Abstract:
Taylor-Couette flow is the annular flow between two concentric, differentially rotating cylinders.
Figure 1.1 shows the geometry of the setup and is taken from Taylor [39]. Due to its geometric
simplicity, this flow has been a topic of scientific investigation for centuries - for example,
Newton [30] used the setup to describe the flow of rotating fluids in his Principia in 1687. In
1880, Stokes [36] made an attempt of investigation of the flow and realized the difficulty lied in
the treatment of boundary conditions.
The advent of Navier-Stokes equations led to a debate on how one can determine the
viscosity of a fluid. Both Mallock [25] and Couette [10] independently came up with the idea
of resolving this question by studying the flow of a fluid using differentially rotating concentric
cylinders. Couette only rotated the outer cylinder, keeping the inner cylinder fixed. In addition
to the experiments on the same lines as Couette, Mallock also rotated the inner cylinder, keeping
the outer cylinder fixed.
