Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Structure of the thermal boundary layer for turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection of air in a long rectangular
Anna Maystrenko1, Christian Resagk, André Thess
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ilmenau University of Technology, P.O. Box 100565, 98684 Ilmenau, Germany.
Abstract:
Measurements of the temperature distribution were performed in the upper (cold) boundary layer of a rectangular Rayleigh-Bénard cell with aspect ratios Gamma(x) = 5 and Gamma(y) = 1 using air with Prandtl number Pr = 0.71 as the working fluid. The range of investigated Rayleigh numbers was from Ra approximately 6 x 10(7) to Ra approximately 6 x 10(8), and the measurements were taken at two different positions with the purpose of understanding the variation of the properties of the thermal boundary layer along the cell. We present profiles of the mean temperature, rms temperature fluctuations, skewness, and kurtosis as a function of the distance from the cooling plate from which we extract scaling exponents and boundary layer thicknesses. Whereas most of these quantities are found to depend monotonically on the Rayleigh number for the peripheral measurement position, their values at the central measurement position exhibit a high degree of variability. These observations indicate that the properties of the thermal boundary layer in large-aspect-ratio convection can have strong spatial variations.
Related Concept Videos
Boundary Layer Characteristics
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Couette Flow
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Conduction, Convection and Radiation: Problem Solving
In order to solve a problem related to heat transfer, first of all, the situation needs to be examined to determine the type of heat transfer involved. This could...
General Characteristics of Pipe Flow II
The distance to reach a fully developed flow is called the entrance length and depends on the flow...
