Supergranule aggregation: a Prandtl number-independent feature of constant heat flux-driven convection flows

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Vieweg, Philipp P.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Vieweg, Philipp P.
author_facet Vieweg, Philipp P.
contents Supergranule aggregation, i.e., the gradual aggregation of convection cells to horizontally extended networks of flow structures, is a unique feature of constant heat flux-driven turbulent convection. In the present study, we address the question if this mechanism of self-organisation of the flow is present for any fluid. Therefore, we analyse three-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection at a fixed Rayleigh number $\textrm{Ra} \approx 2.0 \times 10^{5}$ across $4$ orders of Prandtl numbers $\Pr \in \left[ 10^{-2}, 10^{2} \right]$ by means of direct numerical simulations in horizontally extended periodic domains with aspect ratio $Γ= 60$. Our study confirms the omnipresence of the mechanism of supergranule aggregation for the entire range of investigated fluids. Moreover, we analyse the effect of $\Pr$ on the global heat and momentum transport, and clarify the role of a potential stable stratification in the bulk of the fluid layer. The ubiquity of the investigated mechanism of flow self-organisation underlines its relevance for pattern formation in geophysical and astrophysical convection flows, the latter of which are often driven by prescribed heat fluxes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_08327
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Supergranule aggregation: a Prandtl number-independent feature of constant heat flux-driven convection flows
Vieweg, Philipp P.
Fluid Dynamics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Supergranule aggregation, i.e., the gradual aggregation of convection cells to horizontally extended networks of flow structures, is a unique feature of constant heat flux-driven turbulent convection. In the present study, we address the question if this mechanism of self-organisation of the flow is present for any fluid. Therefore, we analyse three-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection at a fixed Rayleigh number $\textrm{Ra} \approx 2.0 \times 10^{5}$ across $4$ orders of Prandtl numbers $\Pr \in \left[ 10^{-2}, 10^{2} \right]$ by means of direct numerical simulations in horizontally extended periodic domains with aspect ratio $Γ= 60$. Our study confirms the omnipresence of the mechanism of supergranule aggregation for the entire range of investigated fluids. Moreover, we analyse the effect of $\Pr$ on the global heat and momentum transport, and clarify the role of a potential stable stratification in the bulk of the fluid layer. The ubiquity of the investigated mechanism of flow self-organisation underlines its relevance for pattern formation in geophysical and astrophysical convection flows, the latter of which are often driven by prescribed heat fluxes.
title Supergranule aggregation: a Prandtl number-independent feature of constant heat flux-driven convection flows
topic Fluid Dynamics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.08327