This paper describes an investigation, which uses a torque-measurement technique, of effects of axial flow on the stability of Taylor-Couette flow. Two radius ratios, 0.846 and 0.956, are used. The preliminary results show that the critical Taylor number for the onset of Taylor vortices increases monotonically with the Reynolds number of the axial flow and asymptotes to a constant value. Although our findings are in good agreement with previously published results, which were obtained with either flow visualization or pressure measurements, there are some noticeable differences with earlier studies.
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