A VIRTUAL PISTON-TYPE WAVE MAKER BASED ON OPENFOAM

OpenFOAM is an open source CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) toolbox and recently attracts many researchers to develop codes based on it for their own applications. In order to numerically generate waves based on the wave-maker theory for a piston motion, numerical improvements have been done on the base of OpenFOAM by the author. In gen- eral, the present new tool can be employed to simulate wave generation as long as the piston motion is given. This paper presents the related computational procedure and simulations for generating relatively long finite-amplitude waves ac- cording to Madsen’s second-order wave-maker theory. The sensitivities of the computed incident wave profile to grid density and time step are investigated for the case of generating a wave with permanent form. The simulation accuracy is validated by comparison with the analytical solution and available experimental data.

Gravity modulation effect on weakly nonlinear thermal convection in a fluid layer bounded by rigid boundaries

This paper investigates the effect of gravity modulation on Rayleigh–Bénard convection using the rigid isothermal boundary conditions. We calculate heat transfer results using the Nusselt and mean Nusselt numbers through the finite-amplitude of convection, which we got from the Ginzburg–Landau equation (GLE). The Ginzburg–Landau equation is derived analytically from the Fredholm solvability condition at third order. The finite amplitude equation (GLE) is a function of system parameters and solved numerically. The gravity modulation considered in terms of steady and sinusoidal parts. The sinusoidal part defines gravity modulation in terms of amplitude and frequency. Our study shows that gravity modulation controls the heat transfer results. The amplitude of modulation enhances heat transfer for low frequencies and diminishes for high frequencies. Further, we found that rigid isothermal boundary conditions are diminishing heat transfer than free and isothermal boundaries. Finally, we concluded that rigid isothermal boundary conditions and gravity modulation controls heat transfer results.

On the stability of the boundary layer at the bottom of propagating surface waves

This study contributes to an improved understanding of the stability of the boundary layer generated at the bottom of a propagating surface wave of small but finite amplitude such that both a second harmonic component and a steady streaming component, which are superimposed on the main oscillatory flow, assume significant values. A linear stability analysis of the laminar flow is made to determine the conditions leading to transition and turbulence appearance. The Reynolds number of the phenomenon is assumed to be large and a ‘momentary’ criterion of stability is used. The results show that, at a given location, the laminar regime becomes unstable when the flow close to the bottom reverses its direction from the onshore to the offshore direction and the Reynolds number exceeds a first critical value $R_{\delta ,c1}$ . However, close to the critical condition, the flow is expected to relaminarize during the other phases of the cycle. Only when the Reynolds number is increased does turbulence tend to appear also after the passage of the wave trough when the flow close to the bottom reverses from the offshore to the onshore direction. When the Reynolds number is further increased and becomes larger than a second ‘threshold’ value, the growth rate of the perturbations becomes positive over the entire wave period. The obtained results suggest the existence of four different flow regimes: the laminar regime, the disturbed laminar regime, the intermittently turbulent regime and the fully developed turbulent regime.

The Finite Size Lyapunov Exponent and the Finite Amplitude Growth Rate

The finite size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) has been used extensively since the late 1990s to diagnose turbulent regimes from Lagrangian experiments and to detect Lagrangian coherent structures in geophysical flows and two-dimensional turbulence. Historically, the FSLE was defined in terms of its computational method rather than via a mathematical formulation, and the behavior of the FSLE in the turbulent inertial ranges is based primarily on scaling arguments. Here, we propose an exact definition of the FSLE based on conditional averaging of the finite amplitude growth rate (FAGR) of the particle pair separation. With this new definition, we show that the FSLE is a close proxy for the inverse structural time, a concept introduced a decade before the FSLE. The (in)dependence of the FSLE on initial conditions is also discussed, as well as the links between the FAGR and other relevant Lagrangian metrics, such as the finite time Lyapunov exponent and the second-order velocity structure function.

Nonlinear reversed shear Alfvén eigenmode saturation due to spontaneous zonal current generation

General nonlinear equations describing reversed shear Alfvén eigenmode (RSAE) self-modulation via zero-frequency zonal structure (ZFZS) generation are derived using nonlinear gyrokinetic theory, which are then applied to study the spontaneous ZFZS excitation as well as RSAE nonlinear saturation. It is found that both electrostatic zonal flow and electromagnetic zonal current can be preferentially excited by finite-amplitude RSAE, depending on specific plasma parameters. The modification to local shear Alfvén wave continuum is evaluated using the derived saturation level of zonal current, which is shown to play a comparable role in saturating RSAE with the ZFZS scattering.