Numerical experiments on the formation of a tornado funnel under an intensifying vortex

Abstract

AbstractA tornado‐like vortex, which intensifies with time, is imposed on the upper boundary of the boundary layer. The downward development of this axisymmetric vortex is studied by numerical integration of the flow equations. The contour of the visible tornado funnel has been computed for various times. The streamlines, the field of pressure deviation, and of the tangential velocity are presented for a time close to the steady state. The influence of a varying eddy diffusion coefficient is investigated.