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Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Rayleigh-Bénard convection with phase changes in a Galerkin model
Thomas Weidauer1, Olivier Pauluis, Jörg Schumacher
1Institut für Thermo- und Fluiddynamik, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Postfach 100565, D-98684 Ilmenau, Germany.
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|December 21, 2011
Summary
This study explores moist convection transitions using a 3D model. It identifies conditions for self-sustained convective regimes, revealing similarities to turbulence in shear flows.
Area of Science:
- Fluid dynamics
- Atmospheric science
- Thermodynamics
Background:
- Rayleigh-Bénard convection with phase changes presents complex dynamics.
- The conditionally unstable regime of moist convection is crucial for understanding atmospheric phenomena.
- Previous models often simplify phase change dynamics in convective studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the transition to turbulence in Rayleigh-Bénard convection with phase changes.
- To analyze convective patterns in the conditionally unstable regime of moist convection.
- To map attractors in the model's phase space and understand parameter dependencies.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a three-dimensional Galerkin model for simulations.
- Performing comprehensive statistical analysis of convective transitions.
- Examining phase space attractors and their dependence on dimensionless parameters.
Main Results:
- Identified steady, oscillating (recharge-discharge), and turbulent regimes for localized moist convection.
- Phase-space analysis predicts parameter ranges for self-sustained convective regimes under subcritical conditional instability.
- Observed regime transitions in moist convection show parallels with transitions to turbulence in simple shear flows.
Conclusions:
- Conditionally unstable moist convection can initiate from stable or unstable equilibria.
- Convective patterns are highly dependent on aspect ratio and stratification.
- The study provides insights into the fundamental mechanisms governing moist convection and turbulence transition.
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