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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Uncoupling Coriolis Force and Rotating Buoyancy Effects on Full-Field Heat Transfer Properties of a Rotating Channel
Published on: October 5, 2018
Heat flux intensification by vortical flow localization in rotating convection
R P J Kunnen1, H J H Clercx, B J Geurts
1Department of Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The effect of rotation on turbulent convective flow between parallel plates has been assessed with direct numerical simulations. With increasing rotation-rate an interesting transition is observed in the vertical-velocity skewness. This transition indicates a localization of motion directed away from the wall and correlates well with changes observed in the heat flux, as well as in the thermal and viscous boundary layer thicknesses. The formation of localized intense vortical structures provides for intensified vertical heat transport through Ekman pumping. At higher rotation-rates this is counteracted by the inhibition of vertical motion by rotation as expressed in the geostrophic thermal-wind balance.
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