Boundary Zonal Flow in Rotating Turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard Convection.

Xuan Zhang,Susanne Horn,Guenter Ahlers,Robert E Ecke,Olga Shishkina,Eberhard Bodenschatz,Stephan Weiss,Lukas Zwirner,Marcel Wedi,Dennis P M Van Gils

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.124.084505

Abstract

For rapidly rotating turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a slender cylindrical cell, experiments and direct numerical simulations reveal a boundary zonal flow (BZF) that replaces the classical large-scale circulation. The BZF is located near the vertical side wall and enables enhanced heat transport there. Although the azimuthal velocity of the BZF is cyclonic (in the rotating frame), the temperature is an anticyclonic traveling wave of mode one, whose signature is a bimodal temperature distribution near the radial boundary. The BZF width is found to scale like Ra^{1/4}Ek^{2/3} where the Ekman number Ek decreases with increasing rotation rate.

Highlights

For rapidly rotating turbulent Rayleigh–Benard convection in a slender cylindrical cell, experiments and direct numerical simulations reveal a boundary zonal flow (BZF) that replaces the classical large-scale circulation
The BZF is located near the vertical side wall and enables enhanced heat transport there
The BZF width is found to scale like Ra1=4Ek2=3 where the Ekman number Ek decreases with increasing rotation rate

Summary

Introduction

For rapidly rotating turbulent Rayleigh–Benard convection in a slender cylindrical cell, experiments and direct numerical simulations reveal a boundary zonal flow (BZF) that replaces the classical large-scale circulation. The azimuthal velocity of the BZF is cyclonic (in the rotating frame), the temperature is an anticyclonic traveling wave of mode one, whose signature is a bimodal temperature distribution near the radial boundary.

Results

Conclusion