scholarly journals Azimuthal magnetorotational instability with super-rotation

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Rüdiger ◽  
M. Schultz ◽  
M. Gellert ◽  
F. Stefani

It is demonstrated that the azimuthal magnetorotational instability (AMRI) also works with radially increasing rotation rates contrary to the standard magnetorotational instability for axial fields which requires negative shear. The stability against non-axisymmetric perturbations of a conducting Taylor–Couette flow with positive shear under the influence of a toroidal magnetic field is considered if the background field between the cylinders is current free. For small magnetic Prandtl number $Pm\rightarrow 0$ the curves of neutral stability converge in the (Hartmann number,Reynolds number) plane approximating the stability curve obtained in the inductionless limit $Pm=0$. The numerical solutions for $Pm=0$ indicate the existence of a lower limit of the shear rate. For large $Pm$ the curves scale with the magnetic Reynolds number of the outer cylinder but the flow is always stable for magnetic Prandtl number unity as is typical for double-diffusive instabilities. We are particularly interested to know the minimum Hartmann number for neutral stability. For models with resting or almost resting inner cylinder and with perfectly conducting cylinder material the minimum Hartmann number occurs for a radius ratio of $r_{\text{in}}=0.9$. The corresponding critical Reynolds numbers are smaller than $10^{4}$.

1971 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Schneyer ◽  
S. A. Berger

The stability of a two-fluid vortex is studied as a step towards understanding the separation and containment problems in a gaseous-core nuclear rocket. In particular, the linear hydrodynamic stability of two incompressible, immiscible, viscous fluids occupying separate annular regions of a cylindrical Couette apparatus is considered. Neglecting surface tension and gravity, a conservative assumption, the governing equations for arbitrary jumps in fluid properties are derived and numerical solutions to the resultant eigenvalue problems obtained. Results are presented for the effect on neutral stability of density and viscosity jumps, varying gap widths, and differing fluid-fluid interfacial positions. The solutions are limited, however, to the case of stably stratified fluids and a stationary outer cylinder.Two separate modes (multiple eigenvalues) have been discovered for all cases in which two fluids, differing in any property, are present. A rationale is presented for this phenomenon as well as for most of the other observed results.While most results are believed to be manifestations of the Taylor cylindrical Couette instability phenomenon, evidence is presented for the existence of additional ‘hidden’ eigenvalues attributable to the classical Kelvin–Helmholtz and/or the recently reported Yih viscosity-stratification instability phenomena.


2017 ◽  
Vol 822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kannabiran Seshasayanan ◽  
Vassilios Dallas ◽  
Alexandros Alexakis

We demonstrate that the critical magnetic Reynolds number $Rm_{c}$ for a turbulent non-helical dynamo in the limit of low magnetic Prandtl number $Pm$ (i.e. $Pm=Rm/Re\ll 1$) can be significantly reduced if the flow is subjected to global rotation. Even for moderate rotation rates the required energy injection rate can be reduced by a factor of more than $10^{3}$. This strong decrease in the onset is attributed to the transfer of energy to the large scales, forming a large-scale condensate, and the reduction in the turbulent fluctuations that cause the flow to have a much larger cutoff length scale than in a non-rotating flow of the same Reynolds number. The dynamo thus behaves as if it is driven just by the large scales that act as a laminar flow (i.e. it behaves as a high $Pm$ dynamo) even though the actual Reynolds number is much higher than the magnetic Reynolds number (i.e. low $Pm$). Our finding thus points to a new paradigm for the design of new experiments on liquid metal dynamos.


1985 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 826-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Chen

The stability of natural convection flows in single-phase closed-loop thermosyphons is investigated. The thermosyphons considered in the present analysis are fluid-filled tubes bent into rectangular shapes. The fluid is heated over the lower horizontal segment and cooled over the upper horizontal segment. Analytical and numerical solutions are presented for a range of loop aspect ratios and radii for both laminar and turbulent flows. It is found that the steady-state results for thermosyphons with different aspect ratios and radii can be expressed in terms of a single dimensionless parameter. When this parameter is less than a critical value, the flow is always stable. Above this critical point, oscillatory instability exists for a narrow range of a friction parameter. The calculated neutral stability conditions show that the flow is least stable when the aspect ratio of the loop approaches unity. The frequency of the convection-induced oscillation is slightly higher than the angular frequency of a fluid particle traveling along the loop.


2000 ◽  
Vol 422 ◽  
pp. 141-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
YI-CHUNG SU ◽  
JACOB N. CHUNG

A comprehensive numerical study on the linear stability of mixed-convection flow in a vertical pipe with constant heat flux is presented with particular emphasis on the instability mechanism and the Prandtl number effect. Three Prandtl numbers representative of different regimes in the Prandtl number spectrum are employed to simulate the stability characteristics of liquid mercury, water and oil. The results suggest that mixed-convection flow in a vertical pipe can become unstable at low Reynolds number and Rayleigh numbers irrespective of the Prandtl number, in contrast to the isothermal case. For water, the calculation predicts critical Rayleigh numbers of 80 and −120 for assisted and opposed flows, which agree very well with experimental values of Rac = 76 and −118 (Scheele & Hanratty 1962). It is found that the first azimuthal mode is always the most unstable, which also agrees with the experimental observation that the unstable pattern is a double spiral flow. Scheele & Hanratty's speculation that the instability in assisted and opposed flows can be attributed to the appearance of inflection points and separation is true only for fluids with O(1) Prandtl number. Our study on the effect of the Prandtl number discloses that it plays an active role in buoyancy-assisted flow and is an indication of the viability of kinematic or thermal disturbances. It profoundly affects the stability of assisted flow and changes the instability mechanism as well. For assisted flow with Prandtl numbers less than 0.3, the thermal–shear instability is dominant. With Prandtl numbers higher than 0.3, the assisted-thermal–buoyant instability becomes responsible. In buoyancy-opposed flow, the effect of the Prandtl number is less significant since the flow is unstably stratified. There are three distinct instability mechanisms at work independent of the Prandtl number. The Rayleigh–Taylor instability is operative when the Reynolds number is extremely low. The opposed-thermal–buoyant instability takes over when the Reynolds number becomes higher. A still higher Reynolds number eventually leads the thermal–shear instability to dominate. While the thermal–buoyant instability is present in both assisted and opposed flows, the mechanism by which it destabilizes the flow is completely different.


This paper considers the slow flow of a viscous, conducting fluid past a non-conducting sphere at whose centre is a magnetic pole. The magnetic Reynolds number is assumed to be small, and the modifications to the classical Stokes flow and the free magnetic pole field are obtained for an arbitrary Hartmann number. The total drag D on the sphere has been calculated, and the ratio D / D s determined as a function of the Hartmann number M , where D s is the Stokes drag. In particular ( D — D s )/ D s = 37/210 M 2 + O ( M 4 ) for small M and ( D — D s )/ Ds ~ 0·7205 M - 1 as M → ∞.


1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Kao ◽  
Cheol Park

The stability of the laminar co-current flow of two fluids, oil and water, in a rectangular channel was investigated experimentally, with and without artificial excitation. For the ratio of viscosity explored, only the disturbances in water grew in the beginning stages of transition to turbulence. The critical water Reynolds number, based upon the hydraulic diameter of the channel and the superficial velocity defined by the ratio of flow rate of water to total cross-sectional area of the channel, was found to be 2300. The behaviour of damped and growing shear waves in water was examined in detail using artificial excitation and briefly compared with that observed in Part 1. Mean flow profiles, the amplitude distribution of disturbances in water, the amplification rate, wave speed and wavenumbers were obtained. A neutral stability boundary in the wave-number, water Reynolds number plane was also obtained experimentally.It was found that in natural transition the interfacial mode was not excited. The first appearance of interfacial waves was actually a manifestation of the shear waves in water. The role of the interface in the transition range from laminar to turbulent flow in water was to introduce and enhance spanwise oscillation in the water phase and to hasten the process of breakdown for growing disturbances.


1974 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 593-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. Richardson

After making the laboratory approximation of small magnetic Reynolds number, the steady, axisymmetric and purely azimuthal velocity profile that in principle can be generated in an incompressible viscous electrically conducting fluid contained in a fixed infinitely long circular cylinder by a magnetic field transverse to the cylinder axis and uniformly rotating with low frequency is subjected to infinitesimal axisymmetric perturbations. The principle of the exchange of stabilities is assumed to hold and the marginal-stability problem becomes a sixth-order eigenvalue problem involving the magnetic Taylor number and the axial wavenumber. An asymptotic analysis, based on the assumption that the magnetic Taylor number is large, and using solutions of the comparison equation d6y/dz6 = zy, is presented in order to obtain first approximations to the neutral-stability curves of the first and second eigenmodes, and compared with the results of direct numerical integration. It is found that at the onset of instability the secondary motions have a multi-cell structure, the motions in the region, near the cylinder wall, of adversely distributed angular momentum driving through weak viscous action the cells in the interior.


2004 ◽  
Vol 02 (02) ◽  
pp. 145-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
ISOM H. HERRON

The stability of viscous flow between rotating cylinders in the presence of a constant axial magnetic field is considered. The boundary conditions for general conductivities are examined. It is proved that the Principle of Exchange of Stabilities holds at zero magnetic Prandtl number, for all Chandrasekhar numbers, when the cylinders rotate in the same direction, the circulation decreases outwards, and the cylinders have insulating walls. The result holds for both the finite gap and the narrow gap approximation.


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