Wind Reversals in Turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard Convection

Francisco Fontenele Araujo, Siegfried Grossmann, and Detlef Lohse
Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 084502 – Published 18 August 2005

Abstract

The phenomenon of irregular cessation and subsequent reversal of the large-scale circulation in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection is theoretically analyzed. The force and thermal balance on a single plume detached from the thermal boundary layer yields a set of coupled nonlinear equations, whose dynamics is related to the Lorenz equations. For Prandtl and Rayleigh numbers in the range 102Pr103 and 107Ra1012, the model has the following features: (i) chaotic reversals may be exhibited at Ra107; (ii) the Reynolds number based on the root mean square velocity scales as RermsRa[0.410.47] (depending on Pr), and as RermsPr[0.660.76] (depending on Ra); and (iii) the mean reversal frequency follows an effective scaling law ω/(νL2)Pr(0.64±0.01)Ra0.44±0.01. The phase diagram of the model is sketched, and the observed transitions are discussed.

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  • Received 13 July 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.084502

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Francisco Fontenele Araujo1, Siegfried Grossmann2, and Detlef Lohse1

  • 1Department of Applied Physics and J. M. Burgers Centre for Fluid Dynamics, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
  • 2Department of Physics, University of Marburg, Renthof 6, D-3502 Marburg, Germany

See Also

Reorientation of the Large-Scale Circulation in Turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard Convection

Eric Brown, Alexei Nikolaenko, and Guenter Ahlers
Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 084503 (2005)

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Vol. 95, Iss. 8 — 19 August 2005

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