Large-scale flow properties of turbulent thermal convection

1996 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. R5901-R5904 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ciliberto ◽  
S. Cioni ◽  
C. Laroche
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. eaat7480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Wang ◽  
Pik-Yin Lai ◽  
Hao Song ◽  
Penger Tong

It is commonly believed that heat flux passing through a closed thermal convection system is balanced so that the convection system can remain at a steady state. Here, we report a new kind of convective instability for turbulent thermal convection, in which the convective flow stays over a long steady “quiet period” having a minute amount of heat accumulation in the convection cell, followed by a short and intermittent “active period” with a massive eruption of thermal plumes to release the accumulated heat. The rare massive eruption of thermal plumes disrupts the existing large-scale circulation across the cell and resets its rotational direction. A careful analysis reveals that the distribution of the plume eruption amplitude follows the generalized extreme value statistics with an upper bound, which changes with the fluid properties of the convecting medium. The experimental findings have important implications to many closed convection systems of geophysical scale, in which massive eruptions and sudden changes in large-scale flow pattern are often observed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 676 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
KE-QING XIA

How internal flow states can influence the global transport properties in a turbulent system has always been an intriguing question. Weiss & Ahlers (J. Fluid Mech., this issue, vol. 676, 2011, pp. 5–40) have provided an example by measuring the instantaneous Nusselt number in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection and correlating it to the different modes of large-scale flow.


1999 ◽  
Vol 379 ◽  
pp. 223-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNE DAVAILLE

The influence of a viscosity stratification on the interaction between thermal convection and a stable density discontinuity is studied, using laboratory experiments. Initially, two superposed isothermal layers of high-Prandtl-number miscible fluids are suddenly cooled from above and heated from below. By adjusting the concentrations of salt and cellulose, Rayleigh numbers between 300 and 3×107 were achieved for density contrasts between 0.45 % and 5 % and viscosity ratios between 1 and 6.4×104. Heat and mass transfer through the interface were monitored.Two-layer convection is observed but a steady state is never obtained since penetrative convection occurs. A new interfacial instability is reported, owing to the nonlinear interaction of the unstable thermal and stable chemical density gradients. As a result, the temperature condition at the interface is highly inhomogeneous, driving, on top of the classical small-scale thermal convection, a large-scale flow in each layer which produces cusps at the interface. Entrainment, driven by viscous coupling between the two layers, proceeds through those cusps. The pattern of entrainment is asymmetric: two-dimensional sheets are dragged into the more viscous layer, while three-dimensional conduits are produced in the less viscous layer. A simple entrainment model is proposed and scaling laws for the entrainment rate are derived; they explain the experimental data well.


2001 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Damon Liu ◽  
Mark Burgin ◽  
Walter Karplus ◽  
Daniel Valentino

Author(s):  
Yanzhe Sun ◽  
Kai Sun ◽  
Tianyou Wang ◽  
Yufeng Li ◽  
Zhen Lu

Emission and fuel consumption in swirl-supported diesel engines strongly depend on the in-cylinder turbulent flows. But the physical effects of squish flow on the tangential flow and turbulence production are still far from well understood. To identify the effects of squish flow, Particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiments are performed in a motored optical diesel engine equipped with different bowls. By comparing and associating the large-scale flow and turbulent kinetic energy (k), the main effects of the squish flow are clarified. The effect of squish flow on the turbulence production in the r−θ plane lies in the axial-asymmetry of the annular distribution of radial flow and the deviation between the ensemble-averaged swirl field and rigid body swirl field. Larger squish flow could promote the swirl center to move to the cylinder axis and reduce the deformation of swirl center, which could decrease the axial-asymmetry of annular distribution of radial flow, further, that results in a lower turbulence production of the shear stress. Moreover, larger squish flow increases the radial fluctuation velocity which makes a similar contribution to k with the tangential component. The understanding of the squish flow and its correlations with tangential flow and turbulence obtained in this study is beneficial to design and optimize the in-cylinder turbulent flow.


2002 ◽  
Vol 464 ◽  
pp. 81-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLEG ZIKANOV ◽  
DONALD N. SLINN ◽  
MANHAR R. DHANAK

We present the results of large-eddy simulations (LES) of turbulent thermal convection generated by surface cooling in a finite-depth stably stratified horizontal layer with an isothermal bottom surface. The flow is a simplified model of turbulent convection occurring in the warm shallow ocean during adverse weather events. Simulations are performed in a 6 × 6 × 1 aspect ratio computational domain using the pseudo-spectral Fourier method in the horizontal plane and finite-difference discretization on a high-resolution clustered grid in the vertical direction. A moderate value of the Reynolds number and two different values of the Richardson number corresponding to a weak initial stratification are considered. A version of the dynamic model is applied as a subgrid-scale (SGS) closure. Its performance is evaluated based on comparison with the results of direct numerical simulations (DNS) and simulations using the Smagorinsky model. Comprehensive study of the spatial structure and statistical properties of the developed turbulent state shows some similarity to Rayleigh–Bénard convection and other types of turbulent thermal convection in horizontal layers, but also reveals distinctive features such as the dominance of a large-scale pattern of descending plumes and strong turbulent fluctuations near the surface.


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