Boundary-Layer and Interior Separations in the Taylor--Couette--Poiseuille Flow

Abstract

In this article, we derive a rigorous characterization of the boundary-layer and interior separations in the Taylor-Couette-Poiseuille (TCP) flow. The results obtained provide a rigorous characterization on how, when and where the propagating Taylor vortices (PTV) are generated. In particular, contrary to what is commonly believed, we show that the PTV do not appear after the first dynamical bifurcation, and they appear only when the Taylor number is further increased to cross another critical value so that a structural bifurcation occurs. This structural bifurcation corresponds to the boundary-layer and interior separations of the flow structure in the physical space.