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Updated: Dec 15, 2025

Uncoupling Coriolis Force and Rotating Buoyancy Effects on Full-Field Heat Transfer Properties of a Rotating Channel
Published on: October 5, 2018
Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics of Turbulence-Driven Rotors
N Francois1, H Xia1, H Punzmann1
1Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.
Abstract:
We characterize a process of energy extraction via rectification of strongly turbulent flow by using tools of stochastic thermodynamics. We study the dynamics of an asymmetric autonomous rotor that shows biased direction of rotation when placed in a stream. We give experimental evidence that a fluctuation theorem can be used to describe the work injected in the rotor via its coupling with the turbulent flow structure. This approach allows to measure the mean power extracted from the chaotic fluid motion over a broad range of turbulent kinetic energy. A nontrivial dependence of the rotor power on flow kinetic energy is identified. This observation is described by a model taking into account the dissipation of the rotor energy and the temporal memory of coherent structures present in the turbulent flow.
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