n* + ^ 2

O

'2) (n2-<f>2) - 8iMn2-^

7b

(44)

When n-m is odd /„,,„= - (45)

and when n — m is even

= 2iM (m2 + ^2) (m2 + f 2 ) 8m,n + 4»Jf (2m
2
)

F
(n«-

(46)
(n2 — m 2
The equation (43) holds for all positive integral values of n, and, together with the
equations (35), obtained from the third boundary condition (u>1 = 0), gives an
infinite set of linear homogeneous equations in clt c2 and the an (a^,^,^, etc.).
The elimination of cx, c2 and the an gives an equation in the form of the vanishing of
an infinite determinant. This equation would give us values of <f>'2 when <f>,M,T and
DC are known; that is, values of a&2\v when values of Ad, R, a. and DC are known.

= - E<f>, say, (47)

where from (18)

(6)
(48)

approximately, if a is not nearly equal to 1.

PSP XXXIII, I
50 S. GOLDSTEIN
The values of a are in general complex, and if we assume that for the critical
flow the imaginary part of a vanishes, we have a complex equation in which the
real and imaginary parts must be separately satisfied, and which, for given values
of .ft, a and <f>, will yield values of E and odP/v. The least root of E is required, and
we must search for the value of <f>, or of M, which makes this root a minimum. We
thus find the values of E, ad2jv and Xd for the flow which just becomes unstable for
the smallest value of co. For i? = 0 the problem has been solved by Taylor*, and
if we begin our calculations with small values of R, Taylor's results give some
indication of the values of E, ad2jv and <f> to be expected.

5. MANIPULATION OF THE EQUATIONS (35) AND (43)

This section is concerned with manipulation of the infinite determinant
whose vanishing gives the values of E and of ad2/v (supposed real), so as to improve
its convergence. The manipulation is actually carried out on the equations (43)
and (35), by substitutions for the unknowns in these equations, etc. Approxima-
tion follows this manipulation. The approximation is not that used either by
Taylor or by Jeffreys; it is a little more drastic.
We now, therefore, transform the equations (43) and (35) so as to obtain the
equation resulting from the elimination of cx, c2 and the an in a form as suitable
as possible for solution. We first put

and -nP'nan = bn. }

Then, from (43), ^ = - nP'nan - £ ' mgm<nam +

n i (c2)
; (50)
\C2
and the equations (35), obtained from a boundary condition, become

n=l,HOdd -*?i n=2,neven

Now put bn = - Cj 4- en (n odd)
= -c2 + en (n even). (52)
Then, from (51),
- n2 + *'2
2 57 i 2
n = l,nodd r
n n=l,nodd r
n \I ,-n\
,£ + £ r
°2 2J pi ' ZJ pi
n=2,neven •* n n=2, ncven •* n
* Phil. Trans. A, 223 (1922), 289-343. See also Dean, Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 121 (1928),
405-10; Faxen, Arkiv for Mat. Astr. och Fysik, A, 21 (1929), Xo. 26 (for a discussion of
convergence); and Jeffreys, Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 118 (1928), 195-208 (for some mathematic-
ally similar problems).
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 51
and, from (50),
«»-Ci S' %l-c2 £' % r " + i ; ' % - ! 2 ' = 0. (54)
m=l,modd -* m m=2,meven-* m m=l *m
Before proceeding to a closer study of these equations, we separate out the real
and imaginary parts of P'n and gmn on the assumption that a is real, and we
express P'n and gmn explicitly in terms of (i) quantities whose values may be
supposed known, namely R and T = (1 —a), (ii) the quantity </> = MITT, to which
arbitrary values must be assigned before beginning a calculation, and (iii) the
quantities E and ad2/v, which are to be found. For these purposes we write
M = N<f>, where N^SRj-n*, (55)
and, for the present, we use N instead of R\ we also write
DC<\>=-E$>, (56)
where E is given in equation (48), and
i£, where £ = 4 = ^ , (57)

so that the frequency is nv^j2d2, and E and f are the unknowns. Then, from (44),

P. - n'P; - <»• + ^>)> - B? (1 - Jr) - (' («• + 4') + !* Xtf (n> + 4>)

(58)

From (45) and (49), when n — m is odd,

8
(59)

and from (46) and (49), when % —m is even,

(M 2 -TO 2 ) 2 (n 2 -m 2 ) 2

]. (60)

Now return to the equations (53) and (54), and write

£ p7—=Fl, £ p7—=F2. ( C1 )
r r
7i= 1,71 odd n n= 2,n even n

1 », tt2 + f 2 1 -, W2 + f 2 _„
Ll
'p>~ 2i p ^ ffm,n — - m> ~p~ 2J p~i »»«,« — •" m- V ° ~ /
•» »« 7 i = l , n o d d •* n •'7(1 n = 2 , n e v e n •* n
4-2
52 S. GOLDSTEIN

Then (53) and (54) may be written

n=l,nodd •*
•* nn

(63)
n=2,»even •* n

^1/ ujn>n I - V' ytntn X"" _

m= 1,modd •* m m— 2,meven •* m m—X

Substitutions from the last of equations (63) into the first two, and inversion of
the order of summation in the repeated summations, give

i- S A » » m
m=l,modd J m=2,meven m=l ,„.,
j.j (o4)
m=l,modd m=l '

6. THE PROCESS OF APPROXIMATION

When a= 1, T = 0 and gm>n = 0 whenre—m is odd, Lm = 0 when m is even and
jym = 0 when m is odd. The equations then fall into two sets. In the first, c2 = 0
and en = 0 when n is even: the second of equations (63) is satisfied identically,
and the third becomes
«m= S' % ^ - e J fa odd). (65a)
m = 1,771 odd •* m

In the second set, cx = 0 and era = 0 whenreis odd: the first of equations (63) is
satisfied identically, and the third becomes

«„= S' %^(c2-ej (neven). (656)

m—2, meven •* m
When T is not zero the terms which contain gmn when n —TOis odd occur in a
similar way here and when N is zero. In the latter case Taylor found that for a
certain range of values of a, including the value a = 0 with which we shall be most
concerned, the coefficients which correspond to those denoted here by gmiJP'm
(n — m odd) could be omitted for afirstapproximation, the result being afterwards
corrected to allow for their inclusion, and the correction being of the order of 1 %.
For a first approximation when T is not zero we shall therefore neglect gmn/P'm
(n — m odd), and find a correction later. When this approximation is made, the
last of equations (63) has the form (65a) or (656) according as n is odd or even;
and the equations (63) may then be divided into pairs, the first of (63) and (65a),
involving cx and en when n is odd, and the second of (63) and (656), involving c2
and en when n is even. Hence either the equation for E and f comes from elimin-
ating clt e1, c3, e5, etc., from the first pair, and then c2 = 0, e2 = e4 = e6 = ... = 0; or
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 53
the equation for E and £ comes from eliminating c2, e2, e4, e6, ... from the second
pair, and then cx = 0, e± = e3 = e6 =... = 0. In other words, the complete equation
for E and $ splits up into two others, and to obtain all the values of E and £ we
should have to consider both. But we require only the least root for E, and
Taylor's work shows that to obtain this we need consider only thefirstalternative,
mwMch
C2 = 0, e2 = €4 = e 6 =... = 0. (66)
Then we must take thefirstof equations (63) and the equation (65c) into account,
and the first of equations (64) becomes

- 5 I^\+ S Lmem = 0. (67)

rn=l, modd J m=l,modd
Our next approximation is to neglect all gmiJP'm when n — m is even, except when
m = 1. The effect of this approximation can also be tested later. With this approxi-
mation, it follows from (65 a) that ex = 0. (It may be repeated that the dash used
in conjunction with the sign of summation means'that the term for which m = n
is to be omitted.) We also have L3 = L5 = L7 =... = 0, and (67) gives
JFi-Z^O. (68)

-pr-- (69)
When n is large, we find from (58) that, approximately,

n n
"n
2
i' 1 2c
(71)
P'n ~n''
" 1 7T 2
Also

Hence F, =

(73)

and the general term in the last summation is O (n~~*) for large values of n. Again,
when n is large, we find from (60) that for large odd values of n,

p 7 - 9l.n ~ -i . (75)
54 S. GOLDSTEIN

approximately, so that

^J -pi
n=3,nodd -* n

V \t±2n }
n=3,7todd I -^n » )
6
and the general term in the summation is again 0 (w~ ) for large values of n.
We now approximate further by neglecting the infinite sums in (73) and (76);
and the equation F1 — L1 = O then gives

-1) [ 1 6 ^ ( l + f ) 8 i V ^ ] A

1 +
772/8-1-(T74/96-1)(2^ + ^ _ ^ V ^ ) ~ '
where (from (58))

}] (79)
Note also that the first of equations (64) may be written
l + ^ + i^-(n*l96-l)[16iN<f,(l + ^)-8N<f,i]-K
1+
7T2/Sl-(7T*/96-l)(2^ + ii-^N^) +G ~ ' (
'

where #= S p , gi.w 1 — , 81
n=3,nodd
3 d d l -^n n
)

n=3,nodd K r n n- 71*
CO

- S K-f S V ^ W (82)
t/ c
n=3,nodd l»=2, neven i»=l
I t is this form that we shall use to find the correction.

7. NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS
We now turn to the solution of the approximate equation (78), and begin
with the case already solved by Taylor, namely N = 0. Then we know that
the least value of E, which is what we require, is associated with values of <j>
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 55
in the neighbourhood of 1. (Taylor, loc. cit. pp. 310, 317.) We solve (78) for
0 = 0-8, 0-9, 1-0, 1-1, and 1-2. Before proceeding, we put
S=\-\T = \(1 + O.), (83)

in order to save writing. Then when N = 0 and 0 = 0-8,

P'x = 4-41094 - 0-64J&! - l-64f2 + 5-3792^
and (78) becomes
4-41094 - 0-64#s - l-64£2 + 5-3792if + • 1-64 +if
0-21491-0-01468^ '
with the solution f = 0, Es<f>*= 12-042, Es= 18-82.
Proceeding similarly, we find that £ = 0 for all values of 0, and that the values of
Es are those given below:

<f> = 0 - 8 0-9 10 1-1 1-2

Es= 18-82 17-97 17-79 1814 18-94

If we draw a graph of Es against <f> from this table, we find that Es has a mini-
mum value of 17-78 when <f> is about 0-97 or 0-98. Now when N = 0 and f = 0 ,
equation (78) gives directly

and if we search for the minimum value of Es, we obtain an equation of the fifth
degree in 02, which has a root at 0 2 = 0-9625. This makes 0 = 0-981, and the
corresponding value of Es is 17-78. But when N is not zero, f is not zero, and this
direct procedure is not practicable.
In our notation, Taylor's result (loc. cit. p. 317) is equivalent to
1
0-0571 1 + 0-0098

= 17-51 [l-0 0098

The case with which we shall be most concerned is that in which the outer cyh'nder
does not rotate, so that <x = 0. Taylor's formula gives Es= 17-34 for this case, so
that our approximate result, 17-78, is about 2\ % in error.
We next solve the equation (78) when iV = 1 and <£ = 0-8. With these values,
we have
Pi = 1-34852 - Es<p- l-64f2 + 4-02831f + i (5-3792f - 13-00643)
 56 S. GOLDSTEIN
and the equation (78) becomes
1-64 + ig-0-30812J + 0-09394£
1+
0-21491 +i (0-03864 - 0-01468£) ~
This equation is most easily solved by successive approximation. First, neglect
the imaginary part of the denominator of the fraction on the left, and equate to
zero the imaginary part of the left side. This gives
5-3792f- 13-00643+ 4-653l£- 1-4337 = 0,
£=1-4394.
For the second approximation, insert this value of g into the imaginary part of
the denominator. Then
P x + (4-6224 - 0-3766i) (1-64 + ig - 0-30812* + 0-09394£) = 0.
Equate the imaginary part of the left side to zero. This gives
£=1-5099.
Similarly the third approximation gives g = 1-5056, and the fourth (and last)
g = 1-5058. Equating to zero the real part of the left side then gives Es<f>i= 12-362,
Es = 19-32. Proceeding similarly, we find the values in the following table:

^ = 0 •8 0-9 10 1- 1 1-2
f = 1•5058 1-7045 1-9076 2- 1155 2-3280
Es=19 •32 18-45 18-25 18- 58 19-37

This gives a minimum value of Es of 18-24 when <f> is about 0-99, and the corre-
sponding value of £ is 1-89.
In the same way we find the following values for N= 2.

4,= 0-8 0-9 10 11 1-2

{= 30553 3-4654 3-8853 4-3147 4-7535
Es = 20-65 19-68 19-39 19-62 20-30

The minimum value of Es is 19-38 when <f> is about 1-01, and the corresponding
value of £ is 3-92.
= S, we find

4>= o-9 10 11 1-2 1-3

f = 5-3287 5-9870 6-6592 7-3444 80414
Ea= 21-07 20-50 20-43 20-80 21-55

The minimum value of Es is 20-39 when <f> is about 1-07, and the corresponding
value of g is 6-46.
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 57
For N = 3 and for higher values of N, we may, for a given value of <f>,finda
first approximation to £ by extrapolating from the results for the given <f> and
smaller N. Also when once we have found $ for any N for two values of <f>, we may
find a first approximation to £ for the same JV for other values of <f> by inter-
polating or extrapolating from these results. The first approximation, found in
either of these two ways, is then substituted in the denominator of the fraction on
the right of (78), and a new value of £ calculated as shown above. (Experience
shows that the change in £ thus found is too large.) Then with two values of £, we
calculate the imaginary part of the right side of (78), and find a third value of £
by linear interpolation to make this imaginary part vanish. We then use this
third value of £ to calculate the imaginary part of the right side of (78), and
proceed as before to find a new value by interpolation.
For N = 4 our results are

<£= 1-0 11 1-2 1-3 1-4

£= 8-2447 9-1822 10-1333 11-0958 12-0678
Es = 20-47 19-76 19-44 19-46 19-78

Es has a minimum value of 19-38 when <f> is about 1-25, and the corresponding
value of f is 10-61.
For N = 5, we find similarly

*= 2- 0 2-1 2-2 23 2•4 2-5

f=22-9791 24-1374 25-2502 26-3067 27•30190 28-2404
Es = 8- 71 8-23 7-89 7-87 8•43 9-86

Es has a minimum value of 7-83 when <f> is about 2-26, and the corresponding value
of £ is 25-89.
If n is the frequency of the critical oscillation, and I its wave-length along the
axis, we may note that <f> is 2djl, £ is 2nd2jnv and

(84)

approximately, if a is not nearly equal to 1.

Also R = \ W\d/v. Note also that = cdj{kTiv), where c is the wave

velocity.
58 S. GOLDSTEIN

Collecting our results, we obtain the following table:

N= 0 1 2 3 4 5
R= 0 5-17 10-34 15-50 20-67 25-84
Es~ 17-78 18-24 19-38 20-39 19-38 7-83
4,= 0-98 0-99 101 1-07 1-25 2-26
'• l/4>= 1-02 101 0-99 0-93 0-80 0-44
e= 0 1-89 3-92 6-46 10-61 25-89
1-91 3-88 604 8-49 11-46

The results are approximate, found from equation (78), and an attempt must
now be made to find the correction. In the first place, for N = 0, the values given
by Taylor for a = 0 are £ = 0 and Es = 17-34. Our value of Es is in excess and the
error is about 1\ %. This is the percentage error in w2.
For N=l, <f>=l, an attempt has been made to find the correction by using
the approximate values of £ and Es already found to calculate G and K and then
solving equation (80). The approximate values were £=1-91 and Es= 18-25.
For <x= 1, the values found were £= 1-95 and .#5= 18-03; for a = 0, £=1-95 and
Es= 17-84, and it seems that a formula of the type used by Taylor, namely

= 1-95-0-0013

Es= 18-03-0-184

will express the variation due to a change in a so long as the second term is small
compared with the first. For a = 0, the correction to Es is again between 2
and 3 %.
Taylor found that the variation with <f> of the correction for N = 0 could be
ignored. We may provisionally accept this also for N = 1.
For N = 2 (with a = 0), it has simply been verified, by rough calculations, that
the approximate value of Es is in excess, and that the error does not exceed 5 %.
It will be worth while to calculate the error for larger values of N when
experimental results are available. The error will increase with N, but there
seems to be no doubt that the value of Es increases at first, with increasing N,
up to a maximum only slightly greater than its value at N = 0, and then falls.
For the approximate values as given in the table above the fall is very sharp
between N = 4 and N = 5. Since the error has not been estimated for N ^ 3, it is
not possible to say whether or not the fall would be as sharp with more accurate
values. When the error is small for <x = 0, the approximate values found should
hold moderately accurately for at any rate all values of a between 0 and 1.
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 59

8. MR CORNISH'S EXPERIMENTS
Some experiments on the flow of water through fine clearances between
coaxial cylinders have been carried out by Mr R. J. Cornish*, whose apparatus
consisted essentially of a bronze cylinder turning inside a fixed hollow cylinder of
slightly larger radius. Water was led into a chamber at one end, and flowed out
from a chamber at the other end. Pressures were measured in these chambers,
and at intermediate points in the clearance. Cornish denotes by r the mean radius
of the cylinders, i.e. a + \d in our notation, or very nearly a; by m the hydraulic
mean depth, which is the area of the passage divided by the wetted perimeter, or
\d\ by S the mean velocity parallel to the axis, or | W [; and by R the resistance
per unit area of the wall surface, which is equal to the pressure gradient multiplied
by the area of the passage and divided by the wetted perimeter, so that the
relation (12) for laminar flow becomes, in Cornish's notation, Rmjfj.S = Z. The
main purpose of Cornish's investigation was to find the resistance in turbulent
flow, but the critical value of a> (denoted by wc) was also found by Cornish
by attempting to find when the laminar relation RmlfiS = 3 broke down. He
experimented with five sets of apparatus, for which rjm was 560, 432, 345, 341
and 429, respectively (with r = 6 cm. and four different values of m for the first
four, and r = 1 0 cm. for the last one), and in his Fig. 2 he plots rcujS against
Rm/fiS (in his notation) for various values ofmS/v, and finds the critical value of
rcm/S for each value oimSjv by finding where the curves drawn through the experi-
mental points for turbulent motion would cut the line Rm/fiS = Z. In his Fig. 6,
rcoJS is plotted against m8/v.
The a in our theory was zero in these experiments, and our Es is
8 u>\rmz _ 8 /rcocV (mSVm

in Cornish's notation. Also our Reynolds number R is 2mSjv. Now Es as thus de-
fined will be a function of the Reynolds number and of mjr; the theoretical results
found above apply strictly to the limit when mjr is zero; but for small values of
mjr we might expect Es to be nearly constant for a given Reynolds number.
The first point to observe is that Cornish plots against mS/v the quantity
ratJS, which according to our theory should vary as (r/ra)* at a given Reynolds
number for large values of r/m. The critical value ofrco/8 was. in fact, investigated
experimentally by Cornish only with the apparatus for which r/m was 429, and his
Fig. 6 was based on these investigations. His Fig. 2, however, indicates that, for
each value of mSjv, Rm/pS is the same function of rwjS for all values of rjm
within a fairly wide range, and he says in his paper that "it may be deduced from
Fig. 2 that the results " (i.e. those given in Fig. 6) "are valid at least from r/m = 341
* Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 140 (1933), 227-40. My thanks are due to Mr Cornish for the
opportunity of discussion of these experiments and their results.
60 S. GOLDSTEIN
to r/m = 624". The last figure refers to certain experiments by Suzuki, whose
results are included in Cornish's Fig. 2. The points from Suzuki's experiments
are all in the turbulent flow region, and give no information about the transition
from laminar flow, so that there would seem to be insufficient evidence over the
range r/m = 429 to 624 to justify Cornish's conclusion. On the other hand, we
have seen that, if our Es is constant for a given mS/v for all large rjm, then rwJS
should vary as (r/m)}; a fall of r/m from 429 to 345 should therefore correspond to
a variation of about 11 % in rcoJS, and such a variation would be sufficiently
large to be detected in Cornish's Fig. 2. In view of what follows, however, it
appears that this does not contradict the theoretical results, since the critical
velocity measured by Cornish is apparently not the same as that calculated.
While Cornish found it fairly easy to obtain the value of ra>JS graphically
(as in his Fig. 5), he found it almost impossible to obtain experimental readings
actually at the critical value, owing to the practical difficulty of running a direct
current electric motor at a perfectly uniform speed. However, some of his readings
were sufficiently close to the critical value for our purposes; he has furnished me
with details of these, from which the results in our notation, for values of our
Reynolds number It less than 200, have been calculated, and are given below.

.R= 10-04 46-6 45-6 77-0 79-2 1950 195-8 I960

Ea = 57-5 62-4 62-4 66-9 66-9 78-4 78-8 78-8

These results lie quite well on one curve, which is very nearly a straight line; but
are wholly out of agreement with the calculated values given in the table on p. 58.
Extrapolation of these experimental results to R = 0 gives Es = 56 when i?=0.
Taylor's result, which he confirmed by experiment, was Es = 17-34 for R = 0. The
only explanation of the large discrepancy is that Mr Cornish is, in fact, observing
a difEerent phenomenonfromthat calculated; and that pressure-drop observations
will not show the first onset of instability. This might perhaps be tested if an
experiment could be arranged for direct observation of the flow.

9. SUMMARY
The stability of the motion of viscous incompressible fluid, of density p and
kinematic viscosity v, between two infinitely long coaxial circular cylinders, of
radii a and a + d, where dja is small, is investigated mathematically by the
method of small oscillations. The inner cylinder is rotating with angular velocity
ai and the outer one with angular velocity ao», and there is a constant pressure
gradient parallel to the axis. The fluid therefore has a component velocity W
parallel to the axis, in addition to the velocity round the axis. A disturbance is
assumed which is symmetrical about the axis and periodic along it. The critical
disturbance, which neither increases nor decreases with the time, is periodic with
 The stability of viscous fluid flow between rotating cylinders 61
respect to the time (except when W = 0, when the critical disturbance is a steady
motion). As Reynolds number of theflowwe take | W \ djv, where W is the average
value of W across the annulus, and we denote by I the wave-length of the dis-
turbance along the axis, by aj2ir the time period of the critical flow, by c the wave-
length of the critical flow, by toc the critical value of to, and we put

Es =

approximately, if a is not nearly equal to 1.

For given values of R, a. and I, it is possible to calculate a and Es, and the value of
I can then be found which makes Es least. This least value of Es then gives the
angular velocity for which the flow just becomes unstable. These values of I and
Es, and the corresponding values of a and c, have been roughly calculated
numerically for certain values of R, and the results are shown in the following
table. These results should hold roughly for a range of values of a less than 1,
including a = 0.

M= 0 5-17 10-34 15-50 20-67 25-84

Es= 17-78 18-24 19-38 20-39 19-38 7-83
l/2d= 102 101 0-99 0-93 0-80 0-44
od*l**v= 0 1-89 3-92 6-46 10-61 25-89
cd/nv= 0 1-91 3-88 6-04 8-49 11-46

The results are only rough. If we take a = 0, then for R = 0, a = 0 and it has been
shown by Taylor that Es = 17-34, so that the rough result is about 2\ % in excess.
The value oflj2d is not much altered. For R = 5-17, on the assumption that l/2d
is not much altered, corrected values are Es = 17-83, od2j-n2i' = 1-93. For i?= 10-34
it has been verified that the approximate value of Es is in excess, and that the
error does not exceed 5 %. The error will increase with R.
A comparison has been made with experiments by Mr Cornish in which the
outer cylinder was stationary (a = 0), and the pressure drop down an annular
pipe was measured. The main purpose of these experiments was to find the
resistance in turbulent flow, but in addition the critical velocity was deduced
from the intersection of experimental curves for resistance in turbulent flow with
the theoretical curve for laminar flow. These experimental results are wholly out
of agreement with the theoretical results, and when extrapolated to R = 0 give
a value of about 56 for Es, compared with Taylor's value of 17-34. It appears that
these pressure-drop measurements do not show the first onset of instability.