Transient Growth of Perturbation Energy in the Taylor–Couette Problem with Radial Flow

Transient growth of perturbation energy in the Taylor–Couette problem with radial flow is investigated. The effects of radial flow on transient growth and structure of the optimal perturbation are mainly considered. For the wide gap case, strong radial flow, either inward or outward, shifts the peak of the amplitude of optimal perturbation towards the outer cylinder and the lift-up mechanism cannot be observed. However, for the narrow gap case, the optimal perturbation is almost unaffected by the radial flow and the lift-up mechanism still exists.