scholarly journals Boundary Layer Stability Regime at DACCIWA Site Using Gradient Richardson Number

Author(s):  
O. O. Ajileye ◽  
M. A. Ayoola

Meteorological data including air temperature and wind speed which were collected from DACCIWA measurement site at a tropical agricultural field site in Ile-Ife (7.55oE, 4.56oE), south-western Nigeria have been used to classify boundary layer stability regimes using gradient Richardson number. Three categories were considered to deduce the pattern of stability conditions namely stable, unstable and neutral conditions for 3-hourly intervals at 0.00, 03.00, 06.00, 09.00, 12.00, 15.00, 18.00 and 21.00 hours from 15th June to 31st July 2016. The data were sampled every 1sec and stored subsequently as 10 minutes averages for all the measured parameters. The data was further reduced to 30 minutes averages for easy analysis and manipulation in the calculation of gradient Richardson number used for boundary layer stability regime characterization. The results showed that the month of June 2016 had prevalence of stable regime from 0:00 – 6:00 am and 6:00 pm; 9:00 am was predominantly neutral and shared similar pattern with 9:00 pm. Unstable regime was slightly observed at 12:00 pm and majorly observed at 3:00 pm. The month of July had a little shift from what was observed in the month of June. Predominance of neutral conditions was observed from 9:00 pm to 9:00 am; Hours of 12:00 – 3:00 pm were dominated by unstable regime while 6:00 pm was dominated by stable regime.

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 1414-1427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. P. Meillier ◽  
R. G. Frehlich ◽  
R. M. Jones ◽  
B. B. Balsley

Abstract Constant altitude measurements of temperature and velocity in the residual layer of the nocturnal boundary layer, collected by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Tethered Lifting System (TLS), exhibit fluctuations identified by previous work (Fritts et al.) as the signature of ducted gravity waves. The concurrent high-resolution TLS turbulence measurements (temperature structure constant C2T and turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate ɛ) reveal the presence of patches of enhanced turbulence activity that are roughly synchronized with the troughs of the temperature and velocity fluctuations. To investigate the potentially dominant role ducted gravity waves might play on the modulation of atmospheric stability and therefore, on turbulence, time series of the wave-modulated gradient Richardson number (Ri) and of the vertical gradient of potential temperature ∂θ/∂z(t) are computed numerically and compared to the TLS small-scale turbulence measurements. The results of this study agree with the predictions of previous theoretical studies (i.e., wave-generated fluctuations of temperature and velocity modulate the gradient Richardson number), resulting in periodic enhancements of turbulence at Ri minima. The patches of turbulence observed in the TLS dataset are subsequently identified as convective instabilities generated locally within the unstable phase of the wave.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-82
Author(s):  
Lyudmila I. Kurbatskaya

The changes in turbulent eddy mixing in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) are investigated with the use of the mesoscale RANS turbulence model with account for effects of internal gravitational waves, which support momentum transfer under condition of very stable stratification. A focus was put on analysis of behavior of the coefficients of vertical eddy diffusion of momentum and heat. The behavior of the turbulent eddy mixing parameters was found to be consistent with measurements in the laboratory and atmosphere. In particular, the flow Richardson number () during the transient flow to a strongly stable state can behave nonmonotonically, growing with increasing gradient Richardson number () to the state of saturation at a certain gradient Richardson number ( Ri@ 1 ), which separates two different turbulent regimes: strong mixing and weak mixing.


2002 ◽  
Vol 459 ◽  
pp. 307-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. PARDYJAK ◽  
P. MONTI ◽  
H. J. S. FERNANDO

The flux Richardson number Rf (also known as the mixing efficiency) for the stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer is investigated as a function of the gradient Richardson number Rig using data taken during two field studies: the Vertical Transport and Mixing Experiment (VTMX) in Salt Lake City, Utah (October 2000), and a long-term rural field data set from Technical Area 6 (TA-6) at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico. The results show the existence of a maximum Rf (0.4–0.5) at a gradient Richardson number of approximately unity. These large-Reynolds-number results agree well with recent laboratory stratified shear layer measurements, but are at odds with some commonly used Rf parameterizations, particularly under high-Rig conditions. The observed variations in buoyancy flux and turbulent kinetic energy production are consistent with the concept of global intermittency of the atmospheric stable boundary layer.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1526-1537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Sorbjan

Abstract The “flux based” local scaling in the stably stratified boundary layer is valid only in cases with strong, continuous turbulence, when the gradient Richardson number Ri is constant and subcritical. To extend the local similarity approach to cases with weak turbulence (very stable regime), the “gradient based” local scaling is introduced and discussed in the paper. Both types of local scaling, the flux based and the gradient based, are tested based on the data, collected from a 60-m tower during the Cooperative Atmosphere–Surface Exchange Study-1999 (CASES-99). The obtained results show that the gradient-based scaling provides a useful framework for the treatment of cases with both strong and weak turbulence and overcritical Richardson numbers.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 645-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Mauritsen ◽  
Gunilla Svensson

Abstract Stably stratified shear-driven turbulence is analyzed using the gradient Richardson number, Ri, as the stability parameter. The method overcomes the statistical problems associated with the widely used Monin–Obukhov stability parameter. The results of the Ri-based scaling confirm the presence of three regimes: the weakly and the very stable regimes and the transition in between them. In the weakly stable regime, fluxes scale in proportion with variance, while in the very stable regime, stress and scalar fluxes behave differently. At large Ri, the velocity field becomes highly anisotropic and the turbulent potential energy becomes approximately equal to half of the turbulent kinetic energy. It appears that even in the strongly stable regime, beyond what is known as the critical gradient Richardson number, turbulent motions are present.


AIAA Journal ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 464-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen P. Doggett ◽  
Ndaona Chokani ◽  
Stephen P. Wilkinson

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-383
Author(s):  
Nepal Chandra Roy ◽  
Sadia Siddiqa

AbstractA mathematical model for mixed convection flow of a nanofluid along a vertical wavy surface has been studied. Numerical results reveal the effects of the volume fraction of nanoparticles, the axial distribution, the Richardson number, and the amplitude/wavelength ratio on the heat transfer of Al2O3-water nanofluid. By increasing the volume fraction of nanoparticles, the local Nusselt number and the thermal boundary layer increases significantly. In case of \mathrm{Ri}=1.0, the inclusion of 2 % and 5 % nanoparticles in the pure fluid augments the local Nusselt number, measured at the axial position 6.0, by 6.6 % and 16.3 % for a flat plate and by 5.9 % and 14.5 %, and 5.4 % and 13.3 % for the wavy surfaces with an amplitude/wavelength ratio of 0.1 and 0.2, respectively. However, when the Richardson number is increased, the local Nusselt number is found to increase but the thermal boundary layer decreases. For small values of the amplitude/wavelength ratio, the two harmonics pattern of the energy field cannot be detected by the local Nusselt number curve, however the isotherms clearly demonstrate this characteristic. The pressure leads to the first harmonic, and the buoyancy, diffusion, and inertia forces produce the second harmonic.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. I. Lysenko ◽  
S. A. Gaponov ◽  
B. V. Smorodsky ◽  
Yu. G. Yermolaev ◽  
A. D. Kosinov ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf Al Musleh ◽  
Abdelkader Frendi

Delaying the onset of boundary layer transition has become a major research area in the last few years. This delay can be achieved by either active or passive control techniques. In the present paper, the effects of flexible or compliant structures on boundary layer stability and transition is studied. The Orr-Sommerfeld equation coupled to a beam equation representing the flexible structure is solved for a Blasius type boundary layer. A parametric study consisting of the beam thickness and material properties is carried out. In addition, the effect of fluid wall shear stress on boundary layer stability is analyzed. It is found that high density and high Young modulus materials behave like rigid structures and therefore do not alter the stability characteristic of the boundary layer. Whereas low density and low Young modulus materials are found to stabilize the boundary layer. High values of fluid wall shear stress are found to destabilize the boundary layer. Our results are in good agreement with those published in the literature.


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