Direct Numerical Simulations of Local and Global Torque in Taylor-Couette Flow up to Re=30.000

Abstract

The torque in turbulent Taylor-Couette flows for shear Reynolds numbers Re_S up to 3x10^4 at various mean rotations is studied by means of direct numerical simulations for a radius ratio of η=0.71. Convergence of simulations is tested using three criteria of which the agreement of dissipation values estimated from the torque and from the volume dissipation rate turns out to be most demanding. We evaluate the influence of Taylor vortex heights on the torque for a stationary outer cylinder and select a value of the aspect ratio of Γ=2, close to the torque maximum. The connection between the torque and the transverse current J^ωof azimuthal motion which can be computed from the velocity field enables us to investigate the local transport resulting in the torque. The typical spatial distribution of the individual convective and viscous contributions to the local current is analysed for a turbulent flow case. To characterise the turbulent statistics of the transport, PDF's of local current fluctuations are compared to experimental wall shear stress measurements. PDF's of instantaneous torques reveal a fluctuation enhancement in the outer region for strong counter-rotation. Moreover, we find for simulations realising the same shear Re_S>=2x10^4 the formation of a torque maximum for moderate counter-rotation with angular velocities ω_o\approx-0.4ω_i. In contrast, for Re_S<=4x10^3 the torque features a maximum for a stationary outer cylinder. In addition, the effective torque scaling exponent is shown to also depend on the mean rotation state. Finally, we evaluate a close connection between boundary-layer thicknesses and the torque.