Effects of thermal gradients on the intensity of vortices generated in a cylindrical annulus
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Published on: October 5, 2018
1Departamento de Matemáticas, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain. mariacruz.navarro@uclm.es
Abstract:
This paper shows the influence of horizontal and vertical temperature gradients on the intensity of vertical vortices, qualitatively similar to dust devils, generated by a convective instability in a cylindrical annulus non-homogeneously heated. The behavior of the vortices formed is studied, showing that the increase of the temperature gradients intensifies the strength of the vortical structures developed and vice versa, small horizontal and vertical temperature gradients lead to weaker vortices or even make them disappear. Consequently, the intensity of the vortices can be controlled thermally by cooling or heating adequately the bottom boundary.
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