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Boundary layers in rotating weakly turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection

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 Added by Richard Stevens
 Publication date 2010
  fields Physics
and research's language is English




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The effect of rotation on the boundary layers (BLs) in a Rayleigh-Benard (RB) system at a relatively low Rayleigh number, i.e. $Ra = 4times10^7$, is studied for different Pr by direct numerical simulations and the results are compared with laminar BL theory. In this regime we find a smooth onset of the heat transfer enhancement as function of increasing rotation rate. We study this regime in detail and introduce a model based on the Grossmann-Lohse theory to describe the heat transfer enhancement as function of the rotation rate for this relatively low Ra number regime and weak background rotation $Rogtrsim 1$. The smooth onset of heat transfer enhancement observed here is in contrast to the sharp onset observed at larger $Ra gtrsim 10^8$ by Stevens {it{et al.}} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {bf{103}}, 024503, 2009], although only a small shift in the Ra-Ro-Pr phase space is involved.



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For rapidly rotating turbulent Rayleigh--Benard convection in a slender cylindrical cell, experiments and direct numerical simulations reveal a boundary zonal flow (BZF) that replaces the classical large-scale circulation. The BZF is located near the vertical side wall and enables enhanced heat transport there. Although the azimuthal velocity of the BZF is cyclonic (in the rotating frame), the temperature is an anticyclonic traveling wave of mode one whose signature is a bimodal temperature distribution near the radial boundary. The BZF width is found to scale like $Ra^{1/4}Ek^{2/3}$ where the Ekman number $Ek$ decreases with increasing rotation rate.
When the classical Rayleigh-Benard (RB) system is rotated about its vertical axis roughly three regimes can be identified. In regime I (weak rotation) the large scale circulation (LSC) is the dominant feature of the flow. In regime II (moderate rotation) the LSC is replaced by vertically aligned vortices. Regime III (strong rotation) is characterized by suppression of the vertical velocity fluctuations. Using results from experiments and direct numerical simulations of RB convection for a cell with a diameter-to-height aspect ratio equal to one at $Ra sim 10^8-10^9$ ($Pr=4-6$) and $0 lesssim 1/Ro lesssim 25$ we identified the characteristics of the azimuthal temperature profiles at the sidewall in the different regimes. In regime I the azimuthal wall temperature profile shows a cosine shape and a vertical temperature gradient due to plumes that travel with the LSC close to the sidewall. In regime II and III this cosine profile disappears, but the vertical wall temperature gradient is still observed. It turns out that the vertical wall temperature gradient in regimes II and III has a different origin than that observed in regime I. It is caused by boundary layer dynamics characteristic for rotating flows, which drives a secondary flow that transports hot fluid up the sidewall in the lower part of the container and cold fluid downwards along the sidewall in the top part.
We numerically investigate turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection within two immiscible fluid layers, aiming to understand how the layer thickness and fluid properties affect the heat transfer (characterized by the Nusselt number $Nu$) in two-layer systems. Both two- and three-dimensional simulations are performed at fixed global Rayleigh number $Ra=10^8$, Prandtl number $Pr=4.38$, and Weber number $We=5$. We vary the relative thickness of the upper layer between $0.01 le alpha le 0.99$ and the thermal conductivity coefficient ratio of the two liquids between $0.1 le lambda_k le 10$. Two flow regimes are observed: In the first regime at $0.04lealphale0.96$, convective flows appear in both layers and $Nu$ is not sensitive to $alpha$. In the second regime at $alphale0.02$ or $alphage0.98$, convective flow only exists in the thicker layer, while the thinner one is dominated by pure conduction. In this regime, $Nu$ is sensitive to $alpha$. To predict $Nu$ in the system in which the two layers are separated by a unique interface, we apply the Grossmann-Lohse theory for both individual layers and impose heat flux conservation at the interface. Without introducing any free parameter, the predictions for $Nu$ and for the temperature at the interface well agree with our numerical results and previous experimental data.
Using direct numerical simulations, we study rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection in a cylindrical cell for a broad range of Rayleigh, Ekman, and Prandtl numbers from the onset of wall modes to the geostrophic regime, an extremely important one in geophysical and astrophysical contexts. We connect linear wall-mode states that occur prior to the onset of bulk convection with the boundary zonal flow that coexists with turbulent bulk convection in the geostrophic regime through the continuity of length and time scales and of convective heat transport. We quantitatively collapse drift frequency, boundary length, and heat transport data from numerous sources over many orders of magnitude in Rayleigh and Ekman numbers. Elucidating the heat transport contributions of wall modes and of the boundary zonal flow are critical for characterizing the properties of the geostrophic regime of rotating convection in finite, physical containers and is crucial for connecting the geostrophic regime of laboratory convection with geophysical and astrophysical systems.
We study numerically the melting of a horizontal layer of a pure solid above a convecting layer of its fluid rotating about the vertical axis. In the rotating regime studied here, with Rayleigh numbers of order $10^7$, convection takes the form of columnar vortices, the number and size of which depend upon the Ekman and Prandtl numbers, as well as the geometry -- periodic or confined. As the Ekman and Rayleigh numbers vary, the number and average area of vortices vary in inverse proportion, becoming thinner and more numerous with decreasing Ekman number. The vortices transport heat to the phase boundary thereby controlling its morphology, characterized by the number and size of the voids formed in the solid, and the overall melt rate, which increases when the lower boundary is governed by a no-slip rather than a stress-free velocity boundary condition. Moreover, the number and size of voids formed are relatively insensitive to the Stefan number, here inversely proportional to the latent heat of fusion. For small values of the Stefan number, the convection in the fluid reaches a slowly evolving geostrophic state wherein columnar vortices transport nearly all the heat from the lower boundary to melt the solid at an approximately constant rate. In this quasi-steady state, we find that the Nusselt number, characterizing the heat flux, co-varies with the interfacial roughness, for all the flow parameters and Stefan numbers considered here. This confluence of processes should influence the treatment of moving boundary problems, particularly those in astrophysical and geophysical problems where rotational effects are important.
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