The Taylor vortex flow between two concentric rotating cylinders
with a very small aspect ratio is analyzed numerically.
The finite difference method is used to solve unsteady axisymmetric
Navier-Stokes equations.
Steady patterns of Taylor vortex flow are classified into three groups:
normal two-cell mode, anomalous one-cell mode with two extra cells,
and twin-cell mode.
The existence of the twin-cell mode has been found experimentally, but it has not
yet been proven numerically. In the present numerical study, the existence
of the twin-cell mode is confirmed.
The appearance
of each mode agrees quite well with experimental evidence.
Unsteady mode transitions with decreasing Reynolds numbers are also
investigated.
As well, the mode exchange from the normal two-cell mode to the anomalous
one-cell mode, the mode exchange from the anomalous one-cell mode to the
normal two-cell mode and the mode exchange from the twin-cell mode to the
anomalous one-cell mode are observed.
