Stability of fluid flow in a cylindrical annulus

Helical flow in an annulus between two coaxial cylinders is investigated with regard to its stability against the formation of helical vortices of the type known as Taylor's annular vortices. Assuming the annulus to be small and the velocities to vary linearly with radius, it is shown that the problem can be reduced to the classical case of flow between two rotating cylinders. An appropriate stability criterion for helical flows is derived from Rayleigh's stability criterion applicable to such flows.