Linear Stability Analysis

Author(s):  
Gary A. Glatzmaier

This chapter describes a linear stability analysis (that is, solving for the critical Rayleigh number Ra and mode) that allows readers to check their linear codes against the analytic solution. For this linear analysis, each Fourier mode n can be considered a separate and independent problem. The question that needs to be addressed now is under what conditions—that is, what values of Ra, Prandtl number Pr, and aspect ratio a—will the amplitude of the linear solution grow with time for a given mode n. This is a linear stability problem. The chapter first introduces the linear equations before discussing the linear code and explaining how to find the critical Rayleigh number; in other words, the value of Ra for a and Pr that gives a solution that neither grows nor decays with time. It also shows how the linear stability problem can be solved using an analytic approach.

Author(s):  
Yu Liang ◽  
Jeffrey R. Carpenter ◽  
Mary-Louise Timmermans

AbstractDiffusive convection can occur when two constituents of a stratified fluid have opposing effects on its stratification and different molecular diffusivities. This form of convection arises for the particular temperature and salinity stratification in the Arctic Ocean and is relevant to heat fluxes. Previous studies have suggested that planetary rotation may influence diffusive-convective heat fluxes, although the precise physical mechanisms and regime of rotational influence are not well understood. A linear stability analysis of a temperature and salinity interface bounded by two mixed layers is performed here to understand the stability properties of a diffusive-convective system, and in particular the transition from non-rotating to rotationally-controlled heat transfer. Rotation is shown to stabilize diffusive convection by increasing the critical Rayleigh number to initiate instability. In the rotationally-controlled regime, a −4/3 power law is found between the critical Rayleigh number and the Ekman number, similar to the scaling for rotating thermal convection. The transition from non-rotating to rotationally-controlled convection, and associated drop in heat fluxes, is predicted to occur when the thermal interfacial thickness exceeds about 4 times the Ekman layer thickness. A vorticity budget analysis indicates how baroclinic vorticity production is counteracted by the tilting of planetary vorticity by vertical shear, which accounts for the stabilization effect of rotation. Finally, direct numerical simulations yield generally good agreement with the linear stability analysis. This study, therefore, provides a theoretical framework for classifying regimes of rotationally-controlled diffusive-convective heat fluxes, such as may arise in some regions of the Arctic Ocean.


1958 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. V. R. Malkus ◽  
G. Veronis

When a layer of fluid is heated uniformly from below and cooled from above, a cellular regime of steady convection is set up at values of the Rayleigh number exceeding a critical value. A method is presented here to determine the form and amplitude of this convection. The non-linear equations describing the fields of motion and temperature are expanded in a sequence of inhomogeneous linear equations dependent upon the solutions of the linear stability problem. We find that there are an infinite number of steady-state finite amplitude solutions (having different horizontal plan-forms) which formally satisfy these equations. A criterion for ‘relative stability’ is deduced which selects as the realized solution that one which has the maximum mean-square temperature gradient. Particular conclusions are that for a large Prandtl number the amplitude of the convection is determined primarily by the distortion of the distribution of mean temperature and only secondarily by the self-distortion of the disturbance, and that when the Prandtl number is less than unity self-distortion plays the dominant role in amplitude determination. The initial heat transport due to convection depends linearly on the Rayleigh number; the heat transport at higher Rayleigh numbers departs only slightly from this linear dependence. Square horizontal plan-forms are preferred to hexagonal plan-forms in ordinary fluids with symmetric boundary conditions. The proposed finite amplitude method is applicable to any model of shear flow or convection with a soluble stability problem.


2002 ◽  
Vol 469 ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. C. HOUCHENS ◽  
L. MARTIN WITKOWSKI ◽  
J. S. WALKER

This paper presents two linear stability analyses for an electrically conducting liquid contained in a vertical cylinder with a thermally insulated vertical wall and with isothermal top and bottom walls. There is a steady uniform vertical magnetic field. The first linear stability analysis involves a hybrid approach which combines an analytical solution for the Hartmann layers adjacent to the top and bottom walls with a numerical solution for the rest of the liquid domain. The second linear stability analysis involves an asymptotic solution for large values of the Hartmann number. Numerically accurate predictions of the critical Rayleigh number can be obtained for Hartmann numbers from zero to infinity with the two solutions presented here and a previous numerical solution which gives accurate results for small values of the Hartmann number.


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.


1995 ◽  
Vol 294 ◽  
pp. 231-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kimura ◽  
M. Vynnycky ◽  
F. Alavyoon

Natural convection in a saturated horizontal porous layer heated from below and cooled at the top with a constant flux is studied both analytically and numerically. Linear stability analysis indicates that unicellular recirculation remains a stable mode of flow as the aspect ratio (A) of the layer is increased, in contrast to the situation for an isothermally heated and cooled layer. An analytical solution is presented for fully developed counterflow in the infinite-aspect-ratio limit; this flow is found to be linearly stable to transverse disturbances for Rayleigh number (Ra) as high as 506, at which point a Hopf bifurcation sets in; however, further analysis indicates that an exchange of stability due to longitudinal disturbances will occur much sooner at Ra ≈ 311.53. The velocity and temperature profiles of the counterflow solution, whilst not strictly speaking valid in the extreme end regions of the layer, otherwise agree very well with full numerical computations conducted for the ranges 25 [les ] Ra [les ] 1050, 2 [les ] A [les ] 10. However, for sufficiently high Rayleigh number (Ra between 630 and 650 for A = 8 and Ra between 730 and 750 for A = 4, for example), the computations indicate transition from steady unicellular to oscillatory flow, in line with the Hopf bifurcation predicted by the linear stability analysis for infinite aspect ratio.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Nitin Kumar ◽  
Sunil Chamoli ◽  
Sachin Tejyan ◽  
Pawan Kumar Pant

A discrete linear stability analysis framework for two-dimensional laminar flows is presented. Using two case studies involving analysis of thermal and laminar flows, the stability of flows in the discrete numerical sense is addressed. The two-dimensional base flow for various values of the controlling parameter (Reynolds number for flow past a square cylinder and Rayleigh number for double-glazing problem) is computed numerically by using the lattice Boltzmann method. The governing equations, discretized using the finitedifference method in two-dimensions and are subsequently written in the form of perturbed equations with twodimensional disturbances. These equations are linearized around the base flow and form a set of partial differential equations that govern the evolution of the perturbations. The eigenvalues, stability of the base flow and the points of bifurcations are determined using normal mode analysis. The eigenvalue spectrum predicts that the critical Reynolds number is 52 and the critical Rayleigh number is 6 1.88×10 for the square cylinder and double-glazing problem, respectively, The results are consistent with the previous numerical and experimental observations.


2000 ◽  
Vol 55 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 957-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Bhatia ◽  
B. S. Bhadauria

Abstract The linear stability problem for a fluid in a classic Benard configuration is considered. The applied temperature gradient is the sum of a steady component and a time-dependent periodic component. Only infinitesimal disturbances are considered. The time-dependent perturbation is expressed in Fourier series. The shift in critical Rayleigh number is calculated and the modulating effect of the oscillatory temperature gradient on the stability of the fluid layer is examined. Some comparison is made with known results.


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