This paper is concerned with the nonlinear stability of the flow between two long eccentric rotating cylinders. The problem, which is of interest in lubrication technology, is an extension both of the authors’ earlier work on the linear eccentric case and of still earlier work by Davey and others on the nonlinear concentric analysis of Taylor-vortex development. There are four parameters which are assumed small in the analysis; they are the mean clearance ratio, the eccentricity, the amount by which the Taylor number exceeds its critical value; and the Taylor-vortex amplitude. Following the earlier work mentioned above, relation-ships are specified between these parameters in order to develop a satisfactory perturbation scheme. Thus a non-local solution is obtained to the nonlinear stability problem, in which the whole flow field is taken into account.

Of some importance in the analysis is the fact that it is necessary to allow for the development of a pressure field substantially bigger than that associated with Taylor vortices in the concentric case, owing to the Reynolds lubrication effect in a viscous fluid moving through a converging passage. I n order to achieve this mathematically, it is necessary to solve the continuity equation to a higher order than is necessary for the momentum equations.

It is found that the angular position for maximum vortex activity, which is 90° downstream of the maximum gap in the linear case, can taken on any value between 0 and 90°, depending on the value of the supercritical Taylor number. For a particular experiment of Vohr (1968) acceptable agreement is obtained for this angle (50°), though the ‘small’ parameters are somewhat outside the expected range of perturbation theory. Formulae are obtained for the torque and forces acting on the inner cylinder.