The correspondence between drag enhancement and vortical structures in turbulent Taylor-Couette flows with polymer additives: a study of curvature dependence

We report direct numerical simulation results that clearly elucidate the mechanism that leads to curvature dependence of drag enhancement (DE) in viscoelastic turbulent Taylor-Couette flow. Change in the angular momentum transport and its inherent link to transitions in vortical flow structures have been explored to depict the influence of the curvature of the flow geometry on DE. Specifically, it has been demonstrated that a transition in vortical structures with increasing radius ratio leads to weakening and elimination of the small-scale Gortler vortices and development and better organization (occupying the entire gap) of large-scale Taylor vortices as also evinced by the patterns of angular momentum current. The commensurate change in DE and its underlying mechanism are examined by contributions of convective flux and polymeric stress to the angular momentum current. The present finding paves the way for capturing highly localized elastic turbulence structures in direct numerical simulation by increasing geometry curvature in traditional turbulent curvilinear flows.