Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Measurements of Local Instantaneous Convective Heat Transfer in a Pipe - Single and Two-phase Flow
Published on: April 30, 2018
Measured oscillations of the velocity and temperature fields in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a rectangular
Sheng-Qi Zhou1, Chao Sun, Ke-Qing Xia
1Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Satin, Hong Kong, China. sqzhou@phy.cuhk.edu.hk
Abstract:
Temperature and velocity oscillations have been found in a rectangular Rayleigh-Bénard convection cell, in which one large-scale convection roll exists. At Rayleigh number Ra=8.9x10(11) and Prandtl number Pr=4, temperature oscillations can be observed in most parts of the system and the oscillation period remains almost constant, tT=74+/-2 s. Velocity oscillation can only be found in its horizontal component vy (perpendicular to the large-scale circulation plane) near the cell sidewall, its oscillation period is also constant, tv=65+/-2 s, at these positions. Temperature and velocity oscillations have different Ra dependences, which are, respectively, indicated by the Péclect number PeT=0.55Ra0.47 and Pev=0.28Ra0.50. In comparison to the case of a cylindrical cell, we find that velocity oscillations are affected by the system geometry.
Related Concept Videos
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Couette Flow
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Laminar and Turbulent Flow
Poiseuille's Law and Reynolds Number
Turbulent Flow

