AN EXPERIMENT ON A TAYLOR VORTEX FLOW IN A GAP WITH A SMALL ASPECT RATIO BIFURCATION OF FLOWS IN AN ASYMMETRIC SYSTEM

Both Taylor vortex flows in a symmetric or asymmetric system exhibit various patterns (cell modes). They can be classified by the process of cell formation, the number of cells and the direction of flow for the cell, into primary modes or secondary modes, and normal modes or anomalous modes. Following the previous report in which flows in a symmetric end condition were classified, in the present work, for flows in an asymmetric end condition, the Reynolds number at which a secondary mode bifurcates into another mode is experimentally investigated, and the bifurcation of the Taylor vortex flows in an asymmetric system when the Reynolds number is gradually decreased is presented in a bifurcation diagram.