On the Features of Thermal Convection in a Compressible Gas

The fully nonlinear equations of gas dynamics are solved in the framework of a numerical approach in order to study the stability of the steady mode of Rayleigh-Bénard convection in compressible,viscous and heat-conducting gases encapsulated in containers with no-slip boundaries and isothermal top and bottom walls.An initial linear temperature profile is assumed.A map of the possible convective modes is presented assuming the height of the region and the value of the temperature gradient as influential parameters.For a relatively small height,isobaric convection is found to take place,which is taken over by an adiabatic mode when the height exceeds the critical value,or by a super-adiabatic mode in case of a relatively high temperature gradient.In the adiabatic mode,convective flow develops due to adiabatic processes given a stable initial stratification.An analytic formula for the critical height of the region is derived taking into account and neglecting the dependence of the gas viscosity on the temperature.Moreover,an analytic formula is obtained for the upper boundary of the region of applicability of the Boussinesq approximation for incompressible gases.These models for compressible gases are relevant to practical situations such as the study of convective flows in spatially extended gas mixtures when dealing with safety issues related to hydrocarbons stored in gas stations.A dangerous situation arises when the tank is almost empty but some hydrocarbon is left at the bottom of the tank.In the presence of convective flows,the vaporized fuel is mixed with the oxidizer(air)forming a gas-vapor medium.However,if the volumetric concentration of fuel vapor(hydrocarbon)is in the interval between the lower and upper concentration limits of ignition,then the gas-vapor mixture becomes explosive and any accidental spark is sufficient to cause an emergency.

Large Eddy Simulations of Rayleigh-Bénard Convection in a Cubic Cavity

This paper conducts a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of Rayleigh Bénard convection in a cubic cavity based on the WMLES S-Omega subgrid-scale model. For a cubic cavity with a vertical temperature difference of 6.7°C and 20°C, the velocity pulsation profiles and the mean velocity profiles of the vertical section in the middle of the cubic cavity were simulated, respectively. And they are consistent with the experiment results. Furthermore, the mean velocity field of the vertical cross-section in the middle of the cavity was calculated. Structures of the mean velocity field in the two cases are similar. A counterclockwise large vortex is found to occupy the cavity, and there are two small clockwise vortices in the lower left and upper right corners, and the mean velocity fields at two different temperature differences are consistent with the experimental results. The two-dimensional instantaneous temperature field and mean temperature field with different cross-sections in the z-direction, as well as the three-dimensional instantaneous isothermal surface structure, indicate that the large-scale circulation motion within the cubic cavity is moving diagonally. In addition, the structure of the mean streamline also illustrates this viewpoint. For the reverse vortex formed at two corners in the mean streamline structure, we used the Q criterion to identify and obtain two vortex structures similar to boomerangs. The basic turbulent structure in RB thermal convection includes the rising and falling plumes generated by buoyancy effects.

Boundary layer structure in turbulent rayleigh-bénard convection in a slim box

Logarithmic boundary layers have been observed in different regions in turbulence. However, how thermal plumes correlate to the log law of temperature and how the velocity profile changes with pressure gradient are not fully understood. Here, we perform three-dimensional simulations of turbulence in a slim-box without the front and back walls with aspect ratio, width:depth:height=L:D:H=1:1/6:1width:depth:height=L:D:H=1:1/6:1 (respectively corresponding to xx, yy and zz coordinates), in the Rayleigh number Ra=[1×10^8,1×10^10]Ra=[1×10^8,1×10^10] for Prandtl number Pr=0.7Pr=0.7. To investigate the structures of the viscous and thermal boundary layers, we examine the velocity profiles in the streamwise and vertical directions (i.e. UU and WW) along with the mean temperature profile throughout the plume-impacting, plume-ejecting, and wind-shearing regions. The velocity profile is successfully quantified by a two-layer function of a stress length, e^+u=e^+0(z^+)3/2[1+(z^+/z^+sub)4]^1/4eu+=e^+0(z+)3/2[1+(z+/zsub+)4]1/4, as proposed by She et al.(J Fluid Mech, 2017), though it is neither \pb type nor logarithmic. In contrast, the temperature profile in the plume-ejecting region is logarithmic for all simulated cases, being attributed to the emission of thermal plumes. The coefficient of the temperature log-law, AA, can be described by composition of the thermal stress length ■■θ0■θ0■ and the thicknesses of thermal boundary layer z■subzsub■ and z?bufzbuf■, i.e. A■z?sub/(■■θ0z■buf3/2)A■zsub?/(■θ0■zbuf^3/2). The adverse pressure gradient responsible for turning the wind direction contributes to intensively emitting plumes and the logarithmic temperature profile at the plume-ejecting region. The Nusselt number scaling and the local heat flux in the slim box are consistent with previous results of the confined cells. Therefore, the slim-box RBC is a preferable system for investigating in-box kinetic and thermal structures of turbulent convection with the large-scale circulation in a fixed plane.

A model for universal spatial variations of temperature fluctuations inturbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

We propose a theoretical model for spatial variations of the temperature varianceσ2(z,r)(z is the dis-tance from the sample bottom and r the radial coordinate)in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection(RBC).Adapting the“attached-eddy”modelofshearflowtothe plumesofRBC,wederivedanequationforσ2 which is based on the universal scaling of the normalized RBC temperature spectra.This equation in-cludes both logarithmic and power-law dependences on z/λth,whereλth is the thermal boundary layer thickness.The equation parameters depend on r and the Prandtl number Pr,but have only an extremelyweak dependence on the Rayleigh number Ra Thus our model provides a near-universal equation for thetemperature variance profile in turbulent RBC.

矩形水平通道内液体Poiseuille-Rayleigh-Bénard对流的数值模拟

本文采用FLUENT软件对底部加热、表面冷却的矩形水平通道内液体的Poiseuille-Rayleigh-Bénard对流进行数值模拟,以有限容积法为基础,研究了在不同Rayleigh数和Reynolds数的情况下液体的流型变化和传热特性。结果表明,在所研究的无量纲数范围内,液体出现纵向流卷形式的二次流,流卷最开始出现在通道入口附近的近壁侧,随着液体的流动逐渐出现在通道的中心,纵向流卷的出现使局部换热系数增加。改变Reynolds数只影响入口段的长度:Ra数的增加会使纵向流卷的个数增加,入口段长度减小。

EXTENDED SELF SIM ILARITY OF PASSIVE SCALAR IN RAYLEIGH-BNARD CONVECTION FLOW BASED ON WAVELET TRANSFORM

Wavelet transform is used to analyze the scaling rule of temperature data (passive scalar) in Rayleigh Bénard convection flow from two aspects. By utilizing the method of extended self similarity (ESS), one can find the obtained scaling exponent agrees well with the one obtained from the temperature data in a experiment of wind tunnel. And then we propose a newly defined formula based on wavelet transform, and can determine the scaling exponent ξ(q) of temperature data. The obtained results demonstrate that we can correctly extract ξ(q) by using the method which is named as wavelet transform maximum modulus (WTMM).

Heat transport in horizontally periodic and confined Rayleigh-Bénard convection with no-slip and free-slip plates

We report the results of the direct numerical simulations of two-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection(RBC)in order to study the influence of the periodic(PD)and confined(CF)samples on the heat transport Nu.The numerical study is conducted with the Rayleigh number(Ra)varied in the range 10^(6)≤Ra≤10^(9) at a fixed Prandtl number Pr=4.3 and aspect ratio Γ=2 with the no-slip(NS)and freeslip(FS)plates.There exists a zonal flow for Ra≥3×10^(6) with the free-slip plates in the periodic sample.In all the other cases,the flow is the closed large-scale circulation(closed LSC).The striking features are that the heat transport Nu is influenced and the temperature profiles do not be influenced when the flow pattern is zonal flow.

EXTENDED SELF SIMILARITY OF PASSIVE SCALAR IN RAYLEIGH-BNARD CONVECTION FLOW BASED ON WAVELET TRANSFORM

Wavetet transform was used to analyze the scaling law of temperature data (passive scalar) in Rayleigh-Bénard convection flow from two aspects. The first one was to utilize the method of extended self similarity, presented first by Benzi et al., to study the scaling exponent of temperature data. The obtained results show that the inertial range is much wider than that one determined directly from the conventional structure function, and find the obtained scaling exponent agrees well with the one obtained from the temperature data in an experiment of wind tunnel. The second one was that, by extending the formula which was proposed by A. Arneodo et al. for extracting the scaling exponent ζ(q) of velocity data to temperature data, a newly defined formula which is also based on wavelet transform, and can determine the scaling exponent ξ(q) of temperature data was proposed. The obtained results demonstrate that by using the method which is named as WTMM (wavelet transform maximum modulus) ξ(q) correctly can be extracted.

Hybrid LES/URANS Simulation of Rayleigh-Bénard Convection Using BEM

In this paper,we develop and test a unified hybrid LES/URANS turbulence model with two different Large Eddy Simulation(LES)turbulence models.The numerical algorithm is based on the Boundary Element Method.In the existing hybrid LES/URANS turbulence model we implemented a new Smagorinsky LES turbulence model.The hybrid LES/URANS turbulence model is unified,which means that the LES/URANS interface is changed dynamically during simulation using a physical quantity.In order to define the interface between LES and unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes(URANS)zones during the simulation,we use the Reynolds number based on turbulent kinetic energy as a switching criterion.This means that the flow characteristics define where the sub-grid scale or URANS effective viscosity and thermal conductivity are used in the governing equations in the next time step.In unified hybrid turbulence models,only one set of governing equations is used for LES and URANS regions.The developed hybrid LES/URANS model was tested on non-isothermal,unsteady and turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard Convection and compared with an existing model,where LES is based on turbulent kinetic energy.The hybrid turbulence model was implemented within a numerical algorithm based on the Boundary-Domain Integral Method,where a single domain and sub-domain approaches were used.The numerical algorithm uses governing equations written in a velocity-vorticity form.The false transient time scheme is used for the kinematics equation.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of a Rayleigh-Bénard Convection Affected by Coriolis Force

In this paper the influence of an impressed Coriolis force field on the configuration of a turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection problem is investigated in an experimental and numerical study. The main purpose of both studies lie on the analysis of a possible stabilising effect of a Coriolis acceleration on the turbulent unsteady structures inside the fluid. The relative Coriolis acceleration which is caused in the atmosphere by the earth rotation is realised in the experimental study by a uniform-rotational movement of the setup in a large-scale centrifuge under hyper-gravity. The same conditions as in the atmosphere in the beginning of a twister or hurricane should be realised in the experiment. The investigated Rayleigh numbers lie between 2.33 × 106 ≤ Ra ≤ 4.32 × 107.

Poiseuille-Rayleigh-Bénard流动中对流斑图的分区和成长

采用SIMPLE算法对二维流体力学基本方程组进行了数值模拟,研究了Poiseuille-Rayleigh-Bénard流动中对流斑图的分区、成长及水平流动对不同斑图特征物理量的影响.结果表明,上下临界雷诺数Re_u,Re_l将流动分成三个区域,即行波区、局部行波区、水平流区.Re_u和Re_l随着相对瑞利数r的增大而增大.在对流斑图的成长阶段,三种斑图随时间的成长过程是不同的,但对流圈都是从下游区开始成长;特征物理量随着时间的变化也是不同的,行波对流和局部行波对流的最大垂直流速wmax和努塞尔数Nu经过指数增长阶段后进入周期变化的稳定阶段;水平流斑图的w_(max)和Nu经过缓慢增长后又缓慢降到稳定值.三种斑图的w_(max)和Nu随雷诺数Re增大而减小,不同斑图区域有不同的变化规律.本文给出了Re_u和Re_l随r的变化关系式及不同斑图的w_(max)和Nu随着Re的变化关系式.

Linear stability analysis of convection in two-layer system with an evaporating vapor-liquid interface

Classical theories have successfully provided an explanation for convection in a liquid layer heated from below without evaporation. However, these theories are inadequate to account for the convective instabilities in an evaporating liquid layer, especially in the case when it is cooled from below. In the present paper, we study the onset of Marangoni convection in a liquid layer being overlain by a vapor layer. A new two-sided model is put forward instead of the one-sided model in previous studies. Marangoni-Béard instabilities in evaporating liquid thin layers are investigated with a linear instability analysis. We define a new evaporation Blot number, which is different from that in previous studies and discuss the influences of reference evaporating velocity and evaporation Blot number on the vapor-liquid system. At the end, we explain why the instability occurs even when an evaporating liquid layer is cooled from below.

RAYLEIGH-MARANGONI-BENARD INSTABILITY IN TWO-LAYER FLUID SYSTEM

Rayleigh-Marangoni-Bénard instability in a system of two-layer fluids is studied nu- merically.The convective instabilities in the system of Silicon Oil(10cSt)and Fluorinert(FC70)liquids have been analyzed.The critical parameters at onset of convection are presented in a large range of two-layer depth ratios from 0.2 to 5.0.Numerical results show that the instability of the two-layer system depends strongly on its depth ratio.When the depth ratio increases,the instability mode changes from mechanical coupling to thermal coupling.Between these two typical coupling modes, a time-dependent oscillation is detected.Nevertheless,traveling wave states are found in the case of oscillatory instability.The oscillation mode results from the competition between Rayleigh instability and Marangoni effect.

Flow structures of turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection in annular cells with aspect ratio one and larger

We present an experimental study of flow structures in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in annular cells of aspect ratiosΓ=1,2 and 4,and radius ratio 0.5.The convecting fluid is water with Prandtl number Pr=4.3 and 5.3.Rayleigh number Ra ranges 4.8×10^(7)≤Ra≤4.5×10^(10).The dipole state(two-roll flow structure)forΓ=1 and the quadrupole state(fourroll flow structure)forΓ=2 and 4 are found by multi-temperature-probe measurement.Nusselt number Nu is described by a power-law scaling Nu=0.11Ra^(0.31),which is insensitive to the change of flow structures.However,the Reynolds number Re is influenced by increasing aspect ratios,where Re is found to scale with Ra andΓas Re~Ra^(0.46)Γ^(-0.52).The normalized amplitudes of two flow structures as a function of Ra exist difference.Based on relative weights of the first four modes using the Fourier analysis,we find that the first mode dominates inΓ=1 cell,but the second mode contains the most energy inΓ=2 and 4 cells.With increasingΓ,the flow structures exhibit different characteristics.

Scaling of maximum probability density function of velocity increments in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

In this paper, we apply a scaling analysis of the maximum of the probability density function（pdf） of velocity increments, i.e., max（） = max（）up p u, for a velocity field of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection obtained at the Taylor-microscale Reynolds number Re60. The scaling exponent is comparable with that of the first-order velocity structure function, （1）, in which the large-scale effect might be constrained, showing the background fluctuations of the velocity field. It is found that the integral time T（x/ D） scales as T（x/ D）（x/ D）, with a scaling exponent =0.25 0.01, suggesting the large-scale inhomogeneity of the flow. Moreover, the pdf scaling exponent （x, z） is strongly inhomogeneous in the x（horizontal） direction. The vertical-direction-averaged pdf scaling exponent （x） obeys a logarithm law with respect to x, the distance from the cell sidewall, with a scaling exponent 0.22 within the velocity boundary layer and 0.28 near the cell sidewall. In the cell＇s central region, （x, z） fluctuates around 0.37, which agrees well with （1） obtained in high-Reynolds-number turbulent flows, implying the same intermittent correction. Moreover, the length of the inertial range represented in decade（）IT x is found to be linearly increasing with the wall distance x with an exponent 0.65 0.05.

Lagrangian coherent structures and their heat-transport mechanism in the turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

In this paper,we investigate the Lagrangian coherent structures(LCSs)and their heat-transport mechanism in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard(RB)convection.Direct numerical simulations(DNS)are performed in a closed square cell with Rayleigh numbers(Ra)ranging from 10^(6) to 10^(9) and Prandtl(Pr)number fixed at Pr=0.7.First,our results show the power-law relationship between Nusselt number(Nu)and Ra,Nu=0.99Ra^(0.30±0.02),confirming the results from previous studies.To gain insights into the material transport,LCSs are extracted using the finite-time Lyapunov exponent(FTLE)method.Interestingly,lobe structures are widely present,and we elucidate their role in transporting heat from the corner rolls to large-scale circulation.Next,the relationships between LCSs and thermal plumes are examined,and we identify two behaviors of thermal plumes:first,most plumes transport along the LCSs;second,few plumes are exposed to the bulk and subsequently mix with the turbulent background.Furthermore,we quantify the heat flux along the LCSs,which contributes to about 85%of the total flux regardless of Ra.This suggests that LCSs play a significant role in heat transport.Finally,the viscous(thermal)dissipation rate along the LCSs is quantified,which is larger than 80%(60%)of the total value,suggesting that LCSs are responsible for the large viscous and thermal dissipations.

Global Well-posedness for the 2D Micropolar Rayleigh–Bénard Convection Problem without Velocity Dissipation

In this article,we study the Cauchy problem to the micropolar Rayleigh–Bénard convection problem without velocity dissipation in two dimension.We first prove the local well-posedness of a smooth solution,and then establish a blow up criterion in terms of the gradient of scalar temperature field.At last,we obtain the global well-posedness to the system.

The Perturbed Problem on the Boussinesq System of Rayleigh-Bénard Convection

In this paper,the infinite Prandtl number limit of Rayleigh-B′enard convection is studied.For well prepared initial data,the convergence of solutions in L∞（0,t;H2（G）） is rigorously justified by analysis of asymptotic expansions.

湍流热对流Prandtl数效应的数值研究

本文采用直接数值模拟的并行直接求解方法,计算了Ra=10^(10),0.05≤Pr≤20的系列Prandtl(Pr)数二维湍流热对流.通过流动显示技术,讨论了Pr数对羽流形态和大尺度环流结构的影响.在Ra=10^(10)时,随着Pr数减小,羽流的运动和分布表现出更强的湍流性质,较高Pr数的羽流则表现出较强的规律性,当Pr>4.3时,流场中存在明显的大尺度环流和角涡结构.不同Pr数的温度边界层厚度差异不大,并随Pr数存在标度率变化关系.当Pr数较低时,系统的传热Nusselt(Nu)数随着Pr数增加而增加,当Pr数较高时,Nu数随Pr数的变化不敏感.靠近底板处速度脉动随Pr数有显著的变化,Pr数越低速度波动越剧烈.通过底板中心位置水平脉动速度和平均场水平速度最大值给出的雷诺数Re_((u))和Re_(U_(max)),两种Re数随Pr数的变化满足同一标度律,为Re～Pr^(-0.81).

水平流作用下的混合流体行进波对流

利用高阶紧致有限差分格式,数值模拟研究了物性参数对具有Soret效应的混合流体的Poiseuille-Rayleigh-Bénard流动系统的影响。在正的小分离比下,附加一个微小的温度扰动作为扰动源,流动系统时空结构的发展在经历了初始状态、线性波指数型成长和非线性发展三个阶段之后,最终演变成为稳定的周期性行进波状态。还进一步探讨了水平流强度和Rayleigh数对流场结构的影响。