Taylor-Couette Flow

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. In fluid dynamics, the Taylor-Couette flow consists of a viscous fluid confined in the gap between two rotating cylinders. For low angular velocities, measured by the Reynolds number Re, the flow is steady and purely azimuthal. This basic state is known as circular Couette flow, after Maurice Marie Alfred Couette who used this experimental device as a means to measure viscosity. Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor investigated the stability of the Couette flow in a ground-breaking paper which has been a cornerstone in the development of hydrodynamic stability theory.