Title: Flow Visualization in Turbulent Taylor-Couette System

Taylor–Couette flow, defined as the flow in the gap between two rotating cylinders, is one of the oldest and most widely studied canonical problems in fluid mechanics. People have paid attention to the TC flow for nearly a century in order to understand the underlying mechanisms caused by wall, rotation, and streamwise curvature. This study harnesses the TCs unique geometry to examine the flow transition to turbulence through a series of intermediate states of gradually increasing complexity. We have designed a custom-made Taylor Couette system of radius ratio 0.84 and aspect ratio of 30. Next, we planned to index match of a liquid to the material of outer cylinder to minimise the distortion and scattering of light. We are using aqueous glycerol solutions on quartz surfaces, which exhibits zero contact angle (perfect wetting). Increase in viscosity of glycerol–water mixtures with addition of glycerol is highly non-linear. To control the temperature, we’ll attach a water bath to the system. Finally, we’ll observe the properties of the Non-Newtonian fluid (planning to work with wormlike Micelles), situated in the annular region of the two cylinders.