The Spatial Structure of Turbulent Rayleigh-Benard Convection
Fernandes, Richard Lawrence Joseph
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/87776
Description
Title
The Spatial Structure of Turbulent Rayleigh-Benard Convection
Author(s)
Fernandes, Richard Lawrence Joseph
Issue Date
2001
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Adrian, Ronald J.
Department of Study
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Discipline
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Physics, Fluid and Plasma
Language
eng
Abstract
The circulation cells visualized in the present study are a manifestation, in the fully turbulent regime, of the cellular structures commonly observed at low Rayleigh numbers. The circulation cells are proposed as a physical description (not an explanation) of the phenomenon referred to in the literature as the wind of turbulence. They were found to contain approximately 40% of the total kinetic energy, and this fraction was found to be approximately independent of the Rayleigh number. This leads to the conclusion that the wind of turbulence (U) scales with the velocity fluctuations (ufluct), U ∼ u fluct. The visualizations indicate that the large-scale circulation engulfs the small-scale structures and advect them across the layer. The engulfment of small-scale buoyant elements may be the mechanism by which the large-scale circulation obtains the buoyancy required to maintain its kinetic energy.
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