Generation of Mean Flows in a Rotating Convection Layer

1982 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 752-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. H. Busse

The instability of convection rolls in a fluid layer heatet from below is studied in the case where the layer rotates about an axis slightly inclined with respect to the vertical. The inclination destroys the horizontal isotropy of the layer, but the instability of rolls found by Küppers and Lortz [1] is little affected as long as the angle of inclination is small. A new effect is the generation of mean Reynolds stresses by rolls not aligned with the horizontal component of the rotation vector. The mean flow exhibits a vorticity of the same sign as the horizontal component of rotation and agrees qualitatively with the mean flow found in the numerical experiments of Hathaway and Somerville [2]

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (23) ◽  
pp. 9332-9349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Wu ◽  
Zhiping Wen ◽  
Renguang Wu

Abstract Part I of this study examined the modulation of the monsoon trough (MT) on tropical depression (TD)-type–mixed Rossby–gravity (MRG) and equatorial Rossby (ER) waves over the western North Pacific based on observations. This part investigates the interaction of these waves with the MT through a diagnostics of energy conversion that separates the effect of the MT on TD–MRG and ER waves. It is found that the barotropic conversion associated with the MT is the most important mechanism for the growth of eddy energy in both TD–MRG and ER waves. The large rotational flows help to maintain the rapid growth and tilted horizontal structure of the lower-tropospheric waves through a positive feedback between the wave growth and horizontal structure. The baroclinic conversion process associated with the MT contributes a smaller part for TD–MRG waves, but is of importance comparable to barotropic conversion for ER waves as it can produce the tilted vertical structure. The growth rates of the waves are much larger during strong MT years than during weak MT years. Numerical experiments are conducted for an idealized MRG or ER wave using a linear shallow-water model. The results confirm that the monsoon background flow can lead to an MRG-to-TD transition and the ER wave amplifies along the axis of the MT and is more active in the strong MT state. Those results are consistent with the findings in Part I. This indicates that the mean flow of the MT provides a favorable background condition for the development of the waves and acts as a key energy source.


Author(s):  
E. Yim ◽  
P. Meliga ◽  
F. Gallaire

We investigate the saturation of harmonically forced disturbances in the turbulent flow over a backward-facing step subjected to a finite amplitude forcing. The analysis relies on a triple decomposition of the unsteady flow into mean, coherent and incoherent components. The coherent–incoherent interaction is lumped into a Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) eddy viscosity model, and the mean–coherent interaction is analysed via a semi-linear resolvent analysis building on the laminar approach by Mantič-Lugo & Gallaire (2016 J. Fluid Mech. 793 , 777–797. ( doi:10.1017/jfm.2016.109 )). This provides a self-consistent modelling of the interaction between all three components, in the sense that the coherent perturbation structures selected by the resolvent analysis are those whose Reynolds stresses force the mean flow in such a way that the mean flow generates exactly the aforementioned perturbations, while also accounting for the effect of the incoherent scale. The model does not require any input from numerical or experimental data, and accurately predicts the saturation of the forced coherent disturbances, as established from comparison to time-averages of unsteady RANS simulation data.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 328
Author(s):  
Ebenezer Essel ◽  
Subhadip Das ◽  
Ram Balachandar

Understanding the wake characteristics between two in-line vehicles is essential for improving and developing new strategies for reducing in-cabin air pollution. In this study, Ahmed bodies are used to investigate the effects of the rear slant angle of a leading vehicle on the mean flow and turbulent statistics between two vehicles. The experiments were conducted with a particle image velocimetry at a fixed Reynolds number, R e H = 1.7 × 10 4 , and inter-vehicle spacing distance of 0.75 L , where H and L are the height and length of the model. The rear slant angles investigated were a reference square back, high-drag angle ( α = 25 ° ) and low-drag angle ( α = 35 ° ). The mean velocities, Reynolds stresses, production of turbulent kinetic energy and instantaneous swirling strength are used to provide physical insight into the wake dynamics between the two bodies. The results indicate that the recirculation region behind the square back Ahmed body increases while those behind the slant rear-end bodies decreases in the presence of a follower. For the square back models, the dominant motion in the wake region is a strong upwash of jet-like flow away from the road but increasing the rear slant angle induces a stronger downwash flow that suppresses the upwash and dominates the wake region.


2017 ◽  
Vol 812 ◽  
pp. 525-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Shishkina

We analyse the global flow structures in horizontal convection systems, where the heat supply and removal takes place through separated parts of a lower horizontal surface of a fluid layer. The results are based on direct numerical simulations for the length-to-height aspect ratio of the convection cell $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}=10$, Rayleigh number $\mathit{Ra}$ from $3\times 10^{8}$ to $3\times 10^{11}$ and Prandtl number $\mathit{Pr}$ from 0.05 to 50. The structure of the mean flows in horizontal convection is described in terms of time-averaged spatial distributions of the temperature, velocity, kinetic energy, thermal and kinetic dissipation rates. A possible scenario of transition to turbulent horizontal convection in the whole convection cell of a large aspect ratio is discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Marshall ◽  
James R. Maddison ◽  
Pavel S. Berloff

Abstract A framework for parameterizing eddy potential vorticity fluxes is developed that is consistent with conservation of energy and momentum while retaining the symmetries of the original eddy flux. The framework involves rewriting the residual-mean eddy force, or equivalently the eddy potential vorticity flux, as the divergence of an eddy stress tensor. A norm of this tensor is bounded by the eddy energy, allowing the components of the stress tensor to be rewritten in terms of the eddy energy and nondimensional parameters describing the mean shape and orientation of the eddies. If a prognostic equation is solved for the eddy energy, the remaining unknowns are nondimensional and bounded in magnitude by unity. Moreover, these nondimensional geometric parameters have strong connections with classical stability theory. When applied to the Eady problem, it is shown that the new framework preserves the functional form of the Eady growth rate for linear instability. Moreover, in the limit in which Reynolds stresses are neglected, the framework reduces to a Gent and McWilliams type of eddy closure where the eddy diffusivity can be interpreted as the form proposed by Visbeck et al. Simulations of three-layer wind-driven gyres are used to diagnose the eddy shape and orientations in fully developed geostrophic turbulence. These fields are found to have large-scale structure that appears related to the structure of the mean flow. The eddy energy sets the magnitude of the eddy stress tensor and hence the eddy potential vorticity fluxes. Possible extensions of the framework to ensure potential vorticity is mixed on average are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 2285-2307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talia Tamarin ◽  
James R. Maddison ◽  
Eyal Heifetz ◽  
David P. Marshall

AbstractBarotropic eddy fluxes are analyzed through a geometric decomposition of the eddy stress tensor. Specifically, the geometry of the eddy variance ellipse, a two-dimensional visualization of the stress tensor describing the mean eddy shape and tilt, is used to elucidate eddy propagation and eddy feedback on the mean flow. Linear shear and jet profiles are analyzed and theoretical results are compared against fully nonlinear simulations. For flows with zero planetary vorticity gradient, analytic solutions for the eddy ellipse tilt and anisotropy are obtained that provide a direct relationship between the eddy tilt and the phase difference of a normal-mode solution. This allows a straightforward interpretation of the eddy–mean flow interaction in terms of classical stability theory: the initially unstable jet gives rise to eddies that are tilted “against the shear” and extract energy from the mean flow; once the jet stabilizes, eddies become tilted “with the shear” and return their energy to the mean flow. For a nonzero planetary vorticity gradient, ray-tracing theory is used to predict ellipse geometry and its impact on eddy propagation within a jet. An analytic solution for the eddy tilt is found for a Rossby wave on a constant background shear. The ray-tracing results broadly agree with the eddy tilt diagnosed from a fully nonlinear simulation.


Author(s):  
M. Kanniche ◽  
R. Boudjemadi ◽  
F. Déjean ◽  
F. Archambeau

The flow in a linear turbine cascade (Gregory-Smith et al. (1990)) is numerically investigated using a Reynolds Stress Turbulence closure. A particular attention is given to secondary flows where the normal Reynolds stresses are expected to play an important role. The most classical turbulence closure, the k-epsilon model uses the Boussinesq Eddy Viscosity concept which assumes an isotropic turbulent viscosity. The Reynolds stresses are then related to local velocity gradients by this isotropic eddy viscosity. Corollary, the principal axes of the Reynolds stress tensor are colinear with those of the mean strain tensor. The advantage of Reynolds Stress Turbulence closure is the calculation of Reynolds stresses by their own individual transport equations. This leads to a more realistic description of the turbulence and of its dependance on the mean flow. The most classical Second Order turbulence model (Launder et al. (1975)) is applied to a linear turbine cascade, and the results are compared to secondary velocity and turbulence measurements at cross-passage planes.


2001 ◽  
Vol 442 ◽  
pp. 217-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. HOSOI ◽  
JOHN W. M. BUSH

We consider flow in a thin film generated by partially submerging an inclined rigid plate in a reservoir of ethanol– or methanol–water solution and wetting its surface. Evaporation leads to concentration and surface tension gradients that drive flow up the plate. An experimental study indicates that the climbing film is subject to two distinct instabilities. The first is a convective instability characterized by flattened convection rolls aligned in the direction of flow and accompanied by free-surface deformations; in the meniscus region, this instability gives rise to pronounced ridge structures aligned with the mean flow. The second instability, evident when the plate is nearly vertical, takes the form of transverse surface waves propagating up the plate.We demonstrate that the observed longitudinal rolls are driven by the combined influence of surface deformations and alcohol concentration gradients. Guided by the observation that the rolls are flattened, we develop a quasi-two-dimensional theoretical model for the instability of the film, based on lubrication theory, which includes the effects of gravity, capillarity and Marangoni stresses at the surface. We develop stability criteria for the film which are in qualitative agreement with our experimental observations. Our analysis yields an equation for the shape of the interface which is solved numerically and reproduces the salient features of the observed flows, including the slow lateral drift and merging of the ridges.


1986 ◽  
Vol 30 (04) ◽  
pp. 242-255
Author(s):  
P. Mitra ◽  
W. Neu ◽  
J. Schetz

Turbulent flow measurements were performed in the wake of a slender axisymmetric body in the presence of a flat plate strut and an image plane crudely representing the "rigid lid" approximation to a free surface. The tests were performed in a wind tunnel at a nominal Reynolds number of 6.0 ⨯ 105. A Yawhead probe was used for the mean flow measurements, and a Constant Temperature Anemometer System with an x-wire probe was used to obtain the turbulent flow characteristics. The presence of the image plane was found to increase the velocity defect and the static pressure as the image plane was approached. A redistribution among the various components of velocity fluctuations was noted near the image plane. The transverse component was enhanced at the expense of the normal component. The image plane also was found to influence the magnitudes and radial spread of turbulence intensities and Reynolds stresses. Some interactions between the wake of the axisymmetric body and that of the plate strut were observed. Overall, the mean velocities and the turbulence quantities indicated symmetry about the image plane throughout the wake.


1970 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Ru-Sue Ko ◽  
T. Kubota ◽  
L. Lees

An integral method is used to investigate the interaction between a two-dimensional, single frequency finite amplitude disturbance in a laminar, incompressible wake behind a flat plate at zero incidence. The mean flow is assumed to be a non-parallel flow characterized by a few shape parameters. Distribution of the fluctuation across the wake is obtained as functions of those mean flow parameters by solving the inviscid Rayleigh equation using the local mean flow. The variations of the fluctuation amplitude and of the shape parameters for the mean flow are then obtained by solving a set of ordinary differential equations derived from the momentum and energy integral equations. The interaction between the mean flow and the fluctuation through Reynolds stresses plays an important role in the present formulation, and the theoretical results show good agreement with the measurements of Sato & Kuriki (1961).


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