scholarly journals Flow states in two-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection as a function of aspect-ratio and Rayleigh number

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 085104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin P. van der Poel ◽  
Richard J. A. M. Stevens ◽  
Kazuyasu Sugiyama ◽  
Detlef Lohse

A recent study by Cross et al . (1980) has described a class of finite-amplitude phase-winding solutions of the problem of two-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a shallow fluid layer of aspect ratio 2 L (≫ 1) confined laterally by rigid side-walls. These solutions arise at Rayleigh numbers R = R 0 + O ( L -1 ) where R 0 is the critical Rayleigh number for the corresponding infinite layer. Nonlinear solutions of constant phase exist for Rayleigh numbers R = R 0 + O ( L -2 ) but of these only the two that bifurcate at the lowest value of R are stable to two-dimensional linearized disturbances in this range (Daniels 1978). In the present paper one set of the class of phase-winding solutions is found to be stable to two-dimensional disturbances. For certain values of the Prandtl number of the fluid and for stress-free horizontal boundaries the results predict that to preserve stability there must be a continual readjustment of the roll pattern as the Rayleigh number is raised, with a corresponding increase in wavelength proportional to R - R 0 . These solutions also exhibit hysteresis as the Rayleigh number is raised and lowered. For other values of the Prandtl number the number of rolls remains unchanged as the Rayleigh number is raised, and the wavelength remains close to its critical value. It is proposed that the complete evolution of the flow pattern from a static state must take place on a number of different time scales of which t = O(( R - R 0 ) -1 ) and t = O(( R - R 0 ) -2 ) are the most significant. When t = O(( R - R 0 ) -1 ) the amplitude of convection rises from zero to its steady-state value, but the final lateral positioning of the rolls is only completed on the much longer time scale t = O(( R - R 0 ) -2 ).


2014 ◽  
Vol 758 ◽  
pp. 344-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet D. Scheel ◽  
Jörg Schumacher

AbstractWe compute fully local boundary layer scales in three-dimensional turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection. These scales are directly connected to the highly intermittent fluctuations of the fluxes of momentum and heat at the isothermal top and bottom walls and are statistically distributed around the corresponding mean thickness scales. The local boundary layer scales also reflect the strong spatial inhomogeneities of both boundary layers due to the large-scale, but complex and intermittent, circulation that builds up in closed convection cells. Similar to turbulent boundary layers, we define inner scales based on local shear stress that can be consistently extended to the classical viscous scales in bulk turbulence, e.g. the Kolmogorov scale, and outer scales based on slopes at the wall. We discuss the consequences of our generalization, in particular the scaling of our inner and outer boundary layer thicknesses and the resulting shear Reynolds number with respect to the Rayleigh number. The mean outer thickness scale for the temperature field is close to the standard definition of a thermal boundary layer thickness. In the case of the velocity field, under certain conditions the outer scale follows a scaling similar to that of the Prandtl–Blasius type definition with respect to the Rayleigh number, but differs quantitatively. The friction coefficient $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}c_{\epsilon }$ scaling is found to fall right between the laminar and turbulent limits, which indicates that the boundary layer exhibits transitional behaviour. Additionally, we conduct an analysis of the recently suggested dissipation layer thickness scales versus the Rayleigh number and find a transition in the scaling. All our investigations are based on highly accurate spectral element simulations that reproduce gradients and their fluctuations reliably. The study is done for a Prandtl number of $\mathit{Pr}=0.7$ and for Rayleigh numbers that extend over almost five orders of magnitude, $3\times 10^5\le \mathit{Ra} \le 10^{10}$, in cells with an aspect ratio of one. We also performed one study with an aspect ratio equal to three in the case of $\mathit{Ra}=10^8$. For both aspect ratios, we find that the scale distributions depend on the position at the plates where the analysis is conducted.


Author(s):  
Sahin Yigit ◽  
Nilanjan Chakraborty

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the aspect ratio (AR; ratio of enclosure height:length) dependence of steady-state Rayleigh–Bénard convection of Bingham fluids within rectangular enclosures for both constant wall temperature and constant wall heat flux boundary conditions. A nominal Rayleigh number range 103 ≤ Ra ≤ 105 (Ra defined based on the height) for a single representative value of nominal Prandtl number (i.e. Pr = 500) has been considered for 1/4 ≤ AR ≤ 4. Design/methodology/approach The bi-viscosity Bingham model is used to mimic Bingham fluids for Rayleigh–Bénard convection of Bingham fluids in rectangular enclosures. The conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy have been solved in a coupled manner using the finite volume method where a second-order central differencing scheme is used for the diffusive terms and a second-order up-wind scheme is used for the convective terms. The well-known semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations algorithm is used for the coupling of the pressure and velocity. Findings It has been found that buoyancy-driven flow strengthens with increasing nominal Rayleigh number Ra, but the convective transport weakens with increasing Bingham number Bn, because of additional flow resistance arising from yield stress in Bingham fluids. The relative contribution of thermal conduction (advection) to the total thermal transport strengthens (diminishes) with increasing AR for a given set of values of Ra and Pr for both Newtonian and Bingham fluids for both boundary conditions, and the thermal transport takes place purely because of conduction for tall enclosures. Originality/value Correlations for the mean Nusselt number Nu ¯ have been proposed for both boundary conditions for both Newtonian and Bingham fluids using scaling arguments, and the correlations have been demonstrated to predict Nu ¯ obtained from simulation data for 1/4 ≤ AR ≤ 4, 103 ≤ Ra ≤ 105 and Pr = 500.


2008 ◽  
Vol 607 ◽  
pp. 119-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
DENIS FUNFSCHILLING ◽  
ERIC BROWN ◽  
GUENTER AHLERS

Measurements over the Rayleigh-number range 108 ≲ R ≲ 1011 and Prandtl-number range 4.4≲σ≲29 that determine the torsional nature and amplitude of the oscillatory mode of the large-scale circulation (LSC) of turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection are presented. For cylindrical samples of aspect ratio Γ=1 the mode consists of an azimuthal twist of the near-vertical LSC circulation plane, with the top and bottom halves of the plane oscillating out of phase by half a cycle. The data for Γ=1 and σ=4.4 showed that the oscillation amplitude varied irregularly in time, yielding a Gaussian probability distribution centred at zero for the displacement angle. This result can be described well by the equation of motion of a stochastically driven damped harmonic oscillator. It suggests that the existence of the oscillations is a consequence of the stochastic driving by the small-scale turbulent background fluctuations of the system, rather than a consequence of a Hopf bifurcation of the deterministic system. The power spectrum of the LSC orientation had a peak at finite frequency with a quality factor Q≃5, nearly independent of R. For samples with Γ≥2 we did not find this mode, but there remained a characteristic periodic signal that was detectable in the area density ρp of the plumes above the bottom-plate centre. Measurements of ρp revealed a strong dependence on the Rayleigh number R, and on the aspect ratio Γ that could be represented by ρp ~ Γ2.7±0.3. Movies are available with the online version of the paper.


1984 ◽  
Vol 143 ◽  
pp. 125-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Daniels

This paper considers the temporal evolution of two-dimensional Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a shallow fluid layer of aspect ratio 2L ([Gt ] 1) confined laterally by rigid sidewalls. Recent studies by Cross et al. (1980, 1983) have shown that for Rayleigh numbers in the range R = R0 + O(L−1) (where R0 is the critical Rayleigh number for the corresponding infinite layer) there exists a class of finite-amplitude steady-state ‘phase-winding’ solutions which correspond physically to the possibility of an adjustment in the number of rolls in the container as the local value of the Rayleigh number is varied. It has been shown (Daniels 1981) that in the temporal evolution of the system the final lateral positioning of the rolls occurs on the long timescale t = O(L2) when the phase function which determines the number of rolls in the system satisfies a one-dimensional diffusion equation but with novel boundary conditions that represent the effect of the sidewalls. In the present paper this system is solved numerically in order to determine the precise way in which the roll pattern adjusts after a change in the Rayleigh number of the system. There is an interesting balance between, on the one hand, a tendency for the number of rolls to change by the least number possible and, on the other, a tendency for the even or odd nature of the initial configuration to be preserved during the transition. In some cases this second property renders the natural evolution susceptible to arbitrarily small external disturbances, which then dictate the form of the final roll pattern.The complete transition involves an analysis of the motion on three timescales, a conductive scale t = O(1), a convective growth scale t = O(L) and a convective diffusion scale t = O(L2).


2021 ◽  
Vol 911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Lin Yang ◽  
Yi-Zhao Zhang ◽  
Tian-cheng Jin ◽  
Yu-Hong Dong ◽  
Bo-Fu Wang ◽  
...  

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