Stability of columnar convection in a porous medium

2013 ◽  
Vol 737 ◽  
pp. 205-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan R. Hewitt ◽  
Jerome A. Neufeld ◽  
John R. Lister

AbstractConvection in a porous medium at high Rayleigh number $\mathit{Ra}$ exhibits a striking quasisteady columnar structure with a well-defined and $\mathit{Ra}$-dependent horizontal scale. The mechanism that controls this scale is not currently understood. Motivated by this problem, the stability of a density-driven ‘heat-exchanger’ flow in a porous medium is investigated. The dimensionless flow comprises interleaving columns of horizontal wavenumber $k$ and amplitude $\widehat{A}$ that are driven by a steady balance between vertical advection of a background linear density stratification and horizontal diffusion between the columns. Stability is governed by the parameter $A= \widehat{A}\mathit{Ra}/ k$. A Floquet analysis of the linear-stability problem in an unbounded two-dimensional domain shows that the flow is always unstable, and that the marginal-stability curve is independent of $A$. The growth rate of the most unstable mode scales with ${A}^{4/ 9} $ for $A\gg 1$, and the corresponding perturbation takes the form of vertically propagating pulses on the background columns. The physical mechanism behind the instability is investigated by an asymptotic analysis of the linear-stability problem. Direct numerical simulations show that nonlinear evolution of the instability ultimately results in a reduction of the horizontal wavenumber of the background flow. The results of the stability analysis are applied to the columnar flow in a porous Rayleigh–Bénard (Rayleigh–Darcy) cell at high $\mathit{Ra}$, and a balance of the time scales for growth and propagation suggests that the flow is unstable for horizontal wavenumbers $k$ greater than $k\sim {\mathit{Ra}}^{5/ 14} $ as $\mathit{Ra}\rightarrow \infty $. This stability criterion is consistent with hitherto unexplained numerical measurements of $k$ in a Rayleigh–Darcy cell.

1982 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Symon ◽  
C. E. Seyler ◽  
H. R. Lewis

We present a general formulation for treating the linear stability of inhomogeneous plasmas for which at least one species is described by the Vlasov equation. Use of Poisson bracket notation and expansion of the perturbation distribution function in terms of eigenfunctions of the unperturbed Liouville operator leads to a concise representation of the stability problem in terms of a symmetric dispersion functional. A dispersion matrix is derived which characterizes the solutions of the linearized initial-value problem. The dispersion matrix is then expressed in terms of a dynamic spectral matrix which characterizes the properties of the unperturbed orbits, in so far as they are relevant to the linear stability of the system.


Fluids ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Layachi Hadji

This article deals with the stability problem that arises in the modeling of the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide. It provides a more detailed description of the alternative approach to tackling the stability problem put forth by Vo and Hadji (Physics of Fluids, 2017, 29, 127101) and Wanstall and Hadji (Journal of Engineering Mathematics, 2018, 108, 53–71), and it extends two-dimensional analysis to the three-dimensional case. This new approach, which is based on a step-function base profile, is contrasted with the usual time-evolving base state. While both provide only estimates for the instability threshold values, the step-function base profile approach has one great advantage in the sense that the problem at hand can be viewed as a stationary Rayleigh–Bénard problem, the model of which is physically sound and the stability of which is not only well-defined but can be analyzed by a variety of existing analytical methods using only paper and pencil.


2012 ◽  
Vol 710 ◽  
pp. 154-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiichi Sasaki ◽  
Shin-ichi Takehiro ◽  
Michio Yamada

AbstractThe linear stability of inviscid zonal jet flows on a rotating sphere is re-examined. A semi-circle theorem for inviscid zonal flows on a rotating sphere is proved. It is also shown that numerically obtained eigenvalues of the linear stability problem do not converge well with a spectral method which was adopted in previous studies, due to an emergence of critical layers near the poles. By using a shooting method where the integral path bypasses the critical layers in the complex plane, the eigenvalues are successfully obtained with ${\ensuremath{\sim} }10\hspace{0.167em} \% $ correction of the critical rotation rates compared to those obtained in Baines (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 73, 1976, pp. 193–213).


2013 ◽  
Vol 736 ◽  
pp. 464-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pearce ◽  
J. Daou

AbstractWe investigate the Rayleigh–Bénard convection problem within the context of a diffusion flame formed in a horizontal channel where the fuel and oxidizer concentrations are prescribed at the porous walls. This problem seems to have received no attention in the literature. When formulated in the low-Mach-number approximation the model depends on two main non-dimensional parameters, the Rayleigh number and the Damköhler number, which govern gravitational strength and reaction speed respectively. In the steady state the system admits a planar diffusion flame solution; the aim is to find the critical Rayleigh number at which this solution becomes unstable to infinitesimal perturbations. In the Boussinesq approximation, a linear stability analysis reduces the system to a matrix equation with a solution comparable to that of the well-studied non-reactive case of Rayleigh–Bénard convection with a hot lower boundary. The planar Burke–Schumann diffusion flame, which has been previously considered unconditionally stable in studies disregarding gravity, is shown to become unstable when the Rayleigh number exceeds a critical value. A numerical treatment is performed to test the effects of compressibility and finite chemistry on the stability of the system. For weak values of the thermal expansion coefficient $\alpha $, the numerical results show strong agreement with those of the linear stability analysis. It is found that as $\alpha $ increases to a more realistic value the system becomes considerably more stable, and also exhibits hysteresis at the onset of instability. Finally, a reduction in the Damköhler number is found to decrease the stability of the system.


Author(s):  
K.B. Tsiberkin

The stability of incompressible fluid plane-parallel flow over a layer of a saturated porous medium is studied. The results of a linear stability analysis are described at different porosity values. The considered system is bounded by solid wall from the porous layer bottom. Top fluid surface is free and rigid. A linear stability analysis of plane-parallel stationary flow is presented. It is realized for parameter area where the neutral stability curves are bimodal. The porosity variation effect on flow stability is considered. It is shown that there is a transition between two main instability modes: long-wave and short-wave. The long-wave instability mechanism is determined by inflection points within the velocity profile. The short-wave instability is due to the large transverse gradient of flow velocity near the interface between liquid and porous medium. Porosity decrease stabilizes the long wave perturbations without significant shift of the critical wavenumber. Simultaneously, the short-wave perturbations destabilize, and their critical wavenumber changes in wide range. When the porosity is less than 0.7, the inertial terms in filtration equation and magnitude of the viscous stress near the interface increase to such an extent that the Kelvin-Helmholtz analogue of instability becomes the dominant mechanism for instability development. The stability band realizes in narrow porosity area. It separates the two branches of the neutral curve.


1965 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. H. Hughes ◽  
W. H. Reid

This paper presents a discussion of some aspects of the linear stability problem for the asymptotic suction profile. An exact solution of the inviscid equation is first obtained in terms of the usual hypergeometric function and its analytical continuation. This exact solution provides both a corrected version of an earlier treatment by Freeman and an independent check on the more general method suggested for solving the inviscid equation numerically. Various approximations to the characteristic equation, and hence to the curve of neutral stability, are then considered. In particular, it is found that, in a consistent asymptotic treatment of the related adjoint problem, at least one viscous correction to the singular inviscid solution must be considered. Based on the present results for the adjoint problem, it is suggested that Tollmien's original treatment of the viscous corrections must be slightly modified.


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