Wake effects on turbulent transport in the convective boundary layer

Abstract

The effect of the downstream propagation of a wake on the transport of momentum, energy and scalars (such as humidity) in the convective boundary layer (CBL) is studied using a direct numerical simulation. The incompressible Navier–Stokes and energy equations are integrated under neutral and unstable thermal stratification conditions in a rotating coordinate frame with the Ekman layer approximation. Wake effects are introduced by modifying the mean velocity field as an initial condition on a converged turbulent Ekman layer flow. With this initial velocity distribution, the governing equations are integrated in time to determine how turbulent transport in the CBL is affected by the wake. Through the use of Taylor’s hypothesis, temporal evolution of the flow field in a doubly periodic computational domain is transformed into a spatial evolution. The results clearly indicate an increase in the scalar flux at the surface for the neutrally stratified case. An increase in wall scalar and heat flux is also noted for the CBL under unstable stratification, though the effects are diminished given the enhanced buoyant mixing associated with the hot wall.