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Dynamics of reorientations and reversals of large-scale flow in Rayleigh–Bénard convection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2010

P. K. MISHRA ,
A. K. DE ,
M. K. VERMA  and
V. ESWARAN
P. K. MISHRA*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, India
A. K. DE
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati 781039, India
M. K. VERMA
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, India
V. ESWARAN
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, India
*
†Email address for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

We present a numerical study of the reversals and reorientations of the large-scale circulation (LSC) of convective fluid in a cylindrical container of aspect ratio one. We take Prandtl number to be 0.7 and Rayleigh numbers in the range from 6 × 105 to 3 × 107. It is observed that the reversals of the LSC are induced by its reorientation along the azimuthal direction, which are quantified using the phases of the first Fourier mode of the vertical velocity measured near the lateral surface in the midplane. During a ‘complete reversal’, the above phase changes by around 180°, leading to reversals of the vertical velocity at all the probes. On the contrary, the vertical velocity reverses only at some of the probes during a ‘partial reversal’ with phase change other than 180°. Numerically, we observe rotation-led and cessation-led reorientations, in agreement with earlier experimental results. The ratio of the amplitude of the second Fourier mode and the first Fourier mode rises sharply during the cessation-led reorientations. This observation is consistent with the quadrupolar dominant temperature profile observed during the cessations. We also observe reorientations involving double cessation.

JFM classification

Convection: Plumes/thermals Turbulent Flows: Turbulent convection Turbulent Flows: Turbulence simulation
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 668 , 10 February 2011 , pp. 480 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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Mishra supplementary material

Movie 1. Movie shows the temperature profile of the vertical section ($\theta=3\pi/4$) for $R = 2\times10^7$. A hot plume (red) ascends from the right wall and a cold plume (blue) descends from the left wall confirming the presence of large scale structure.

Download Mishra supplementary material(Video)
Video 6.8 MB

Mishra supplementary material

Movie 2. Movie shows the temperature profile in the horizontal cut ($z=0.5$) for $R = 2\times10^7$. Hot and cold plumes ziggle along the periphery of horizontal section that confirms the movement of large scale flow in the azimuthal direction.

Download Mishra supplementary material(Video)
Video 7.7 MB