We present a few--mode Galerkin model for convection in binary fluid layers subject to an approximation to realistic horizontal boundary conditions at positive separation ratios. The model exhibits convection patterns in form of rolls and squares. The stable squares at onset develop into stable rolls at higher thermal driving. In between, a regime of a so-called crossroll structure is found. The results of our few--mode model are in good agreement with both experiments and numerical multi--mode simulations.
The transition to turbulence in Rayleigh-Benard convection with phase changes and the resulting convective patterns are studied in a three-dimensional Galerkin model. Our study is focused to the conditionally unstable regime of moist convection in which the stratification is stable for unsaturated air parcels and unstable for saturated parcels. We perform a comprehensive statistical analysis of the transition to convection that samples the dependence of attractors (or fixed points) in the phase space of the model on the dimensionless parameters. Conditionally unstable convection can be initiat…
The corner roll (CR) in the Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) convection accounts for the behaviors of heat transport and convection flow at the corner. Streamlines of the three-dimensional direct numerical simulations for $10^8<Ra<5\times10^9$ show that CR presents well-defined similarity and multi-layer structure. A stream function for CR is developed by homotopy and the structure ensemble dynamics. The model presents the scaling of Reynolds number of corner roll $Re_{cr}\sim Ra^{1/4}$. Scaling of CR scale $r = 0.77 Ra^{-0.085}$ indicates strong near-wall shearing induced by wind and provides a probabili…
Turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in slender cylindrical cells exhibits rich dynamics of the large-scale circulation (LSC), with several rolls stacked on top of each other. We propose that the elliptical instability is the mechanism which causes the twisting and breaking of the LSC into multiple rolls and that the volume-averaged heat and momentum transport, represented by the Nusselt number and Reynolds number, is generally weaker for larger number $n$ of the LSC rolls. This is supported by direct numerical simulations for $Ra=5\times10^5$, $Pr=0.1$, $H=5D$ and $1\leq~n\leq4$.
Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) convection with free-slip plates and horizontally periodic boundary conditions is investigated using direct numerical simulations. Two configurations are considered, one is two-dimension (2D) RB convection and the other one three-dimension (3D) RB convection with a rotating axis parallel to the plate. We explore the parameter range of Rayleigh numbers Ra from $10^7 to $10^9$ and Prandtl numbers $Pr$ from $1$ to $100$. We show that zonal flow, which was observed, for example, by Goluskin \emph{et al}. \emph{J. Fluid. Mech.} 759, 360-385 (2014) for $Γ=2$, is only stable when…
Double diffusive convection (DDC), which is the buoyancy driven flow with fluid density depending on two scalar components, is ubiquitous in many natural and engineering enviroments. Of great interests are scalers transfer rate and flow structures. Here we systematically investigate DDC flow between two horizontal plates, driven by an unstable salinity gradient and stabilized by a temperature gradient. Counterintuitively, when increasing the stabilizing temperature gradient, the salinity flux first increases, even though the velocity monotonically decreases, before it finally breaks down to th…
In this study we consider the effect of a horizontal magnetic field on the Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a finite liquid metal layer contained in a cuboid vessel (200 \times 200 \times 40 mm^3). Laboratory experiments are performed for measuring temperature and flow field in the alloy GaInSn at Prandtl number Pr = 0.03 and in a Rayleigh number range 2.3 \times 10^4 < Ra < 2.6 \times 10^5. The field strength is varied up to a maximum value of 320 mT (Ha = 2470, Q = 6.11 \times 10^6). The magnetic field forces the flow to form two-dimensional rolls parallel to the direction of the field lines. T…
A study of convection in a circular two dimensional cell is presented. The system is heated and cooled at two diametrically opposed points on the edge of the circle, which are parallel or anti-parallel to gravity. The latter's role in the plane of the cell can be changed by tilting the cell. When the system is in a horizontal position, a non-trivial analytic solution for the temperature distribution of the quiescent fluid can be found. For a slight inclination, the projection of gravity in the plane of the cell is used as a perturbation parameter in the full hydrodynamic description, as the Bo…
We investigate theoretically the nonlinear state of ideal straight rolls in the Rayleigh-Bénard system of a fluid layer heated from below with a porous medium using a Galerkin method. Applying the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation, binary mixtures with positive separation ratio are studied and compared to one-component fluids. Our results for the structural properties of roll convection resemble qualitatively the situation in the Rayleigh--Bénard system without porous medium except for the fact that the streamlines of binary mixtures are deformed in the so-called Soret regime. The deformation …
The single-arm spiral roll state in the system of Boussinesq fluid confined between non-rotating double concentric spherical boundaries with an opposing temperature gradient previously reported by Zhang et al.(Phys. Rev. E, v66, 055203, 2002) has been numerically investigated in detail. It is presented that the state can exist even in a relatively thicker gap rather than that used in our previous reports as a travelling wave solution with a finite constant angular velocity.
In this paper we investigate two-dimensional (2D) Rayleigh-Bénard convection using direct numerical simulation in Boussinesq fluids of Prandtl number $P = 6.8$ confined between thermally conducting plates. We show through the simulation that in a small range of reduced Rayleigh number $r$ ($770 < r < 890$) the 2D rolls move chaotically in a direction normal to the roll axis. The lateral shift of the rolls may lead to global flow reversal of the convective motion. The chaotic traveling rolls are observed in simulation with {\it free-slip} as well as {\it no-slip} boundary conditions on the velo…
Turbulent mixed convection in channel flows with heterogeneous surfaces is studied using direct numerical simulations. The relative importance between buoyancy and shear effects, characterized by the bulk Richardson number $Ri_b$, is varied in order to cover the flow regimes of forced, mixed and natural convection, which are associated with different large-scale flow organization. The heterogeneous surface consists of streamwise-aligned ridges, which are known to induce secondary motion in case of forced convection. The large-scale streamwise rolls emerging under smooth-wall mixed convection c…
Recent findings suggest that wall-bounded turbulent flow can take different statistically stationary turbulent states, with different transport properties, even for the very same values of the control parameters. What state the system takes depends on the initial conditions. Here we analyze the multiple states in large-aspect ratio ($Γ$) two-dimensional turbulent Rayleigh--Bénard flow with no-slip plates and horizontally periodic boundary conditions as model system. We determine the number $n$ of convection rolls, their mean aspect ratios $Γ_r = Γ/n$, and the corresponding transport properties…
This paper presents a numerical study of three-dimensional laminar mixed convection within a liquid flowing on a horizontal channel heated uniformly from below. The upper surface is free and assumed to be flat. The coupled Navier-Stokes and energy equations are solved numerically by the finite volume method taking into account the thermocapillary effects (Marangoni effect). When the strength of the buoyancy, thermocapillary effects and forced convective currents are comparable $(Ri\backsimeq O(1)$ and $Bd=Ra/Ma \backsimeq O(1))$, the results show that the development of instabilities in the fo…
We consider a classical problem of linear stability of convective rolls in a plane layer with stress-free horizontal boundaries near the onset of convection. The problem has been studied by a number of authors, who have shown that rolls of wave number $k$ are unstable with respect to perturbations of different types, if some inequalities relating $k$ and the Rayleigh number $R$ are satisfied. The perturbations involve a large-scale mode. Certain asymptotic dependencies between wave numbers of the mode and overcriticality are always assumed in the available proofs of instability. We analyse the…
Three dimensional roll-type double-diffusive convection in a horizontally infinite layer of an uncompressible liquid is considered in the neighborhood of Hopf bifurcation points. A system of amplitude equations for the variations of convective rolls amplitude is derived by multiple-scaled method. An attention is paid to an interaction of convection and horizontal vortex. Different cases of the derived equations are discussed.
We study the stability of steady convection rolls in 2D Rayleigh--Bénard convection with free-slip boundaries and horizontal periodicity over twelve orders of magnitude in the Prandtl number $(10^{-6} \leq Pr \leq 10^6)$ and five orders of magnitude in the Rayleigh number $(8π^4 < Ra \leq 3 \times 10^7)$. The analysis is facilitated by partitioning our modal expansion into so-called even and odd modes. With aspect ratio $Γ= 2$, we observe that zonal modes (with horizontal wavenumber equal to zero) can emerge only once the steady convection roll state consisting of even modes only becomes unsta…
The central open question about Rayleigh--Bénard convection -- buoyancy-driven flow in a fluid layer heated from below and cooled from above -- is how vertical heat flux depends on the imposed temperature gradient in the strongly nonlinear regime where the flows are typically turbulent. The quantitative challenge is to determine how the Nusselt number $Nu$ depends on the Rayleigh number $Ra$ in the $Ra\to\infty$ limit for fluids of fixed finite Prandtl number $Pr$ in fixed spatial domains. Laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, and analysis of Rayleigh's mathematical model have yet to …
Steady two-dimensional Rayleigh--Bénard convection between stress-free isothermal boundaries is studied via numerical computations. We explore properties of steady convective rolls with aspect ratios $π/5\leΓ\le4π$, where $Γ$ is the width-to-height ratio for a pair of counter-rotating rolls, over eight orders of magnitude in the Rayleigh number, $10^3\le Ra\le10^{11}$, and four orders of magnitude in the Prandtl number, $10^{-2}\le Pr\le10^2$. At large $Ra$ where steady rolls are dynamically unstable, the computed rolls display $Ra \rightarrow \infty$ asymptotic scaling. In this regime, the Nu…
We present a direct numerical simulation on the dynamics of large-scale circulation (LSC) of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection of air (Pr = 0.7) contained in a cubic cell for Rayleigh number range 2X10^6 < Ra < 10^9 . The strength and orientation of LSC are quantified by the amplitude and phase of the first Fourier mode of the vertical velocity. The plane containing LSC is generally aligned along one of the diagonals of the box accompanied by a four-roll structure in the other. However, an abnormal single-roll state with substructures is noted at the face planes for low Ra. In addition to t…
We present the results of direct numerical simulations of flow patterns in a low-Prandtl-number ($Pr = 0.1$) fluid above the onset of oscillatory convection in a Rayleigh-Bénard system rotating uniformly about a vertical axis. Simulations were carried out in a periodic box with thermally conducting and stress-free top and bottom surfaces. We considered a rectangular box ($L_x \times L_y \times 1$) and a wide range of Taylor numbers ($750 \le Ta \le 5000$) for the purpose. The horizontal aspect ratio $η= L_y/L_x$ of the box was varied from $0.5$ to $10$. The primary instability appeared in the …
We report for the first time the pattern dynamics in the vicinity of an inverse homoclinic bifurcation in an extended dissipative system. We observe, in direct numerical simulations of three dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection, a spontaneous breaking of a competition of two mutually perpendicular sets of oscillating cross rolls to one of two possible sets of oscillating cross rolls as the Rayleigh number is raised above a critical value. The time period of the cross-roll patterns diverges, and shows scaling behavior near the bifurcation point. This is an example of a transition from nonloca…
We study steady flows that are optimal for heat transfer in a two-dimensional periodic domain. The flows maximize heat transfer under the constraints of incompressibility and a given energy budget (i.e. mean viscous power dissipation). Using an unconstrained optimization approach, we compute optima starting from 30--50 random initializations across several decades of Pe, the energy budget parameter. At Pe between 10$^{4.5}$ and 10$^{4.75}$, convective rolls with U-shaped branching near the walls emerge. They exceed the heat transfer of the simple convective roll optimum at Pe between 10$^{5}$ …
This work addresses the effects of different thermal sidewall boundary conditions on the formation of flow states and heat transport in two- and three-dimensional Rayleigh--Bénard convection (RBC) by means of direct numerical simulations and steady-state analysis for Rayleigh numbers $Ra$ up to $4\times10^{10}$ and Prandtl numbers $Pr=0.1,1$ and $10$. We show that a linear temperature profile imposed at the conductive sidewall leads to a premature collapse of the single-roll state, whereas a sidewall maintained at a constant temperature enhances its stability. The collapse is caused by acceler…
This paper reports on a theoretical analysis of the rich variety of spatio-temporal patterns observed recently in inclined layer convection at medium Prandtl number when varying the inclination angle $γ$ and the Rayleigh number $R$. The present numerical investigation of the inclined layer convection system is based on the standard Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations. The patterns are shown to originate from a complicated competition of buoyancy-driven and shear-flow driven pattern forming mechanisms. The former are expressed as \rm{longitudinal} convection rolls with their axes oriented parallel to…
We present a detailed bifurcation structure and associated flow patterns for low-Prandtl number ($P=0.0002, 0.002, 0.005, 0.02$) Rayleigh-Bénard convection near its onset. We use both direct numerical simulations and a 30-mode low-dimensional model for this study. We observe that low-Prandtl number (low-P) convection exhibits similar patterns and chaos as zero-P convection \cite{pal:2009}, namely squares, asymmetric squares, oscillating asymmetric squares, relaxation oscillations, and chaos. At the onset of convection, low-P convective flows have stationary 2D rolls and associated stationary a…
The heat transport and corresponding changes in the large-scale circulation (LSC) in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection are studied by means of three-dimensional direct numerical simulations as a function of the aspect ratio $Γ$ of a closed cylindrical cell and the Rayleigh number $Ra$. For small and moderate aspect ratios, the global heat transfer law $Nu=A\times Ra^β$ shows a power law dependence of both fit coefficients $A$ and $β$ on the aspect ratio. A minimum Nusselt number coincides with the point where the LSC undergoes a transition from a single-roll to a double-roll pattern. With i…
A large number of flows with distinctive patterns have been observed in experiments and simulations of Rayleigh-Benard convection in a water-filled cylinder whose radius is twice the height. We have adapted a time-dependent pseudospectral code, first, to carry out Newton's method and branch continuation and, second, to carry out the exponential power method and Arnoldi iteration to calculate leading eigenpairs and determine the stability of the steady states. The resulting bifurcation diagram represents a compromise between the tendency in the bulk towards parallel rolls, and the requirement i…
Spontaneous transitions between non-equilibrium patterns are characterised by hydrodynamic calculations of ideal straight roll steady state heat convection. The calculations are tested quantitatively against existing experimental data. It is shown that at a given Rayleigh number the final wave number depends upon whether the initial state was the conducting state, or, in the case of the cross roll transition, the wave number of the initial straight roll state. The final wave number does not correspond to the maximum or to the minimum heat flux (entropy production or dissipation), nor to the ma…
We consider the bifurcation scenario that is found in Rayleigh-Benard convection of binary fluid mixtures like ethanol-water at positive separation ratios and small Lewis numbers leading to a bifurcation sequence of square, oscillatory crossroll, stationary crossroll, and roll patterns. We propose a system of four coupled amplitudes that is capable to model all important properties.
We study the stability and dynamics of non-Boussinesq convection in pure gases (CO$_2$ and SF$_6$) with Prandtl numbers near $Pr\simeq 1$ and in a H$_2$-Xe mixture with $Pr=0.17$. Focusing on the strongly nonlinear regime we employ Galerkin stability analyses and direct numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes equations. For $Pr \simeq 1$ and intermediate non-Boussinesq effects we find reentrance of stable hexagons as the Rayleigh number is increased. For stronger non-Boussinesq effects the hexagons do not exhibit any amplitude instability to rolls. Seemingly, this result contradicts the exp…
We present a numerical study of the flow states and reversals of the large-scale circulation (LSC) in a two-dimensional circular Rayleigh-Bénard cell. Long-time direct numerical simulations are carried out in the Rayleigh number ($Ra$) range $10^{7} \le Ra \le 10^{8}$ and Prandtl number ($Pr$) range $2.0 \le Pr \le 20.0$. We found that a new, long-lived, chaotic flow state exists, in addition to the commonly observed circulation states (the LSC in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions). The circulation states consist of one primary roll in the middle and two secondary rolls near the to…
By utilizing diffusion maps embedding and transition matrix analysis we investigate sparse temperature measurement time-series data from Rayleigh--Bénard convection experiments in a cylindrical container of aspect ratio $Γ=D/L=0.5$ between its diameter ($D$) and height ($L$). We consider the two cases of a cylinder at rest and rotating around its cylinder axis. We find that the relative amplitude of the large-scale circulation (LSC) and its orientation inside the container at different points in time are associated to prominent geometric features in the embedding space spanned by the two domin…
We test the ability of a general low-dimensional model for turbulence to predict geometry-dependent dynamics of large-scale coherent structures, such as convection rolls. The model consists of stochastic ordinary differential equations, which are derived as a function of boundary geometry from the Navier-Stokes equations (Brown and Ahlers 2008). We test the model using Rayleigh-Bénard convection experiments in a cubic container. The model predicts a new mode in which the alignment of a convection roll switches between diagonals. We observe this mode with a measured switching rate within 30% of…
Transition to chaos in two-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection: the role of the magnetic field
Government of the State of Goiás (SEDUC-GO)（戈亚斯州政府）；Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA)（航空技术学院）；University of Porto（波尔图大学）；Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA)（亚马逊联邦农村大学）
We describe experiments on B{é}nard-Marangoni convection in horizontal layers of two immiscible liquids. Unlike previous experiments, which used gases as the upper fluid, we find a square planform close to onset which undergoes a secondary bifurcation to rolls at higher temperature differences. The scale of the convection pattern is that of the thinner lower fluid layer for which buoyancy and surface tension forces are comparable. The wavenumber of the pattern near onset agrees with the prediction of the linear stability analysis for the full two-layer problem. The square planform is in qualit…
Buoyancy-induced velocity dip in turbulent open Poiseuille--Rayleigh--Bénard convection
Institute of Extreme Mechanics, School of Aeronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University（西北工业大学航空学院极端力学研究所）；National Key Laboratory of Aircraft Configuration Design, Key Laboratory for Extreme Mechanics of Aircraft of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology（飞机构型设计全国重点实验室、工业和信息化部飞机极端力学重点实验室）
