Local Mass Sources Research Articles

Implementing the HYbrid MAss flux Convection Scheme (HYMACS) in ICON – First idealized tests and adaptions to the dynamical core for local mass sources

AbstractIn this study, the Hybrid MAss flux Convection Scheme (HYMACS) is implemented in the ICOsahedral Non‐hydrostatic (ICON) weather prediction model. In contrast to conventional convection parametrization schemes, the convective up‐ and downdraughts are solely treated as subgrid‐scale processes in HYMACS, whereas the environmental subsidence is passed to the grid‐scale dynamics of the hosting model. It is shown that the operational anisotropic divergence damping in ICON distorts the grid‐scale dynamical response on the net mass transport parametrized by HYMACS. Thus, a revised numerical filter configuration is developed which focuses on both the compatibility to local mass sources (sinks) and the effective suppression of numerical modes inherent from the model's triangular grid. Evaluation of Jablonowski–Williamson dynamical core experiments reveal that the combination of an isotropic second‐order divergence damping with a modified version of the fourth‐order divergence damping outperforms against numerical filters based on diffusion. The obtained results are similar to the operational set‐up indicating just a minor effect on the properties of the dynamical core. Moreover, a series of dry mass lifting experiments with the revised numerical filter confirms its compatability with HYMACS. The distortion of the grid‐scale circulation is removed while gravity waves are still retained despite the potentially degenerative effect of the fourth‐order divergence damping. Analyses of kinetic energy spectra confirm the effective suppression of checkerboard noise for a wide range of different situations. The present study may be understood as a base for future applications of HYMACS with a full cloud model in real‐case studies.

Evaluation of GRACE mascon solutions for small spatial scales and localized mass sources

Evaluation of GRACE mascon solutions for small spatial scales and localized mass sources

A theory of the MJO horizontal scale

AbstractHere we ask, what controls the horizontal scale of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation, i.e., what controls its zonal wave number k? We present a new one‐dimensional (1D) β‐plane model that successfully simulates the MJO with the same governing mechanism as the 2D shallow water model of Yang and Ingersoll (2013). Convection is parameterized as a short‐duration localized mass source that is triggered when the layer thickness falls below a critical value. Radiation is parameterized as a steady uniform mass sink. Both models tend toward a statistically steady state—a state of radiative‐convective equilibrium, not just on a global scale but also on the scale of each MJO event. This gives k ~ (Sc/c)1/2, where Sc is the spatial‐temporal frequency of convection events and c is the Kelvin wave speed. We offer this scaling as a prediction of how the MJO would respond to climate change.

Local Source Based CFD Modeling of Effusion Cooling Holes: Validation and Application to an Actual Combustor Test Case

State-of-the-art liner cooling technology for modern combustion chambers is represented by effusion cooling (or full-coverage film cooling). Effusion is a very efficient cooling strategy typically based on the use of several inclined small diameter cylindrical holes, where liner temperature is controlled by the combined protective effect of coolant film and heat removal through forced convection inside each hole. A CFD-based thermal analysis of such components implies a significant computational cost if the cooling holes are included in the simulations; therefore many efforts have been made to develop lower order approaches aiming at reducing the number of mesh elements. The simplest approach models the set of holes as a uniform coolant injection, but it does not allow an accurate assessment of the interaction between hot gas and coolant. Therefore higher order models have been developed, such as those based on localized mass sources in the region of hole discharge. The model presented in this paper replaces the effusion hole with a mass sink on the cold side of the plate, a mass source on the hot side, whereas convective cooling within the perforation is accounted for with a heat sink. The innovative aspect of the work is represented by the automatic calculation of the mass flow through each hole, obtained by a run time estimation of isentropic mass flow with probe points, while the discharge coefficients are calculated at run time through an in-house developed correlation. In the same manner, the heat sink is calculated from a Nusselt number correlation available in literature for short length holes. The methodology has been applied to experimental test cases of effusion cooling plates and compared to numerical results obtained through a CFD analysis including the cooling holes, showing a good agreement. A comparison between numerical results and experimental data was performed on an actual combustor as well, in order to prove the feasibility of the procedure.

Triggered Convection, Gravity Waves, and the MJO: A Shallow-Water Model

Abstract The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is the dominant mode of intraseasonal variability in the tropics. Despite its primary importance, a generally accepted theory that accounts for fundamental features of the MJO, including its propagation speed, planetary horizontal scale, multiscale features, and quadrupole structures, remains elusive. In this study, the authors use a shallow-water model to simulate the MJO. In this model, convection is parameterized as a short-duration localized mass source and is triggered when the layer thickness falls below a critical value. Radiation is parameterized as a steady uniform mass sink. The following MJO-like signals are observed in the simulations: 1) slow eastward-propagating large-scale disturbances, which show up as low-frequency, low-wavenumber features with eastward propagation in the spectral domain, 2) multiscale structures in the time–longitude (Hovmöller) domain, and 3) quadrupole vortex structures in the longitude–latitude (map view) domain. The authors propose that the simulated MJO signal is an interference pattern of westward and eastward inertia–gravity (WIG and EIG) waves. Its propagation speed is half of the speed difference between the WIG and EIG waves. The horizontal scale of its large-scale envelope is determined by the bandwidth of the excited waves, and the bandwidth is controlled by the number density of convection events. In this model, convection events trigger other convection events, thereby aggregating into large-scale structures, but there is no feedback of the large-scale structures onto the convection events. The results suggest that the MJO is not so much a low-frequency wave, in which convection acts as a quasi-equilibrium adjustment, but is more a pattern of high-frequency waves that interact directly with the convection.

Sensitivity of the meridional transport in a 1.5-layer ocean model to localized mass sources

The response of a 1.5-layer ocean model forced by localized stochastic mass sources is studied. The focus is on the sensitivity of the spectral characteristics of the meridional transport to the location and the extent of the source region. In all the experiments, performed in hemispheric and interhemispheric basins, the spectra show a peak at interannual time scale revealing the existence of an oscillation. The period of the oscillation is defined by the zonal extent of the forcing, whereas its amplitude is affected by its location. When the source region is located in the northwestern corner of the basin, the peak emerges clearly on the spectrum of the meridional transport, whereas it is strongly reduced when the source region is located in open ocean. The extension to an inter-hemispheric basin increases the energy at the period of the oscillation, but the introduction of the equatorial dynamics does not affect the spectral characteristics of the response for periods longer than 1 year.