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Counter-gradient heat transport in two-dimensional turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2013

Yong-Xiang Huang  and
Quan Zhou
Yong-Xiang Huang
Affiliation:
Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, PR China
Quan Zhou*
Affiliation:
Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, PR China
*
†Email address for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

We present high-resolution numerical investigations of heat transport by two-dimensional (2D) turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard (RB) convection over the Rayleigh number range $1{0}^{8} \leqslant Ra\leqslant 1{0}^{10} $ and the Prandtl number range $0. 7\leqslant Pr\leqslant 10$. We find that there exists strong counter-gradient local heat flux with magnitude much larger than the global Nusselt number $Nu$ of the system. Two mechanisms for generating counter-gradient heat transport are identified: one is due to the bulk dynamics and the other is due to the competition between the corner-flow rolls and the large-scale circulation (LSC). While the magnitude of the former is found to increase with increasing Prandtl number, that of the latter maximizes at medium $Pr$. We further reveal that the corner–LSC competition leads to the anomalous $Nu$–$Pr$ relation in 2D RB convection, i.e. $Nu(Pr)$ minimizes, rather than maximizes as in the three-dimensional cylindrical case, at $Pr\approx 2\sim 3$ for moderate $Ra$.

JFM classification

Convection: Convection Turbulent Flows: Turbulent convection Turbulent Flows: Turbulent Flows
Type
Rapids
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 737 , 25 December 2013 , R3
Copyright
©2013 Cambridge University Press 

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Huang and Zhou supplementary movie

Movie of the instantaneous temperature (color) and velocity (arrows) fields for $Ra=3\times10^8$ and $Pr=4.38$. Right panel: The corresponding movie of the local heat flux field (color). The black solid lines mark the streamlines of $\psi=0$, which can roughly distinguish the regions of the corner-flow rolls and the LSC."

Download Huang and Zhou supplementary movie(Video)
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