Stability of Nonparallel Developing Flow in an Annulus to Asymmetric Disturbances

Abstract

Linear spatial stability of the nonparallel developing flow in a concentric annulus shows that the asymmetric disturbance with an azimuthal wave number equal to unity is more unstable than the axisymmetric disturbance at all axial locations. Also, in the near entry region, the critical Reynolds number corresponding to the parallel flow theory is as much as three times that due to the nonparallel theory for some values of the annular diameter ratio.