Time-modulated Taylor–Couette flow with two incommensurate frequencies

In this paper, we perform a Floquet-based linear stability analysis of the centrifugal parametric resonance phenomenon in a Taylor–Couette system subjected to a time-quasiperiodic forcing where both the inner and outer cylinders are oscillating with the same amplitude and different angular velocities given respectively by $\varOmega _0 \cos (\omega _1t)$ and $\varOmega _0 \cos (\omega _2t)$ . In this context, the frequencies $\omega _1$ and $\omega _2$ are incommensurate, where the ratio $\omega _2/\omega _1$ is irrational. Taking into account non-axisymmetric disturbances, a new set of partial differential equations is derived and solved using the spectral method along with the Runge–Kutta numerical scheme. The obtained results in this framework show that this forcing triggers new and numerous reversing and non-reversing Taylor vortex flows arising via either synchronous or period-doubling bifurcations. A rich and complex dynamics is found owing to strong mode competition between these modes that alters significantly the topology of the marginal stability curves. The latter exhibit a multitude of small and condensed parabolas, giving rise to several codimension-two bifurcation points, discontinuities and cusp points in the stability diagrams. Furthermore, a proper tuning of the frequency ratio leads to a significant control of both the instability threshold and the axisymmetric nature of the primary bifurcation. Moreover, using a local quasi-steady analysis when the cylinders are slowly oscillating, intermittent instabilities are detected, characterised by spike-like behaviour in the stability diagrams with several successive growths, dampings and periods of quietness. In this limit case, the inner cylinder drive becomes the responsible forcing of the Taylor vortices’ formation where the calculated critical instability parameters correspond to those of the inner oscillating cylinder case with fixed outer cylinder. The potentially unstable regions between the cylinders are determined on the basis of the Rayleigh discriminant, where an excellent agreement with the linear stability analysis results is pointed out.