Characterisation of Shear Turbulence in a Wide Gap and Large Size
Taylor-Couette Flow Reactor
Abstract
The instability of the supercritical Taylor-Couette flows has been
extensively investigated in many previous studies but only few studies
focusing on shear turbulence characteristics in wide gap and large size
Taylor-Couette flow (TCF) reactors have been conducted. In the present
study, particle image velocimetry (PIV) technology was adopted to
investigate such shear turbulence characteristics based on the
measurement of the instantaneous axial and radial velocities in the
meridional plane of the annulus between the rotating inner and the
non-rotating outer cylinder in a large size TCF reactor. The
experimental results have indicated that as the Reynolds number exceeds
the critical value, the vorticity strength of the induced Taylor
vortices remarkably increases, consequently causing an enhanced outward
impinging jet flow. It was also found that the secondary vortices in
addition to major Taylor vortices when ReT reaches a critical value
significantly alter the flow and turbulent characteristics in the
reactor.