Controlling Couette flow by alternating axial mass flux

Abstract

This paper presents numerical simulations of the Taylor vortex flow under the influence of an externally applied alternating axial mass flux (through-flow) in a Taylor–Couette system with axial periodic boundary conditions. Such an axially modulating flow can lead to a significant variation in the onset of primary instabilities. Depending on the system parameters, the effect can be both stabilizing and destabilizing, i.e., shifting the bifurcation threshold to larger or smaller control parameters, respectively. It is found that the system response around the primary instability is sensitive to and critically influenced by an alternating mass flux, particularly the modulation frequency. We show that such an alternating axial flow represents an easily and, more importantly, precisely controllable key parameter to change the nonlinear system response from subcritical to supercritical behavior and vice versa. Furthermore, we observe different parameter regimes with regular and irregular intermittent flow dynamics.