The Effect of Non-Steady Temperatures on Experimental Investigations of Flow Instability between Eccentric Rotating Cylinders

Abstract

Non-steady-state operation makes it very difficult to measure the actual, ‘controlling’ fluid temperature sufficiently accurately. This effect has been quantified and shown to be significant for discrepancies in temperature measurement greater than 0.5 K. A method for correction has also been suggested and verified. It is tempting to speculate, on the basis of this study, that the general lack of quantitative agreement among experimental results of previous investigators in this research area may have been partly caused by thermal inadequacies in apparatus or procedure.