Heat flux enhancement by regular surface roughness in turbulent thermal convection

2014 ◽  
Vol 763 ◽  
pp. 109-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wagner ◽  
Olga Shishkina

AbstractDirect numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent thermal convection in a box-shaped domain with regular surface roughness at the heated bottom and cooled top surfaces are conducted for Prandtl number $\mathit{Pr}=0.786$ and Rayleigh numbers $\mathit{Ra}$ between $10^{6}$ and $10^{8}$. The surface roughness is introduced by four parallelepiped equidistantly distributed obstacles attached to the bottom plate, and four obstacles located symmetrically at the top plate. By varying $\mathit{Ra}$ and the height and width of the obstacles, we investigate the influence of the regular wall roughness on the turbulent heat transport, measured by the Nusselt number $\mathit{Nu}$. For fixed $\mathit{Ra}$, the change in the value of $\mathit{Nu}$ is determined not only by the covering area of the surface, i.e. the obstacle height, but also by the distance between the obstacles. The heat flux enhancement is found to be largest for wide cavities between the obstacles which can be ‘washed out’ by the flow. This is also manifested in an empirical relation, which is based on the DNS data. We further discuss theoretical limiting cases for very wide and very narrow obstacles and combine them into a simple model for the heat flux enhancement due to the wall roughness, without introducing any free parameters. This model predicts well the general trends and the order of magnitude of the heat flux enhancement obtained in the DNS. In the $\mathit{Nu}$ versus $\mathit{Ra}$ scaling, the obstacles work in two ways: for smaller $\mathit{Ra}$ an increase of the scaling exponent compared to the smooth case is found, which is connected to the heat flux entering the cavities from below. For larger $\mathit{Ra}$ the scaling exponent saturates to the one for smooth plates, which can be understood as a full washing-out of the cavities. The latter is also investigated by considering the strength of the mean secondary flow in the cavities and its relation to the wind (i.e. the large-scale circulation), that develops in the core part of the domain. Generally, an increase in the roughness height leads to stronger flows both in the cavities and in the bulk region, while an increase in the width of the obstacles strengthens only the large-scale circulation of the fluid and weakens the secondary flows. An increase of the Rayleigh number always leads to stronger flows, both in the cavities and in the bulk.

2014 ◽  
Vol 740 ◽  
pp. 136-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Song ◽  
Eric Brown ◽  
Russell Hawkins ◽  
Penger Tong

AbstractA systematic study of the effects of cell geometry on the dynamics of large-scale flows in turbulent thermal convection is carried out in horizontal cylindrical cells of different lengths filled with water. Four different flow modes are identified with increasing aspect ratio $\Gamma $. For small aspect ratios ($\Gamma \leq 0.16$), the flow is highly confined in a thin disc-like cell with a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) large-scale circulation (LSC) in the circular plane of the cell. For larger aspect ratios ($\Gamma >0.16$), we observe periodic switching of the angular orientation $\theta $ of the rotation plane of LSC between the two longest diagonals of the cell. The sides of the container along which the LSC oscillates changes at a critical aspect ratio $\Gamma _{c}\simeq 0.82$. The measured switching period is equal to the LSC turnover time for $\Gamma \leq \Gamma _c$, shows a sharp increase at $\Gamma _{c}$ and decays exponentially to the LSC turnover time with increasing $\Gamma $. For $\Gamma \geq 1.3$, a periodic rocking of LSC along the long axis of the cylinder is also observed. The measured probability density function $P(\theta )$ of the LSC orientation $\theta $ peaks at the two diagonal positions, and its shape is described by a phenomenological model proposed by Brown & Ahlers (Phys. Fluids, vol. 20, 2008b, 075101; J. Fluid Mech., vol. 638, 2009, pp. 383–400). Using this model, we describe the dynamics of the LSC orientation $\theta $ by stochastic motion in a double-well potential. The potential is predicted from a model in which the sidewall shape produces an orientation-dependent pressure on the LSC. This model also captures key features of the four flow modes. The experiment reveals an interesting array of rich dynamics of LSC in the horizontal cylinders, which are very different from those observed in the upright cylindrical convection cells. The success of the model for both upright and horizontal cylinders suggests that it can be applied to different geometries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 851 ◽  
pp. 436-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben A. Verschoof ◽  
Dennis Bakhuis ◽  
Pim A. Bullee ◽  
Sander G. Huisman ◽  
Chao Sun ◽  
...  

We experimentally study the influence of wall roughness on bubble drag reduction in turbulent Taylor–Couette flow, i.e. the flow between two concentric, independently rotating cylinders. We measure the drag in the system for the cases with and without air, and add roughness by installing transverse ribs on either one or both of the cylinders. For the smooth-wall case (no ribs) and the case of ribs on the inner cylinder only, we observe strong drag reduction up to DR$=33\,\%$ and DR$=23\,\%$, respectively, for a void fraction of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=6\,\%$. However, with ribs mounted on both cylinders or on the outer cylinder only, the drag reduction is weak, less than DR$=11\,\%$, and thus quite close to the trivial effect of reduced effective density. Flow visualizations show that stable turbulent Taylor vortices – large-scale vortical structures – are induced in these two cases, i.e. the cases with ribs on the outer cylinder. These strong secondary flows move the bubbles away from the boundary layer, making the bubbles less effective than what had previously been observed for the smooth-wall case. Measurements with counter-rotating smooth cylinders, a regime in which pronounced Taylor rolls are also induced, confirm that it is really the Taylor vortices that weaken the bubble drag reduction mechanism. Our findings show that, although bubble drag reduction can indeed be effective for smooth walls, its effect can be spoiled by e.g. biofouling and omnipresent wall roughness, as the roughness can induce strong secondary flows.


Author(s):  
Tuan Tran ◽  
Dongdong Liu ◽  
Binh-Thien Nguyen

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Yahya Darmawan ◽  
Huang-Hsiung Hsu ◽  
Jia-Yuh Yu

This study aims to explore the contrasting characteristics of large-scale circulation that led to the precipitation anomalies over the northern parts of Sumatra Island. Further, the impact of varying the Asian–Australian Monsoon (AAM) was investigated for triggering the precipitation variability over the study area. The moisture budget analysis was applied to quantify the most dominant component that induces precipitation variability during the JJA (June, July, and August) period. Then, the composite analysis and statistical approach were applied to confirm the result of the moisture budget. Using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Anaysis Interim (ERA-Interim) from 1981 to 2016, we identified 9 (nine) dry and 6 (six) wet years based on precipitation anomalies, respectively. The dry years (wet years) anomalies over the study area were mostly supported by downward (upward) vertical velocity anomaly instead of other variables such as specific humidity, horizontal velocity, and evaporation. In the dry years (wet years), there is a strengthening (weakening) of the descent motion, which triggers a reduction (increase) of convection over the study area. The overall downward (upward) motion of westerly (easterly) winds appears to suppress (support) the convection and lead to negative (positive) precipitation anomaly in the whole region but with the largest anomaly over northern parts of Sumatra. The AAM variability proven has a significant role in the precipitation variability over the study area. A teleconnection between the AAM and other global circulations implies the precipitation variability over the northern part of Sumatra Island as a regional phenomenon. The large-scale tropical circulation is possibly related to the PWC modulation (Pacific Walker Circulation).


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