Department or Program

Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

Taylor-Couette flow is a well-studied experimental setup for fluid dynamics. It is made up of two long concentric rotating cylinders with fluid in between. Not only is it well-defined by the Navier-Stokes equations, it has a simple geometry with many symmetries to exploit. We solve this system using the Dedalus framework, a Python package that solves differential equations using spectral methods. These spectral methods result in decomposition of a state variable, such as velocity or pressure, into a basis set of polynomials which are easily differentiable, and then solves for the coefficients with respect to time. After running direct numerical simulations (DNS) of this fluid geometry, we will implement the generalized quasilinear approximation (GQL), which determines what interactions between modes to keep or discard. We will then investigate how effective the application of GQL to Taylor-Couette flow is, measured by the difference between DNS and GQL runs.

Level of Access

Open Access

First Advisor

Oishi, Jeffrey

Date of Graduation

5-2020

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Number of Pages

36

Download

Open Access

Available to all.

Share

COinS