Direct velocity measurement of a turbulent shear flow in a planar Couette cell

Abstract: In a plane Couette cell a thin fluid layer consisting of water is sheared between a transparent band at Reynolds numbers ranging from 300 to 1400. The length of the cells flow channel is large compared to the film separation. To extract the flow velocity in the experiments a correlation image velocimetry (CIV) method is used on pictures recorded with a high speed camera. The flow is recorded at a resolution that allows to analyze flow patterns similar in size to the film separation. The fluid flow is then studied by calculating flow velocity autocorrelation functions. The turbulent pattern that arise on this scale above a critical Reynolds number of Re=360 display characteristic patterns that are proven with the calculated velocity autocorrelation functions. The patterns are metastable and reappear at different positions and times throughout the experiments. Typically these patterns are turbulent rolls which are elongated in the stream direction which is the direction the band is moving. Although the flow states are metastable they possess similarities to the steady Taylor vortices known to appear in circular Taylor Couette cells.