TURBULENT-FLOW BETWEEN CONCENTRIC ROTATING CYLINDERS AT LARGE REYNOLDS-NUMBER

Turbulent Taylor vortex flow is studied in experiments for Reynolds numbers 10(3) < R < 10(6). Simple scaling of the torque with Reynolds number is not observed for any range of R, although the characteristic time scales and the transport of passive scalars are found to scale with the global torque measurements. Above a nonhysteretic transition observed at R = 1.3 x 10(4), the torque has a Reynolds number dependence similar to the drag observed in wall-bounded shear flows such as pipe flow and flow over a flat plate.