Natural Convection Cooling of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator Engineering Unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewandowski, Edward J.; Hill, Dennis

2011-01-01

After fueling and prior to launch, the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) will be stored for a period of time then moved to the launch pad for integration with the space probe and mounting on the launch vehicle. During this time, which could be as long as 3 years, the ASRG will operate continuously with heat rejected from the housing and fins. Typically, the generator will be cooled by forced convection using fans. During some of the ground operations, maintaining forced convection may add significant complexity, so allowing natural convection may simplify operations. A test was conducted on the ASRG Engineering Unit (EU) to quantify temperatures and operating parameters with natural convection only and determine if the EU could be safely operated in such an environment. The results show that with natural convection cooling the ASRG EU Stirling convertor pressure vessel temperatures and other parameters had significant margins while the EU was operated for several days in this configuration. Additionally, an update is provided on ASRG EU testing at NASA Glenn Research Center, where the ASRG EU has operated for over 16,000 hr and underwent extensive testing.

A Simple Classroom Demonstration of Natural Convection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheeler, Dean R.

2005-01-01

This article explains a simple way to demonstrate natural convection, such as from a lit candle, in the classroom using an overhead projector. The demonstration is based on the principle of schlieren imaging, commonly used to visualize variations in density for gas flows.

Solar Hot Water Heating by Natural Convection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noble, Richard D.

1983-01-01

Presents an undergraduate laboratory experiment in which a solar collector is used to heat water for domestic use. The working fluid is moved by natural convection so no pumps are required. Experimental apparatus is simple in design and operation so that data can be collected quickly and easily. (Author/JN)

Boundary layers and scaling relations in natural thermal convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shishkina, Olga; Lohse, Detlef; Grossmann, Siegfried

2017-11-01

We analyse the boundary layer (BL) equations in natural thermal convection, which includes vertical convection (VC), where the fluid is confined between two differently heated vertical walls, horizontal convection (HC), where the fluid is heated at one part of the bottom plate and cooled at some other part, and Rayleigh-Benard convection (RBC). For BL dominated regimes we derive the scaling relations of the Nusselt and Reynolds numbers (Nu, Re) with the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers (Ra, Pr). For VC the scaling relations are obtained directly from the BL equations, while for HC they are derived by applying the Grossmann-Lohse theory to the case of VC. In particular, for RBC with large Pr we derive Nu Pr0Ra1/3 and Re Pr-1Ra2/3. The work is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under the Grant Sh 405/4 - Heisenberg fellowship.

Natural convection in the Hale-Shaw cell of horizontal Bridgman solidification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, Y.; Liu, J.; Zhou, Y.

1995-08-01

The numerical simulation of natural convection in the Hale-Shaw cell during horizontal Bridgman solidification reveals that the convection is present even for the very thin cell. The effects of the horizontal temperature gradient, G, thickness of the cell, H, temperature difference between the top and bottom of the cell, and other parameters have been studied. These findings have been confirmed by experiments through direct observation and measurement of convection in the cell containing succinonitrile transparent model alloy.

Thermal modeling of phase change solidification in thermal control devices including natural convection effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ukanwa, A. O.; Stermole, F. J.; Golden, J. O.

1972-01-01

Natural convection effects in phase change thermal control devices were studied. A mathematical model was developed to evaluate natural convection effects in a phase change test cell undergoing solidification. Although natural convection effects are minimized in flight spacecraft, all phase change devices are ground tested. The mathematical approach to the problem was to first develop a transient two-dimensional conduction heat transfer model for the solidification of a normal paraffin of finite geometry. Next, a transient two-dimensional model was developed for the solidification of the same paraffin by a combined conduction-natural-convection heat transfer model. Throughout the study, n-hexadecane (n-C16H34) was used as the phase-change material in both the theoretical and the experimental work. The models were based on the transient two-dimensional finite difference solutions of the energy, continuity, and momentum equations.

Suppression/Reversal of Natural Convection by Exploiting the Temperature/Composition Dependence of Magnetic Susceptibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seybert, C. D.; Evans, J. W.; Leslie, F.; Jones, W. K., Jr.

2000-01-01

Natural convection, driven by temperature-or concentration gradients or both, is an inherent phenomenon during solidification of materials on Earth. This convection has practical consequences (e.g effecting macrosegregation) but also renders difficult the scientific examination of diffusive/conductive phenomena during solidification. It is possible to halt, or even reverse, natural convection by exploiting the variation (with temperature, for example) of the susceptibility of a material. If the material is placed in a vertical magnetic field gradient, a buoyancy force of magnetic origin arises and, at a critical field gradient, can balance the normal buoyancy forces to halt convection. At higher field gradients the convection can be reversed. The effect has been demonstrated in experiments at Marshall Space Flight Center where flow was measured by PIV in MnCl2 solution in a superconducting magnet. In auxiliary experiments the field in the magnet and the properties of the solution were measured. Computations of the natural convection, its halting and reversal, using the commercial software FLUENT were in good agreement with the measurements.

Blade-to-coolant heat-transfer results and operating data from a natural-convection water-cooled single-stage turbine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diaguila, Anthony J; Freche, John C

1951-01-01

Blade-to-coolant heat-transfer data and operating data were obtained with a natural-convection water-cooled turbine over range of turbine speeds and inlet-gas temperatures. The convective coefficients were correlated by the general relation for natural-convection heat transfer. The turbine data were displaced from a theoretical equation for natural convection heat transfer in the turbulent region and from natural-convection data obtained with vertical cylinders and plates; possible disruption of natural convection circulation within the blade coolant passages was thus indicated. Comparison of non dimensional temperature-ratio parameters for the blade leading edge, midchord, and trailing edge indicated that the blade cooling effectiveness is greatest at the midchord and least at the trailing edge.

Determination of the natural convection coefficient in low-gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldmeer, J.; Motevalli, V.; Haghdoust, M.; Jumper, G.

1992-01-01

Fire safety is an important issue in the current space program; ignition in low-g needs to be studied. The reduction in the gravitational acceleration causes changes in the ignition process. This paper examines the effect of gravity on natural convection, which is one of the important parameters in the ignition process. The NASA-Lewis 2.2 Second Drop Tower provided the low-gravity environment for the experiments. A series of experiments was conducted to measure the temperature of a small copper plate which was heated by a high intensity lamp. These experiments verified that in low-gravity the plate temperature increased faster than in the corresponding 1-g cases, and that the natural convection coefficient rapidly decreased in the low-gravity environment.

An examination of natural convection between two horizontal walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martine, J.-P.

Measurements were made of the turbulence magnitudes and characteristics of natural convective air flow between plates. The thermal and kinematic properties of the flows were determined for comparison with theoretical predictions. Three horizontal layers were identified, as were the principle parameters for a law of variations. A viscous film with heat transferred mainly by conduction, a thermal boundary layer where strong convective changes occurred, and a central isothermal mean layer where the temperature was convected as a passive scalar were characterized. The velocity structures, both horizontal and vertical, were defined in each region. The thermal gradients were strongest near the wall, to the extent that new thermometric instruments are necessary for direct instantaneous measurement of the discrete layers that might form in that region.

A new approach to the stability analysis of transient natural convection in porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tilton, Nils

2016-11-01

Onset of natural convection due to transient diffusion in porous media has attracted considerable attention for its applications to CO2 sequestration. Stability analyses typically investigate onset of convection using an initial value problem approach in which a perturbation is introduced to the concentration field at an initial time t =tp . This leads to debate concerning physically appropriate perturbations, the critical time tc for linear instability, and to the counter-intuitive notion of an optimal initial time tp that maximizes perturbation growth. We propose a new approach in which transient diffusion is continuously perturbed by small variations in the porosity. With this approach, instability occurs immediately (tc = 0) without violating any physical constraints, such that the concepts of initial time tp and critical time tc have less relevance. We argue that the onset time for nonlinear convection is a more physically relevant parameter, and show that it can be predicted using a simple asymptotic expansion. Using the expansion, we consider porosity perturbations that vary sinusoidally in the horizontal and vertical directions, and show there are optimal combinations of wavelengths that minimize the onset time of nonlinear convection.

Effect of natural convection in a horizontally oriented cylinder on NMR imaging of the distribution of diffusivity

PubMed

Mohoric; Stepisnik

2000-11-01

This paper describes the influence of natural convection on NMR measurement of a self-diffusion constant of fluid in the earth's magnetic field. To get an estimation of the effect, the Lorenz model of natural convection in a horizontally oriented cylinder, heated from below, is derived. Since the Lorenz model of natural convection is derived for the free boundary condition, its validity is of a limited value for the natural no-slip boundary condition. We point out that even a slight temperature gradient can cause significant misinterpretation of measurements. The chaotic nature of convection enhances the apparent self-diffusion constant of the liquid.

Solution of heat removal from nuclear reactors by natural convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zitek, Pavel; Valenta, Vaclav

2014-03-01

This paper summarizes the basis for the solution of heat removal by natural convection from both conventional nuclear reactors and reactors with fuel flowing coolant (such as reactors with molten fluoride salts MSR).The possibility of intensification of heat removal through gas lift is focused on. It might be used in an MSR (Molten Salt Reactor) for cleaning the salt mixture of degassed fission products and therefore eliminating problems with iodine pitting. Heat removal by natural convection and its intensification increases significantly the safety of nuclear reactors. Simultaneously the heat removal also solves problems with lifetime of pumps in the primary circuit of high-temperature reactors.

The transition from natural convection to thermomagnetic convection of a magnetic fluid in a non-uniform magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szabo, Peter S. B.; Früh, Wolf-Gerrit

2018-02-01

Magnetic fluid flow and heat transfer by natural and thermomagnetic convection was studied numerically in a square enclosure. The aim was to investigate the transition from natural convection to thermomagnetic convection by exploring situations where buoyancy and the Kelvin body force would be opposing each other such that the magnetic effects would in some cases be the dominant factor throughout the domain and in other cases only in a part of the fluid. The numerical model coupled the solution of the magnetostatic field equation with the heat and fluid flow equations to simulate the fluid flow under a realistic magnetic field generated by a permanent magnet. The results suggest that the domain of influence over the flow field is largely aligned with the domain of dominance of the respective driving force. The result is that the transition from a single buoyancy-driven convection cell to a single thermomagnetically driven cell is via a two-cell structure and that the local effect on the flow field leads to a global effect on the heat transfer with a minimum of the Nusselt number in the transition region.

Natural convective heat transfer from square cylinder

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Novomestský, Marcel, E-mail: marcel.novomestsky@fstroj.uniza.sk; Smatanová, Helena, E-mail: helena.smatanova@fstroj.uniza.sk; Kapjor, Andrej, E-mail: andrej.kapjor@fstroj.uniza.sk

This article is concerned with natural convective heat transfer from square cylinder mounted on a plane adiabatic base, the cylinders having an exposed cylinder surface according to different horizontal angle. The cylinder receives heat from a radiating heater which results in a buoyant flow. There are many industrial applications, including refrigeration, ventilation and the cooling of electrical components, for which the present study may be applicable.

Experimental and numerical studies of natural convection in a Hele-Shaw cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Viney, C.E.; Hickox, C.E.; Montoya, P.C.

1982-12-01

The results of an experimental study are reported in which a Hele-Shaw cell was used to simulate natural convection flow in a homogeneous porous region subjected to a horizonal temperature gradient. Measured velocities and photographs of streamline patterns are compared with numerical predictions produced with the finite element computer program, MARIAH. Results of numerical simulations are also reported for Rayleigh-Benard convection in a bottom-heated, horizontal, prous layer. The numerical results are compared with the experimental Hele-Shaw cell results of Hartline and Lister. The comparison between these experimental and numerical studies provides some support for the qualification of MARIAH as amore » general purpose code for the description of natural convection in porous media at low Rayleigh numbers.« less

Studies of heat source driven natural convection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulacki, F. A.; Nagle, M. E.; Cassen, P.

1974-01-01

Natural convection energy transport in a horizontal layer of internally heated fluid with a zero heat flux lower boundary, and an isothermal upper boundary, has been studied. Quantitative information on the time-mean temperature distribution and the fluctuating component of temperature about the mean temperature in steady turbulent convection are obtained from a small thermocouple inserted into the layer through the upper bounding plate. Data are also presented on the development of temperature at several vertical positions when the layer is subject to both a sudden increase and to a sudden decrease in power input. For changes of power input from zero to a value corresponding to a Rayleigh number much greater than the critical linear stability theory value, a slight hysteresis in temperature profiles near the upper boundary is observed between the heat-up and cool-down modes.

Experimental and numerical study on the onset of natural convection in a cavity open at the top

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saxena, Ashish; Kishor, Vimal; Singh, Suneet; Srivastava, Atul

2018-05-01

The onset of natural convection in a 2D air filled cavity open at the top with adiabatic side walls is studied. The numerical model shows the existence of weak convective flow near the top corner of a cavity due to the thermal gradient between the walls and the atmosphere even at low Rayleigh numbers, as also confirmed by the interferometry-based experimental data. Additionally, a thermally stratified layer is formed on the lower side of the cavity. The onset of convection is seen to be dependent on the interaction of these two features in the cavity. Results of the study show that in low aspect ratio cavities, the thermally stratified layers are clearly formed and are not significantly disturbed by the flow at the corners. The onset of convection takes place in these earlier thermally stratified layers beyond a certain Rayleigh number. This convective movement is characterized by a sudden jump in the heat transfer coefficient at a critical Rayleigh number. However, for high aspect ratio cavities, the flow at the corners has significant influence on the stratified layers and results in a decrease in the value of critical Rayleigh number. Beyond a certain aspect ratio, these layers cannot be formed and hence there is no onset of convection. Simulations as well as the interferometric measurements show an inherent symmetry in the corner flows, which was seen to breakdown due to the flow-induced instabilities in the thermally stratified layers for Rayleigh numbers greater than the critical value.

Topology optimization of natural convection: Flow in a differentially heated cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saglietti, Clio; Schlatter, Philipp; Berggren, Martin; Henningson, Dan

2017-11-01

The goal of the present work is to develop methods for optimization of the design of natural convection cooled heat sinks, using resolved simulation of both fluid flow and heat transfer. We rely on mathematical programming techniques combined with direct numerical simulations in order to iteratively update the topology of a solid structure towards optimality, i.e. until the design yielding the best performance is found, while satisfying a specific set of constraints. The investigated test case is a two-dimensional differentially heated cavity, in which the two vertical walls are held at different temperatures. The buoyancy force induces a swirling convective flow around a solid structure, whose topology is optimized to maximize the heat flux through the cavity. We rely on the spectral-element code Nek5000 to compute a high-order accurate solution of the natural convection flow arising from the conjugate heat transfer in the cavity. The laminar, steady-state solution of the problem is evaluated with a time-marching scheme that has an increased convergence rate; the actual iterative optimization is obtained using a steepest-decent algorithm, and the gradients are conveniently computed using the continuous adjoint equations for convective heat transfer.

Onset of natural convection in a continuously perturbed system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghorbani, Zohreh; Riaz, Amir

2017-11-01

The convective mixing triggered by gravitational instability plays an important role in CO2 sequestration in saline aquifers. The linear stability analysis and the numerical simulation concerning convective mixing in porous media requires perturbations of small amplitude to be imposed on the concentration field in the form of an initial shape function. In aquifers, however, the instability is triggered by local porosity and permeability. In this work, we consider a canonical 2D homogeneous system where perturbations arise due to spatial variation of porosity in the system. The advantage of this approach is not only the elimination of the required initial shape function, but it also serves as a more realistic approach. Using a reduced nonlinear method, we first explore the effect of harmonic variations of porosity in the transverse and streamwise direction on the onset time of convection and late time behavior. We then obtain the optimal porosity structure that minimizes the convection onset. We further examine the effect of a random porosity distribution, that is independent of the spatial mode of porosity structure, on the convection onset. Using high-order pseudospectral DNS, we explore how the random distribution differs from the modal approach in predicting the onset time.

Transient Convection Due to Imposed Heat Flux: Application to Liquid-Acquisition Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duval, Walter M. B.; Chato, David J.; Doherty, Michael P.

2014-01-01

A model problem is considered that addresses the effect of heat load from an ambient laboratory environment on the temperature rise of liquid nitrogen inside an enclosure. This model has applications to liquid acquisition devices inside the cryogenic storage tanks used to transport vapor-free propellant to the main engine. We show that heat loads from Q = 0.001 to 10 W, with corresponding Rayleigh numbers from Ra = 109 to 1013, yield a range of unsteady convective states and temperature rise in the liquid. The results show that Q = 1 to 10 W (Ra = 1012 to 1013) yield temperature distributions along the enclosure height that are similar in trend to experimental measurements. Unsteady convection, which shows selfsimilarity in its planforms, is predicted for the range of heat-load conditions. The onset of convection occurs from a free-convection-dominated base flow that becomes unstable against convective instability generated at the bottom of the enclosure while the top of the enclosure is convectively stable. A number of modes are generated with small-scale thermals at the bottom of the enclosure in which the flow selforganizes into two symmetric modes prior to the onset of the propagation of the instability. These symmetric vertical modes transition to asymmetric modes that propagate as a traveling-wave-type motion of convective modes and are representative of the asymptotic convective state of the flow field. Intense vorticity production is created in the core of the flow field due to the fact that there is shear instability between the vertical and horizontal modes. For the higher Rayleigh numbers, 1012 to 1013, there is a transition from a stationary to a nonstationary response time signal of the flow and temperature fields with a mean value that increases with time over various time bands and regions of the enclosure.

Transient performance and temperature field of a natural convection air dehumidifier loop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fazilati, Mohammad Ali; Sedaghat, Ahmad; Alemrajabi, Ali-Akbar

2017-07-01

In this paper, transient performance of the previously introduced natural convection heat and mass transfer loop is investigated for an air dehumidifier system. The performance of the loop is studied in different conditions of heat source/heat sink temperature and different startup desiccant concentrations. Unlike conventional loops, it is observed that natural convection of the fluid originates from the heat sink towards the heat source. The proper operation of the cycle is highly dependent on the heat sink/heat source temperatures. To reduce the time constant of the system, a proper desiccant concentration should be adopted for charge of the loop.

Numerical analysis of natural convection in liquid droplets by phase change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duh, J. C.; Yang, Wen-Jei

1989-09-01

A numerical analysis is performed on thermocapillary buoyancy convection induced by phase change in a liquid droplet. A finite-difference code is developed using an alternating-direction implicit (ADI) scheme. The intercoupling relation between thermocapillary force, buoyancy force, fluid property, heat transfer, and phase change, along with their effects on the induced flow patterns, are disclosed. The flow is classified into three types: thermocapillary, buoyancy, and combined convection. Among the three mechanisms, the combined convection simulates the experimental observations quite well, and the basic mechanism of the observed convection inside evaporating sessile drops is thus identified. It is disclosed that evaporation initiates unstable convection, while condensation always brings about a stable density distribution which eventually damps out all fluid disturbances. Another numerical model is presented to study the effect of boundary recession due to evaporation, and the 'peeling-off' effect (the removal of the surface layer of fluid by evaporation) is shown to be relevant.

Numerical analysis of natural convection in liquid droplets by phase change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duh, J. C.; Yang, Wen-Jei

1989-01-01

A numerical analysis is performed on thermocapillary buoyancy convection induced by phase change in a liquid droplet. A finite-difference code is developed using an alternating-direction implicit (ADI) scheme. The intercoupling relation between thermocapillary force, buoyancy force, fluid property, heat transfer, and phase change, along with their effects on the induced flow patterns, are disclosed. The flow is classified into three types: thermocapillary, buoyancy, and combined convection. Among the three mechanisms, the combined convection simulates the experimental observations quite well, and the basic mechanism of the observed convection inside evaporating sessile drops is thus identified. It is disclosed that evaporation initiates unstable convection, while condensation always brings about a stable density distribution which eventually damps out all fluid disturbances. Another numerical model is presented to study the effect of boundary recession due to evaporation, and the 'peeling-off' effect (the removal of the surface layer of fluid by evaporation) is shown to be relevant.

Quantitative phase-field lattice-Boltzmann study of lamellar eutectic growth under natural convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, A.; Guo, Z.; Xiong, S.-M.

2018-05-01

The influence of natural convection on lamellar eutectic growth was determined by a comprehensive phase-field lattice-Boltzmann study for Al-Cu and CB r4-C2C l6 eutectic alloys. The mass differences resulting from concentration differences led to the fluid flow and a robust parallel and adaptive mesh refinement algorithm was employed to improve the computational efficiency. By means of carefully designed "numerical experiments", the eutectic growth under natural convection was explored and a simple analytical model was proposed to predict the adjustment of the lamellar spacing. Furthermore, by alternating the solute expansion coefficient, initial lamellar spacing, and undercooling, the microstructure evolution was presented and compared with the classical eutectic growth theory. Results showed that both interfacial solute distribution and average curvature were affected by the natural convection, the effect of which could be further quantified by adding a constant into the growth rule proposed by Jackson and Hunt [Jackson and Hunt, Trans. Metall. Soc. AIME 236, 1129 (1966)].

Fully decoupled monolithic projection method for natural convection problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Xiaomin; Kim, Kyoungyoun; Lee, Changhoon; Choi, Jung-Il

2017-04-01

To solve time-dependent natural convection problems, we propose a fully decoupled monolithic projection method. The proposed method applies the Crank-Nicolson scheme in time and the second-order central finite difference in space. To obtain a non-iterative monolithic method from the fully discretized nonlinear system, we first adopt linearizations of the nonlinear convection terms and the general buoyancy term with incurring second-order errors in time. Approximate block lower-upper decompositions, along with an approximate factorization technique, are additionally employed to a global linearly coupled system, which leads to several decoupled subsystems, i.e., a fully decoupled monolithic procedure. We establish global error estimates to verify the second-order temporal accuracy of the proposed method for velocity, pressure, and temperature in terms of a discrete l2-norm. Moreover, according to the energy evolution, the proposed method is proved to be stable if the time step is less than or equal to a constant. In addition, we provide numerical simulations of two-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection and periodic forced flow. The results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly mitigates the time step limitation, reduces the computational cost because only one Poisson equation is required to be solved, and preserves the second-order temporal accuracy for velocity, pressure, and temperature. Finally, the proposed method reasonably predicts a three-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection for different Rayleigh numbers.

Solar drying of whole mint plant under natural and forced convection

PubMed Central

Sallam, Y.I.; Aly, M.H.; Nassar, A.F.; Mohamed, E.A.

2013-01-01

Two identical prototype solar dryers (direct and indirect) having the same dimensions were used to dry whole mint. Both prototypes were operated under natural and forced convection modes. In the case of the later one the ambient air was entered the dryer with the velocity of 4.2 m s−1. The effect of flow mode and the type of solar dryers on the drying kinetics of whole mint were investigated. Ten empirical models were used to fit the drying curves; nine of them represented well the solar drying behavior of mint. The results indicated that drying of mint under different operating conditions occurred in the falling rate period, where no constant rate period of drying was observed. Also, the obtained data revealed that the drying rate of mint under forced convection was higher than that of mint under natural convection, especially during first hours of drying (first day). The values of the effective diffusivity coefficient for the mint drying ranged between 1.2 × 10−11 and 1.33 × 10−11 m2 s−1. PMID:25750751

Natural convection of Al2O3-water nanofluid in a wavy enclosure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leonard, Mitchell; Mozumder, Aloke K.; Mahmud, Shohel; Das, Prodip K.

2017-06-01

Natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow inside enclosures filled with fluids, such as air, water or oil, have been extensively analysed for thermal enhancement and optimisation due to their applications in many engineering problems, including solar collectors, electronic cooling, lubrication technologies, food processing and nuclear reactors. In comparison, little effort has been given to the problem of natural convection inside enclosures filled with nanofluids, while the addition of nanoparticles into a fluid base to alter thermal properties can be a feasible solution for many heat transfer problems. In this study, the problem of natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow inside a wavy enclosure filled with Al2O3-water nanofluid is investigated numerically using ANSYS-FLUENT. The effects of surface waviness and aspect ratio of the wavy enclosure on the heat transfer and fluid flow are analysed for various concentrations of Al2O3 nanoparticles in water. Flow fields and temperature fields are investigated and heat transfer rate is examined for different values of Rayleigh number. Results show that heat transfer within the enclosure can be enhanced by increasing surface waviness, aspect ratio or nanoparticles volume fraction. Changes in surface waviness have little effect on the heat transfer rate at low Rayleigh numbers, but when Ra ≥ 105 heat transfer increases with the increase of surface waviness from zero to higher values. Increasing the aspect ratio causes an increase in heat transfer rate, as the Rayleigh number increases the effect of changing aspect ratio is more apparent with the greatest heat transfer enhancement seen at higher Rayleigh numbers. Nanoparticles volume fraction has a little effect on the average Nusselt number at lower Rayleigh numbers when Ra ≥ 105 average Nusselt number increases with the increase of volume fraction. These findings provide insight into the heat transfer effects of using Al2O3-water nanofluid as a heat

Cyclonic circulation of Saturn's atmosphere due to tilted convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afanasyev, Y. D.; Zhang, Y.

2018-03-01

Saturn displays cyclonic vortices at its poles and the general atmospheric circulation at other latitudes is dominated by embedded zonal jets that display cyclonic circulation. The abundance of small-scale convective storms suggests that convection plays a role in producing and maintaining Saturn's atmospheric circulation. However, the dynamical influence of small-scale convection on Saturn's general circulation is not well understood. Here we present laboratory analogue experiments and propose that Saturn's cyclonic circulation can be explained by tilted convection in which buoyancy forces do not align with the planet's rotation axis. In our experiments—conducted with a cylindrical water tank that is heated at the bottom, cooled at the top and spun on a rotating table—warm rising plumes and cold sinking water generate small anticyclonic and cyclonic vortices that are qualitatively similar to Saturn's convective storms. Numerical simulations complement the experiments and show that this small-scale convection leads to large-scale cyclonic flow at the surface and anticyclonic circulation at the base of the fluid layer, with a polar vortex forming from the merging of smaller cyclonic storms that are driven polewards.

Substantial reduction of the heat losses to ambient air by natural convection from horizontal in-tube flows: impact of an axial bundle of passive baffles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campo, A.; Cortés, C.

This paper is concerned with a distinct and effective technique to insulate horizontal tubes carrying hot fluids without using the variety of insulating materials traditionally utilized in industry. The tubes transport hot fluids and are exposed to a natural convection environment of air at standard atmospheric temperature and pressure. Essentially, an ``equivalent quantity of insulation'' is provided by an envelope of straight symmetric baffles made from a low conductivity material that is affixed to the outer surface of the horizontal tubes. A simple 1-D lumped model of comparable precision to the customary 2-D differential model serves to regulate the thermal interaction between the two perpendicular fluid streams, one horizontal due to internal forced convection and the other vertical due to external natural convection in air. All computations are algebraic and lead to a rapid determination of the two quantities that are indispensable to design engineers: the mean bulk temperatures of the internal hot fluid moving either laminarly or turbulently, together with the degraded levels of heat transfer rates.

The flow patterning capability of localized natural convection.

PubMed

Huang, Ling-Ting; Chao, Ling

2016-09-14

Controlling flow patterns to align materials can have various applications in optics, electronics, and biosciences. In this study, we developed a natural-convection-based method to create desirable spatial flow patterns by controlling the locations of heat sources. Fluid motion in natural convection is induced by the spatial fluid density gradient that is caused by the established spatial temperature gradient. To analyze the patterning resolution capability of this method, we used a mathematical model combined with nondimensionalization to correlate the flow patterning resolution with experimental operating conditions. The nondimensionalized model suggests that the flow pattern and resolution is only influenced by two dimensionless parameters, and , where Gr is the Grashof number, representing the ratio of buoyancy to the viscous force acting on a fluid, and Pr is the Prandtl number, representing the ratio of momentum diffusivity to thermal diffusivity. We used the model to examine all of the flow behaviors in a wide range of the two dimensionless parameter group and proposed a flow pattern state diagram which suggests a suitable range of operating conditions for flow patterning. In addition, we developed a heating wire with an angular configuration, which enabled us to efficiently examine the pattern resolution capability numerically and experimentally. Consistent resolutions were obtained between the experimental results and model predictions, suggesting that the state diagram and the identified operating range can be used for further application.

Analysis of vortical structures in turbulent natural convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sangro; Lee, Changhoon

2014-11-01

Natural convection of fluid within two parallel walls, Rayleigh-Bénard convection, is studied by direct numerical simulation using a spectral method. The flow is in soft turbulence regime with Rayleigh number 106, 107, 108, Prandtl number 0 . 7 and aspect ratio 4. We investigate the relations between thermal plumes and vortical structures through manipulating the evolution equations of vorticity and velocity gradient tensor. According to simulation results, horizontal vorticity occurs near the wall and changes into vertical vorticity by vertical stretching of fluid element which is caused by vertical movement of the thermal plume. Additionally, eigenvalues, eigenvectors and invariants of velocity gradient tensor show the topologies of vortical structures, including how vortical structures are tilted or stretched. Difference of velocity gradient tensor between inside thermal plumes and background region is also investigated, and the result indicates that thermal plumes play an important role in changing the distribution of vortical structures. The results of this study are consistent with other researches which suggest that vertical vorticity is stronger in high Rayleigh number flows. Details will be presented in the meeting.

Enhancement of Natural Convection by Carbon Nanotube Films Covered Microchannel-Surface for Passive Electronic Cooling Devices.

PubMed

Zhang, Guang; Jiang, Shaohui; Yao, Wei; Liu, Changhong

2016-11-16

Owing to the outstanding properties of thermal conduction, lightweight, and chemical durability, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have revealed promising applications in thermal management materials. Meanwhile, the increasingly popular portable electronics and the rapid development of space technology need lighter weight, smaller size, and more effective thermal management devices. Here, a novel kind of heat dissipation devices based on the superaligned CNT films and underlying microchannels is proposed, and the heat dissipation properties are measured at the natural condition. Distinctive from previous studies, by combining the advantages of microchannels and CNTs, such a novel heat dissipation device enables superior natural convection heat transfer properties. Our findings prove that the novel CNT-based devices could show an 86.6% larger total natural heat dissipation properties than bare copper plate. Further calculations of the radiation and natural convection heat transfer properties demonstrate that the excellent passive cooling properties of these CNT-based devices are primarily caused by the reinforcement of the natural convection heat transfer properties. Furthermore, the heat dissipation mechanisms are briefly discussed, and we propose that the very high heat transfer coefficients and the porous structures of superaligned CNT films play critical roles in reinforcing the natural convection. The novel CNT-based heat dissipation devices also have advantages of energy-saving, free-noise, and without additional accessories. So we believe that the CNT-based heat dissipation devices would replace the traditional metal-finned heat dissipation devices and have promising applications in electronic devices, such as photovoltaic devices, portable electronic devices, and electronic displays.

Global decadal climate variability driven by Southern Ocean convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinov, I.; Cabre, A.

2016-02-01

Here we suggest a set of new "teleconnections" by which the Southern Ocean (SO) can induce anomalies in the tropical oceans and atmosphere. A 5000-year long control simulation in a coupled atmosphere-ocean model (CM2Mc, a low-resolution GFDL model) shows a natural, highly regular multi-decadal oscillation between periods of SO open sea convection and non-convective periods. This process happens naturally, with different frequencies and durations of convection across the majority of CMIP5 under preindustrial forcing (deLavergne et al., 2014). In our model, oscillations in Weddell Sea convection drive multidecadal variability in SO and global SSTs, as well as SO heat storage, with convective decades warm due to the heat released from the Circumpolar Deep Water and non-convective decades cold due to subsurface heat storage. Convective pulses drive local SST and sea ice variations south of 60S, immediately triggering changes in the Ferrell and Hadley cells, atmospheric energy budget and cross-equatorial heat exchange, ultimately influencing the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and rain patterns in the tropics. Additionally, the SO convection pulse is propagated to the tropics and the North Atlantic MOC via oceanic pathways on relatively fast (decadal) timescales, in agreement with recent observational constraints. Open sea convection is the major mode of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation in the CMIP5 models. Future improvements in the representation of shelf convection and sea-ice interaction in the SO are a clear necessity. These model improvements should render the AABW representation more realistic, and might influence (a) the connectivity of the SO with the rest of the planet, as described above and (b) the oceanic and global carbon cycle, of which the AABW is a fundamental conduit.

Southern Ocean Convection and tropical telleconnections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinov, I.; Cabre, A.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2014-12-01

We show that Southern Ocean (SO) temperatures in the latest generation of Earth System Models exhibit two major modes of variation, one driven by deep convection, the other by tropical variability. We perform a CMIP5 model intercomparison to understand why different climate models represent SO variability so differently in long, control simulations. We show that multiyear variability in Southern Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) can in turn influence oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the tropics on short (atmospheric) time-scales. We argue that the strength and pattern of SO-tropical teleconnections depends on the intensity of SO deep convection. Periodic convection in the SO is a feature of most CMIP5 models under preindustrial forcing (deLavergne et al., 2014). Models show a wide distribution in the spatial extent, periodicity and intensity of their SO convection, with some models convecting most of the time, and some showing very little convection. In a highly convective coupled model, we find that multidecadal variability in SO and global SSTs, as well as SO heat storage are driven by Weddell Sea convective variability, with convective decades relatively warm due to the heat released from the deep southern ocean and non-convective decades cold due to the subsurface storage of heat. Furthermore, pulses of SO convection drive SST and sea ice variations, influencing absorbed shortwave and emitted longwave radiation, wind, cloud and precipitation patterns, with climatic implications for the low latitudes via fast atmospheric teleconnections. We suggest that these high-low latitude teleconnection mechanisms are relevant for understanding hiatus decades. Additionally, Southern Ocean deep convection varied significantly during past, natural climate changes such as during the last deglaciation. Weddell Sea open convection was recently weakened, likely as a consequence of anthropogenic forcing and the resulting surface freshening. Our study opens up the

Natural convection during heat accumulation by substances with change of aggregate state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chukayev, A. G.; Kuks, A. M.

1985-03-01

Heat transfer calculations are presented for a heat accumulator using the melting heat of a substance which changes its state of aggregation. It is shown that the approach adopted here makes it possible to evaluate the efficiency of using heat-storage materials in the pipe-tank system. The calculations, which allow for the effect of free convection in the liquid phase, have been made using the Boussinesq approximation. Results of a numerical experiment for NaNO3 salt show that the effect of natural convection on heat transfer is significant and that the heat flux to the material decreases as heat accumulates.

SOL Thermal Instability due to Radial Blob Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Ippolito, D. A.

2005-10-01

C-Mod datafootnotetextM. Greenwald, Plasma Phys. Contr. Fusion 44, R27 (2002). suggests a density limit when rapid perpendicular convection dominates SOL heat transport. This is supported by a recent analysisfootnotetextD.A. Russell et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 265001 (2004). of BOUT code turbulence simulations, which shows that rapid outwards convection of plasma by turbulent blobs is enhanced when the X-point collisionality is large, resulting in a synergistic effect between blob convection and X-point cooling. This work motivates the present analysis of SOL thermal equilibrium and instability including an RX-regime modelfootnotetextJ.R. Myra and D.A. D'Ippolito, Lodestar Report LRC-05-105 (2005). of blob particle and heat transport. Two-point (midplane, X-point) SOL thermal equilibrium and stability models are considered including both two-field (T) and four-field (n,T) treatments. The conditions under which loss of thermal equilibrium or thermal instabilities occur are established, and relations to the C-Mod data are described.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Buoyancy Driven Convection During PDAMNA Thin Film Growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Antar, Basil N.; Witherow, William K.; Paley, Mark S.; Curreri, Peter A. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This paper presents results from numerical simulations as well as laboratory experiments of buoyancy driven convection in an ampoule under varying heating and gravitational acceleration loadings. The modeling effort in this work resolves the large scale natural convective motion that occurs in the fluid during photodeposition of polydiacetelene films which is due to energy absorbed by the growth solution from a UV source. Consequently, the growth kinetics of the film are ignored in the model discussed here, and also a much simplified ampoule geometry is considered. The objective of this work is to validate the numerical prediction on the strength and structure of buoyancy driven convection that could occur under terrestrial conditions during nonlinear optical film growth. The validation is used to enable a reliable predictive capability on the nature and strength of the convective motion under low gravity conditions. The ampoule geometry is in the form of a parallelepiped with rectangular faces. The numerical results obtained from the solution to the Boussinesq equations show that natural convection will occur regardless of the orientation of the UV source with respect to the gravity vector. The least strong convective motion occurred with the UV beam directed at the top face of the parallelepiped. The strength of the convective motion was found to be almost linearly proportional to the total power of the UV source. Also, it was found that the strength of the convective motion decreased linearly with the gravity due to acceleration. The pattern of the convective flow on the other hand, depended on the source location.

Natural convection in a vertical heated tube attached to a thermally insulated chimney of a different diameter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Asako, Y.; Nakamura, H.; Faghri, M.

1990-08-01

Natural convection is often a convenient and inexpensive mode of heat transfer. It is commonly employed in the cooling of electronic equipment and many other applications. Since the initial work by Bodoia and Osterle (1962) on finite difference solutions of natural convection between vertical isothermal plates, many other researchers have studied natural convection in vertical channels. Specifically Davis and Perona (1971) studied natural convection in vertical heated tubes. A thermally insulated chimney attached to a vertical heated channel induces an increase in the natural convection in the channel and leads to a higher heat transfer rate. This is the well-knownmore » chimney effect discussed in the paper by Haaland and Sparrow (1983). If the chimney diameter is larger than the heated tube diameter, the friction loss in the chimney region decreases with increasing chimney diameter. This induces an increase in the mass flow rate and leads to a higher heat transfer rate than the case for a chimney of the same diameter. However, from a geometric consideration it is evident that the chimney effect diminishes in the limiting case of an extremely large chimney diameter compared with its height. Therefore, there exists an optimum diameter where the heat transfer is maximum. To investigate the chimney effect computations are carried out for a Rayleigh number of 12.5, based on the heated tube radius, and for a Prandtl number of 0.7. The numerical results are based on a control volume finite difference method. The average Nusselt number results are compared with the numerical results obtained for a chimney attached to a tube of the same diameter.« less

Effects of Blanching and Natural Convection Solar Drying on Quality Characteristics of Red Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

PubMed Central

Kori, Francis K. K.

2017-01-01

The objective of this work was to determine the effects of blanching and two drying methods, open-sun drying and natural convection solar drying, on the quality characteristics of red pepper. A 2 × 3 factorial design with experimental factors as 2 drying methods (open-sun drying and use of solar dryer) and 3 levels of pepper blanching (unblanched, blanched in plain water, and blanched in 2% NaCl) was conducted. Dried pepper samples were analysed for chemical composition, microbial load, and consumer sensory acceptability. Blanching of pepper in 2% NaCl solution followed by drying in a natural convection solar dryer reduced drying time by 15 hours. Similarly, a combination of blanching and drying in the solar dryer improved microbial quality of dried pepper. However, blanching and drying processes resulted in reduction in nutrients such as vitamin C and minerals content of pepper. Blanching followed by drying in natural convection solar dryer had the highest consumer acceptability scores for colour and overall acceptability, while texture and aroma were not significantly (p > 0.05) affected by the different treatments. Therefore, natural convection solar dryer can be used to dry pepper with acceptable microbial and sensory qualities, as an alternative to open-sun drying. PMID:29082236

Numerical Simulation of Natural Convection of a Nanofluid in an Inclined Heated Enclosure Using Two-Phase Lattice Boltzmann Method: Accurate Effects of Thermophoresis and Brownian Forces.

PubMed

Ahmed, Mahmoud; Eslamian, Morteza

2015-12-01

Laminar natural convection in differentially heated (β = 0°, where β is the inclination angle), inclined (β = 30° and 60°), and bottom-heated (β = 90°) square enclosures filled with a nanofluid is investigated, using a two-phase lattice Boltzmann simulation approach. The effects of the inclination angle on Nu number and convection heat transfer coefficient are studied. The effects of thermophoresis and Brownian forces which create a relative drift or slip velocity between the particles and the base fluid are included in the simulation. The effect of thermophoresis is considered using an accurate and quantitative formula proposed by the authors. Some of the existing results on natural convection are erroneous due to using wrong thermophoresis models or simply ignoring the effect. Here we show that thermophoresis has a considerable effect on heat transfer augmentation in laminar natural convection. Our non-homogenous modeling approach shows that heat transfer in nanofluids is a function of the inclination angle and Ra number. It also reveals some details of flow behavior which cannot be captured by single-phase models. The minimum heat transfer rate is associated with β = 90° (bottom-heated) and the maximum heat transfer rate occurs in an inclination angle which varies with the Ra number.

Group analysis for natural convection from a vertical plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashed, A. S.; Kassem, M. M.

2008-12-01

The steady laminar natural convection of a fluid having chemical reaction of order n past a semi-infinite vertical plate is considered. The solution of the problem by means of one-parameter group method reduces the number of independent variables by one leading to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Two different similarity transformations are found. In each case the set of differential equations are solved numerically using Runge-Kutta and the shooting method. For each transformation different Schmidt numbers and chemical reaction orders are tested.

A Generalized Simple Formulation of Convective Adjustment ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Convective adjustment timescale (τ) for cumulus clouds is one of the most influential parameters controlling parameterized convective precipitation in climate and weather simulation models at global and regional scales. Due to the complex nature of deep convection, a prescribed value or ad hoc representation of τ is used in most global and regional climate/weather models making it a tunable parameter and yet still resulting in uncertainties in convective precipitation simulations. In this work, a generalized simple formulation of τ for use in any convection parameterization for shallow and deep clouds is developed to reduce convective precipitation biases at different grid spacing. Unlike existing other methods, our new formulation can be used with field campaign measurements to estimate τ as demonstrated by using data from two different special field campaigns. Then, we implemented our formulation into a regional model (WRF) for testing and evaluation. Results indicate that our simple τ formulation can give realistic temporal and spatial variations of τ across continental U.S. as well as grid-scale and subgrid scale precipitation. We also found that as the grid spacing decreases (e.g., from 36 to 4-km grid spacing), grid-scale precipitation dominants over subgrid-scale precipitation. The generalized τ formulation works for various types of atmospheric conditions (e.g., continental clouds due to heating and large-scale forcing over la

A new method to optimize natural convection heat sinks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lampio, K.; Karvinen, R.

2017-08-01

The performance of a heat sink cooled by natural convection is strongly affected by its geometry, because buoyancy creates flow. Our model utilizes analytical results of forced flow and convection, and only conduction in a solid, i.e., the base plate and fins, is solved numerically. Sufficient accuracy for calculating maximum temperatures in practical applications is proved by comparing the results of our model with some simple analytical and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solutions. An essential advantage of our model is that it cuts down on calculation CPU time by many orders of magnitude compared with CFD. The shorter calculation time makes our model well suited for multi-objective optimization, which is the best choice for improving heat sink geometry, because many geometrical parameters with opposite effects influence the thermal behavior. In multi-objective optimization, optimal locations of components and optimal dimensions of the fin array can be found by simultaneously minimizing the heat sink maximum temperature, size, and mass. This paper presents the principles of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and applies it as a basis for optimizing existing heat sinks.

Calculation of natural convection test at Phenix using the NETFLOW++ code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mochizuki, H.; Kikuchi, N.; Li, S.

2012-07-01

The present paper describes modeling and analyses of a natural convection of the pool-type fast breeder reactor Phenix. The natural convection test was carried out as one of the End of Life Tests of the Phenix. Objective of the present study is to assess the applicability of the NETFLOW++ code which has been verified thus far using various water facilities and validated using the plant data of the loop-type FBR 'Monju' and the loop-type experimental fast reactor 'Joyo'. The Phenix primary heat transport system is modeled based on the benchmark documents available from IAEA. The calculational model consists of onlymore » the primary heat transport system with boundary conditions on the secondary-side of IHX. The coolant temperature at the primary pump inlet, the primary coolant temperature at the IHX inlet and outlet, the secondary coolant temperatures and other parameters are calculated by the code where the heat transfer between the hot and cold pools is explicitly taken into account. A model including the secondary and tertiary systems was prepared, and the calculated results also agree well with the measured data in general. (authors)« less

Delay in convection in nocturnal boundary layer due to aerosol-induced cooling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Dhiraj Kumar; Ponnulakshmi, V. K.; Subramanian, G.; Sreenivas, K. R.

2012-11-01

Heat transfer processes in the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) influence the surface energy budget, and play an important role in many micro-meteorological processes including the formation of inversion layers, radiation fog, and in the control of air-quality near the ground. Under calm clear-sky conditions, radiation dominates over other transport processes, and as a result, the air layers just above ground cool the fastest after sunset. This leads to an anomalous post-sunset temperature profile characterized by a minimum a few decimeters above ground (Lifted temperature minimum). We have designed a laboratory experimental setup to simulate LTM, involving an enclosed layer of ambient air, and wherein the boundary condition for radiation is decoupled from those for conduction and convection. The results from experiments involving both ambient and filtered air indicate that the high cooling rates observed are due to the presence of aerosols. Calculated Rayleigh number of LTM-type profiles is of the order 105-107 in the field and of order 103-105 in the laboratory. In the LTM region, there is convective motion when the Rayleigh number is greater than 104 rather than the critical Rayleigh number (Rac = 1709). The diameter of convection rolls is a function of height of minimum of LTM-type profiles. The results obtained should help in the parameterization of transport process in the nocturnal boundary layer, and highlight the need to accounting the effects of aerosols and ground emissivity in climate models.

Numerical analysis of steady and transient natural convection in an enclosed cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehedi, Tanveer Hassan; Tahzeeb, Rahat Bin; Islam, A. K. M. Sadrul

2017-06-01

The paper presents the numerical simulation of natural convection heat transfer of air inside an enclosed cavity which can be helpful to find out the critical width of insulation in air insulated walls seen in residential buildings and industrial furnaces. Natural convection between two walls having different temperatures have been simulated using ANSYS FLUENT 12.0 in both steady and transient conditions. To simulate different heat transfer and fluid flow conditions, Rayleigh number ranging from 103 to 105 has been maintained (i.e. Laminar flow.) In case of steady state analysis, the CFD predictions were in very good agreement with the reviewed literature. Transient simulation process has been performed by using User Defined Functions, where the temperature of the hot wall varies with time linearly. To obtain and compare the heat transfer properties, Nusselt number has been calculated at the hot wall at different conditions. The buoyancy driven flow characteristics have been investigated by observing the flow pattern in a graphical manner. The characteristics of the system at different temperature differences between the wall has been observed and documented.

Local patches of turbulent boundary layer behaviour in classical-state vertical natural convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, Chong Shen; Ooi, Andrew; Lohse, Detlef; Chung, Daniel

2016-11-01

We present evidence of local patches in vertical natural convection that are reminiscent of Prandtl-von Kármán turbulent boundary layers, for Rayleigh numbers 105-109 and Prandtl number 0.709. These local patches exist in the classical state, where boundary layers exhibit a laminar-like Prandtl-Blasius-Polhausen scaling at the global level, and are distinguished by regions dominated by high shear and low buoyancy flux. Within these patches, the locally averaged mean temperature profiles appear to obey a log-law with the universal constants of Yaglom (1979). We find that the local Nusselt number versus Rayleigh number scaling relation agrees with the logarithmically corrected power-law scaling predicted in the ultimate state of thermal convection, with an exponent consistent with Rayleigh-Bénard convection and Taylor-Couette flows. The local patches grow in size with increasing Rayleigh number, suggesting that the transition from the classical state to the ultimate state is characterised by increasingly larger patches of the turbulent boundary layers.

Visualization of natural convection heat transfer on a sphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Dong-Young; Chung, Bum-Jin

2017-12-01

Natural convection heat transfer phenomena on spheres were investigated by adopting mass transfer experiments based on analogy concept. The diameters of spheres were varied from 0.01 m to 0.12 m, which correspond to the Rayleigh numbers of 1.69×108-2.91×1011. The measured mass transfer coefficients agreed well with the existing correlations. The copper electroplating patterns on the spheres visualized the local heat transfer depending on angular distance. The streak plating patterns were observed on the upper part of the sphere, resulting from the wavy flow patterns caused by the instability.

Scaling rates of true polar wander in convecting planets and moons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rose, Ian; Buffett, Bruce

2017-12-01

Mass redistribution in the convecting mantle of a planet causes perturbations in its moment of inertia tensor. Conservation of angular momentum dictates that these perturbations change the direction of the rotation vector of the planet, a process known as true polar wander (TPW). Although the existence of TPW on Earth is firmly established, its rate and magnitude over geologic time scales remain controversial. Here we present scaling analyses and numerical simulations of TPW due to mantle convection over a range of parameter space relevant to planetary interiors. For simple rotating convection, we identify a set of dimensionless parameters that fully characterize true polar wander. We use these parameters to define timescales for the growth of moment of inertia perturbations due to convection and for their relaxation due to true polar wander. These timescales, as well as the relative sizes of convective anomalies, control the rate and magnitude of TPW. This analysis also clarifies the nature of so called "inertial interchange" TPW events, and relates them to a broader class of events that enable large and often rapid TPW. We expect these events to have been more frequent in Earth's past.

Mesospheric heating due to intense tropospheric convection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, L. L.

1979-01-01

A series of rocket measurements made twice daily at Wallops Island, Va., revealed a rapid heating of the mesosphere on the order of 10 K on days when thunderstorms or squall lines were in the area. This heating is explained as the result of frictional dissipation of vertically propagating internal gravity waves generated by intense tropospheric convection. Ray-tracing theory is used to determine the spectrum of gravity wave groups that actually reach mesospheric heights. This knowledge is used in an equation describing the spectral energy density of a penetrative convective element to calculate the fraction of the total energy initially available to excite those waves that do reach the level of heating. This value, converted into a vertical velocity, is used as the lower boundary condition for a multilayer model used to determine the detailed structure of the vertically propagating waves. The amount of frictional dissipation produced by the waves is calculated from the solutions of the frictionless model by use of a vertically varying eddy viscosity coefficient. The heating produced by the dissipation is then calculated from the thermodynamic equation.

Natural convection during heat energy accumulation by substances that change their state of aggregation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chukaev, A. G.; Kuks, A. M.

Heat transfer calculations are presented for a heat accumulator using the melting heat of a substance which changes its state of aggregation. It is shown that the approach adopted here makes it possible to evaluate the efficiency of using heat-storage materials in the pipe-tank system. The calculations, which allow for the effect of free convection in the liquid phase, have been made using the Boussinesq approximation. Results of a numerical experiment for NaNO3 salt show that the effect of natural convection on heat transfer is significant and that the heat flux to the material decreases as heat accumulates.

Analytical solutions for combined close-contact and natural convection melting in horizontal cylindrical heat storage capsule

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saitoh, T.S.; Hoshi, A.

1998-07-01

Melting and solidification of a phase change material (PCM) in a capsule is of practical importance in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems which are considered to be very promising to reduce a peak demand of electricity in the summer season and carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions. Two melting modes are involved in melting of capsules. One is close-contact melting between the solid bulk and the capsule wall, and another is natural convection melting in the liquid region. Close-contact melting processes for a single enclosure have been solved using several numerical methods (e.g., Saitoh and Kato (1994)). In additionmore » close-contact melting heat transfer characteristics including melt flow in the liquid film under inner wall temperature distribution were analyzed and simple approximate equations were already presented by Saitoh and Hoshi (1997). The effects of Stefan number and variable temperature profile etc. were clarified in detail. And the melting velocity of the solid bulk under various conditions was also studied theoretically. In addition the effects of variable inner wall temperature on molten mass fraction were investigated. The present paper reports analytical solutions for combined close-contact and natural convection melting in horizontal cylindrical capsule. Moreover, natural convection melting in the liquid region were analyzed in this report. The upper interface shape of the solid bulk is approximated by a circular arc throughout the melting process. For the sake of verification, close-contact melting heat-transfer characteristics including natural convection in the liquid region were studied experimentally. Apparent shift of upper solid-liquid interface is good agreement with the experiment. The present simple approximate solutions will be useful to facilitate designing of the practical capsule bed LHTES systems.« less

The Nature and Variability of Ensemble Sensitivity Fields that Diagnose Severe Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ancell, B. C.

2017-12-01

Ensemble sensitivity analysis (ESA) is a statistical technique that uses information from an ensemble of forecasts to reveal relationships between chosen forecast metrics and the larger atmospheric state at various forecast times. A number of studies have employed ESA from the perspectives of dynamical interpretation, observation targeting, and ensemble subsetting toward improved probabilistic prediction of high-impact events, mostly at synoptic scales. We tested ESA using convective forecast metrics at the 2016 HWT Spring Forecast Experiment to understand the utility of convective ensemble sensitivity fields in improving forecasts of severe convection and its individual hazards. The main purpose of this evaluation was to understand the temporal coherence and general characteristics of convective sensitivity fields toward future use in improving ensemble predictability within an operational framework.The magnitude and coverage of simulated reflectivity, updraft helicity, and surface wind speed were used as response functions, and the sensitivity of these functions to winds, temperatures, geopotential heights, and dew points at different atmospheric levels and at different forecast times were evaluated on a daily basis throughout the HWT Spring Forecast experiment. These sensitivities were calculated within the Texas Tech real-time ensemble system, which possesses 42 members that run twice daily to 48-hr forecast time. Here we summarize both the findings regarding the nature of the sensitivity fields and the evaluation of the participants that reflects their opinions of the utility of operational ESA. The future direction of ESA for operational use will also be discussed.

Aiding flow Thermo-Solutal Convection in Porous Cavity: ANN approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jafer Kazi1, Mohammed; Ameer Ahamad, N.; Yunus Khan, T. M.

2017-08-01

The transfer of thermal energy along with the diffusion of mass is common phenomenon that occurs in nature. The thermos-solutal convection in porous medium arises due to combined effect of diffusion of heat as well as mass inside the domain. The density variation of fluid due to absorbed heat at one end of porous cavity leads to fluid movement which in turn initiates the heat transfer. The mass diffusion inside the porous regime occurs due to concentration difference between two ends of cavity. Generally this phenomenon is studied with the help of numerical methods but current work emphasis the successful usage of artificial neural network in predicting the thermos-solutal convection of aiding flow in porous medium.

Efficient natural-convective heat transfer properties of carbon nanotube sheets and their roles on the thermal dissipation.

PubMed

Jiang, Shaohui; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan

2014-03-12

In this work, we report our studies related to the natural-convective heat transfer properties of carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets. We theoretically derived the formulas and experimentally measured the natural-convective heat transfer coefficients (H) via electrical heating method. The H values of the CNT sheets containing different layers (1, 2, 3, and 1000) were measured. We found that the single-layer CNT sheet had a unique ability on heat dissipation because of its great H. The H value of the single-layer CNT sheet was 69 W/(m(2) K) which was about twice of aluminum foil in the same environment. As the layers increased, the H values dropped quickly to the same with that of aluminum foil. We also discussed its roles on thermal dissipation, and the results indicated that the convection was a significant way of dissipation when the CNT sheets were applied on macroscales. These results may give us a new guideline to design devices based on the CNT sheets.

Numerical modeling of crystal growth on a centrifuge for unstable natural convection configurations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramachandran, N.; Downey, J. P.; Curreri, P. A.; Jones, J. C.

1993-01-01

The fluid mechanics associated with crystal growth processes on centrifuges is modeled using 2D and 3D models. Two-dimensional calculations show that flow bifurcations exist in such crystal growth configurations where the ampoule is oriented in the same direction as the resultant gravity vector and a temperature gradient is imposed on the melt. A scaling analysis is formulated to predict the flow transition point from the natural convection dominated regime to the Coriolis force dominated regime. Results of 3D calculations are presented for two thermal configurations of the crystal growth cell: top heated and bottom heated with respect to the centrifugal acceleration. In the top heated configuration, a substantial reduction in the convection intensity within the melt can be attained by centrifuge operations, and close to steady diffusion-limited thermal conditions can be achieved over a narrow range of the imposed microgravity level. In the bottom heated configuration the Coriolis force has a stabilizing effect on fluid motion by delaying the onset of unsteady convection.

Self-Organizing Fluid Convection Patterns in an en Echelon Fault Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patterson, James W.; Driesner, Thomas; Matthai, Stephan K.

2018-05-01

We present three-dimensional numerical simulations of natural convection in buried, vertical en echelon faults in impermeable host rock. Despite the fractures being hydraulically disconnected, convection within each fracture alters the temperature field in the surrounding host rock, altering convection in neighboring fractures. This leads to self-organization of coherent patterns of upward/downward flow and heating/cooling of the host rock spanning the entire fault array. This "synchronization" effect occurs when fracture spacing is less than the width of convection cells within the fractures, which is controlled by fracture transmissivity (permeability times thickness) and heterogeneity. Narrow fracture spacing and synchronization enhance convective fluid flow within fractures and cause convection to initiate earlier, even lowering the critical transmissivity necessary for convection initiation. Heat flow through the en echelon region, however, is enhanced only in low-transmissivity fractures, while heat flow in high-permeability fractures is reduced due to thermal interference between fractures.

Combined natural convection and non-gray radiation heat transfer in a horizontal annulus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yujia; Zhang, Xiaobing; Howell, John R.

2018-02-01

Natural convection and non-gray radiation in an annulus containing a radiative participating gas is investigated. To determine the effect of non-gray radiation, the spectral line based weighted sum of gray gas is adopted to model the gas radiative properties. Case with only surface radiation (transparent medium) is also considered to see the relative contributions of surface radiation and gas radiation. The finite volume method is used to solve the mass, momentum, energy and radiative transfer equations. Comparisons between pure convection, case considering only surface radiation and case considering both gas radiation and surface radiation are made and the results show that radiation is not negligible and gas radiation becomes more important with increasing Rayleigh number (and the annulus size).

Radiation effects on bifurcation and dual solutions in transient natural convection in a horizontal annulus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Luo, Kang; Yi, Hong-Liang, E-mail: yihongliang@hit.edu.cn; Tan, He-Ping, E-mail: tanheping@hit.edu.cn

2014-05-15

Transitions and bifurcations of transient natural convection in a horizontal annulus with radiatively participating medium are numerically investigated using the coupled lattice Boltzmann and direct collocation meshless (LB-DCM) method. As a hybrid approach based on a common multi-scale Boltzmann-type model, the LB-DCM scheme is easy to implement and has an excellent flexibility in dealing with the irregular geometries. Separate particle distribution functions in the LBM are used to calculate the density field, the velocity field and the thermal field. In the radiatively participating medium, the contribution of thermal radiation to natural convection must be taken into account, and it ismore » considered as a radiative term in the energy equation that is solved by the meshless method with moving least-squares (MLS) approximation. The occurrence of various instabilities and bifurcative phenomena is analyzed for different Rayleigh number Ra and Prandtl number Pr with and without radiation. Then, bifurcation diagrams and dual solutions are presented for relevant radiative parameters, such as convection-radiation parameter Rc and optical thickness τ. Numerical results show that the presence of volumetric radiation changes the static temperature gradient of the fluid, and generally results in an increase in the flow critical value. Besides, the existence and development of dual solutions of transient convection in the presence of radiation are greatly affected by radiative parameters. Finally, the advantage of LB-DCM combination is discussed, and the potential benefits of applying the LB-DCM method to multi-field coupling problems are demonstrated.« less

Adjoint optimization of natural convection problems: differentially heated cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saglietti, Clio; Schlatter, Philipp; Monokrousos, Antonios; Henningson, Dan S.

2017-12-01

Optimization of natural convection-driven flows may provide significant improvements to the performance of cooling devices, but a theoretical investigation of such flows has been rarely done. The present paper illustrates an efficient gradient-based optimization method for analyzing such systems. We consider numerically the natural convection-driven flow in a differentially heated cavity with three Prandtl numbers (Pr=0.15{-}7) at super-critical conditions. All results and implementations were done with the spectral element code Nek5000. The flow is analyzed using linear direct and adjoint computations about a nonlinear base flow, extracting in particular optimal initial conditions using power iteration and the solution of the full adjoint direct eigenproblem. The cost function for both temperature and velocity is based on the kinetic energy and the concept of entransy, which yields a quadratic functional. Results are presented as a function of Prandtl number, time horizons and weights between kinetic energy and entransy. In particular, it is shown that the maximum transient growth is achieved at time horizons on the order of 5 time units for all cases, whereas for larger time horizons the adjoint mode is recovered as optimal initial condition. For smaller time horizons, the influence of the weights leads either to a concentric temperature distribution or to an initial condition pattern that opposes the mean shear and grows according to the Orr mechanism. For specific cases, it could also been shown that the computation of optimal initial conditions leads to a degenerate problem, with a potential loss of symmetry. In these situations, it turns out that any initial condition lying in a specific span of the eigenfunctions will yield exactly the same transient amplification. As a consequence, the power iteration converges very slowly and fails to extract all possible optimal initial conditions. According to the authors' knowledge, this behavior is illustrated here for

Evaluation of RANS and LES models for Natural Convection in High-Aspect-Ratio Parallel Plate Channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fradeneck, Austen; Kimber, Mark

2017-11-01

The present study evaluates the effectiveness of current RANS and LES models in simulating natural convection in high-aspect ratio parallel plate channels. The geometry under consideration is based on a simplification of the coolant and bypass channels in the very high-temperature gas reactor (VHTR). Two thermal conditions are considered, asymmetric and symmetric wall heating with an applied heat flux to match Rayleigh numbers experienced in the VHTR during a loss of flow accident (LOFA). RANS models are compared to analogous high-fidelity LES simulations. Preliminary results demonstrate the efficacy of the low-Reynolds number k- ɛ formulations and their enhancement to the standard form and Reynolds stress transport model in terms of calculating the turbulence production due to buoyancy and overall mean flow variables.

Experimental study of a constrained vapor bubble fin heat exchanger in the absence of external natural convection.

PubMed

Basu, Sumita; Plawsky, Joel L; Wayner, Peter C

2004-11-01

In preparation for a microgravity flight experiment on the International Space Station, a constrained vapor bubble fin heat exchanger (CVB) was operated both in a vacuum chamber and in air on Earth to evaluate the effect of the absence of external natural convection. The long-term objective is a general study of a high heat flux, low capillary pressure system with small viscous effects due to the relatively large 3 x 3 x 40 mm dimensions. The current CVB can be viewed as a large-scale version of a micro heat pipe with a large Bond number in the Earth environment but a small Bond number in microgravity. The walls of the CVB are quartz, to allow for image analysis of naturally occurring interference fringes that give the pressure field for liquid flow. The research is synergistic in that the study requires a microgravity environment to obtain a low Bond number and the space program needs thermal control systems, like the CVB, with a large characteristic dimension. In the absence of natural convection, operation of the CVB may be dominated by external radiative losses from its quartz surface. Therefore, an understanding of radiation from the quartz cell is required. All radiative exchange with the surroundings occurs from the outer surface of the CVB when the temperature range renders the quartz walls of the CVB optically thick (lambda > 4 microns). However, for electromagnetic radiation where lambda < 2 microns, the walls are transparent. Experimental results obtained for a cell charged with pentane are compared with those obtained for a dry cell. A numerical model was developed that successfully simulated the behavior and performance of the device observed experimentally.

Natural convection heat transfer for a staggered array of heated, horizontal cylinders within a rectangular enclosure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Triplett, C.E.

1996-12-01

This thesis presents the results of an experimental investigation of natural convection heat transfer in a staggered array of heated cylinders, oriented horizontally within a rectangular enclosure. The main purpose of this research was to extend the knowledge of heat transfer within enclosed bundles of spent nuclear fuel rods sealed within a shipping or storage container. This research extends Canaan`s investigation of an aligned array of heated cylinders that thermally simulated a boiling water reactor (BWR) spent fuel assembly sealed within a shipping or storage cask. The results are presented in terms of piecewise Nusselt-Rayleigh number correlations of the formmore » Nu = C(Ra){sup n}, where C and n are constants. Correlations are presented both for individual rods within the array and for the array as a whole. The correlations are based only on the convective component of the heat transfer. The radiative component was calculated with a finite-element code that used measured surface temperatures, rod array geometry, and measured surface emissivities as inputs. The correlation results are compared to Canaan`s aligned array results and to other studies of natural convection in horizontal tube arrays.« less

Eulerian-Lagrangian solution of the convection-dispersion equation in natural coordinates

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cheng, Ralph T.; Casulli, Vincenzo; Milford, S. Nevil

1984-01-01

The vast majority of numerical investigations of transport phenomena use an Eulerian formulation for the convenience that the computational grids are fixed in space. An Eulerian-Lagrangian method (ELM) of solution for the convection-dispersion equation is discussed and analyzed. The ELM uses the Lagrangian concept in an Eulerian computational grid system. The values of the dependent variable off the grid are calculated by interpolation. When a linear interpolation is used, the method is a slight improvement over the upwind difference method. At this level of approximation both the ELM and the upwind difference method suffer from large numerical dispersion. However, if second-order Lagrangian polynomials are used in the interpolation, the ELM is proven to be free of artificial numerical dispersion for the convection-dispersion equation. The concept of the ELM is extended for treatment of anisotropic dispersion in natural coordinates. In this approach the anisotropic properties of dispersion can be conveniently related to the properties of the flow field. Several numerical examples are given to further substantiate the results of the present analysis.

Self-sculpting of a dissolvable body due to gravitational convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies Wykes, Megan S.; Huang, Jinzi Mac; Hajjar, George A.; Ristroph, Leif

2018-04-01

Natural sculpting processes such as erosion or dissolution often yield universal shapes that bear no imprint or memory of the initial conditions. Here we conduct laboratory experiments aimed at assessing the shape dynamics and role of memory for the simple case of a dissolvable boundary immersed in a fluid. Though no external flow is imposed, dissolution and consequent density differences lead to gravitational convective flows that in turn strongly affect local dissolving rates and shape changes, and we identify two distinct behaviors. A flat boundary dissolving from its lower surface tends to retain its overall shape (an example of near perfect memory) while bearing small-scale pits that reflect complex near-body flows. A boundary dissolving from its upper surface tends to erase its initial shape and form an upward spike structure that sharpens indefinitely. We propose an explanation for these different outcomes based on observations of the coupled shape dynamics, concentration fields, and flows.

Advancing from Rules of Thumb: Quantifying the Effects of Small Density Changes in Mass Transport to Electrodes. Understanding Natural Convection.

PubMed

Ngamchuea, Kamonwad; Eloul, Shaltiel; Tschulik, Kristina; Compton, Richard G

2015-07-21

Understanding mass transport is prerequisite to all quantitative analysis of electrochemical experiments. While the contribution of diffusion is well understood, the influence of density gradient-driven natural convection on the mass transport in electrochemical systems is not. To date, it has been assumed to be relevant only for high concentrations of redox-active species and at long experimental time scales. If unjustified, this assumption risks misinterpretation of analytical data obtained from scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and generator-collector experiments, as well as analytical sensors utilizing macroelectrodes/microelectrode arrays. It also affects the results expected from electrodeposition. On the basis of numerical simulation, herein it is demonstrated that even at less than 10 mM concentrations and short experimental times of tens of seconds, density gradient-driven natural convection significantly affects mass transport. This is evident from in-depth numerical simulation for the oxidation of hexacyanoferrate (II) at various electrode sizes and electrode orientations. In each case, the induced convection and its influence on the diffusion layer established near the electrode are illustrated by maps of the velocity fields and concentration distributions evolving with time. The effects of natural convection on mass transport and chronoamperometric currents are thus quantified and discussed for the different cases studied.

Convection in deep vertically shaken particle beds. III. Convection mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klongboonjit, Sakon; Campbell, Charles S.

2008-10-01

Convection in a deep vertically vibrated two-dimensional cell of granular material occurs in the form of counter-rotating cells that move material from the walls to the center of the channel and back again. At least for deep beds, where for much of the cycle, particles are in long duration contact with their neighbors, convection only appears for a short potion of every third vibrational period. That period is delimited by the interaction of three types of internal waves, a compression wave, and two types of expansion waves. Four mechanisms are identified that drive the four basic motions of convection: (1) particles move upward at the center as the result of compression wave, (2) downward at the wall as a combined effect of frictional holdback by the walls and the downward pull of gravity, (3) from the center to the walls along the free surface due to the heaping of the bed generated by the compression wave, and (4) toward the center in the interior of the box to form the bottom of convection rolls due to the relaxation of compressive stresses caused by an expansion wave. Convection only occurs when the conditions are right for all four mechanisms to be active simultaneously.

Natural thermal convection in fractured porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adler, P. M.; Mezon, C.; Mourzenko, V.; Thovert, J. F.; Antoine, R.; Finizola, A.

2015-12-01

In the crust, fractures/faults can provide preferential pathways for fluid flow or act as barriers preventing the flow across these structures. In hydrothermal systems (usually found in fractured rock masses), these discontinuities may play a critical role at various scales, controlling fluid flows and heat transfer. The thermal convection is numerically computed in 3D fluid satured fractured porous media. Fractures are inserted as discrete objects, randomly distributed over a damaged volume, which is a fraction of the total volume. The fluid is assumed to satisfy Darcy's law in the fractures and in the porous medium with exchanges between them. All simulations were made for Rayleigh numbers (Ra) < 150 (hence, the fluid is in thermal equilibrium with the medium), cubic boxes and closed-top conditions. Checks were performed on an unfractured porous medium and the convection cells do start for the theoretical value of Ra, namely 4p². 2D convection was verified up to Ra=800. The influence of parameters such as fracture aperture (or fracture transmissivity), fracture density and fracture length is studied. Moreover, these models are compared to porous media with the same macroscopic permeability. Preliminary results show that the non-uniqueness associated with initial conditions which makes possible either 2D or 3D convection in porous media (Schubert & Straus 1979) is no longer true for fractured porous media (at least for 50

Surface topography due to convection in a variable viscosity fluid - Application to short wavelength gravity anomalies in the central Pacific Ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, J.; Parmentier, E. M.

1985-01-01

Finite difference calculations of thermal convection in a fluid layer with a viscosity exponentially decreasing with temperature are performed in the context of examining the topography and gravity anomalies due to mantle convection. The surface topography and gravity anomalies are shown to be positive over regions of ascending flow and negative over regions of descending flow; at large Rayleigh numbers the amplitude of surface topography is inferred to depend on Rayleigh number to the power of 7/9. Compositional stratifications of the mantle is proposed as a mechanism for confining small-scale convection to a thin layer. A comparative analysis of the results with other available models is included.

Assessment of MELCOR condensation models with the presence of noncondensable gas in natural convection flow regime

DOE PAGES

Yoon, Dhongik S; Jo, HangJin; Corradini, Michael L

2017-04-01

Condensation of steam vapor is an important mode of energy removal from the reactor containment. The presence of noncondensable gas complicates the process and makes it difficult to model. MELCOR, one of the more widely used system codes for containment analyses, uses the heat and mass transfer analogy to model condensation heat transfer. To investigate previously reported nodalization-dependence in natural convection flow regime, MELCOR condensation model as well as other models are studied. The nodalization-dependence issue is resolved by using physical length from the actual geometry rather than node size of each control volume as the characteristic length scale formore » MELCOR containment analyses. At the transition to turbulent natural convection regime, the McAdams correlation for convective heat transfer produces a better prediction compared to the original MELCOR model. The McAdams correlation is implemented in MELCOR and the prediction is validated against a set of experiments on a scaled AP600 containment. The MELCOR with our implemented model produces improved predictions. For steam molar fractions in the gas mixture greater than about 0.58, the predictions are within the uncertainty margin of the measurements. The simulation results still underestimate the heat transfer from the gas-steam mixture, implying that conservative predictions are provided.« less

Assessment of MELCOR condensation models with the presence of noncondensable gas in natural convection flow regime

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoon, Dhongik S; Jo, HangJin; Corradini, Michael L

Condensation of steam vapor is an important mode of energy removal from the reactor containment. The presence of noncondensable gas complicates the process and makes it difficult to model. MELCOR, one of the more widely used system codes for containment analyses, uses the heat and mass transfer analogy to model condensation heat transfer. To investigate previously reported nodalization-dependence in natural convection flow regime, MELCOR condensation model as well as other models are studied. The nodalization-dependence issue is resolved by using physical length from the actual geometry rather than node size of each control volume as the characteristic length scale formore » MELCOR containment analyses. At the transition to turbulent natural convection regime, the McAdams correlation for convective heat transfer produces a better prediction compared to the original MELCOR model. The McAdams correlation is implemented in MELCOR and the prediction is validated against a set of experiments on a scaled AP600 containment. The MELCOR with our implemented model produces improved predictions. For steam molar fractions in the gas mixture greater than about 0.58, the predictions are within the uncertainty margin of the measurements. The simulation results still underestimate the heat transfer from the gas-steam mixture, implying that conservative predictions are provided.« less

Natural convection in binary gases driven by combined horizontal thermal and vertical solutal gradients

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weaver, J. A.; Viskanta, Raymond

1992-01-01

An investigation of natural convection is presented to examine the influence of a horizontal temperature gradient and a concentration gradient occurring from the bottom to the cold wall in a cavity. As the solutal buoyancy force changes from augmenting to opposing the thermal buoyancy force, the fluid motion switches from unicellular to multicellular flow (fluid motion is up the cold wall and down the hot wall for the bottom counterrotating flow cell). Qualitatively, the agreement between predicted streamlines and smoke flow patterns is generally good. In contrast, agreement between measured and predicted temperature and concentration distributions ranges from fair to poor. Part of the discrepancy can be attributed to experimental error. However, there remains considerable discrepancy between data and predictions due to the idealizations of the mathematical model, which examines only first-order physical effects. An unsteady flow, variable thermophysical properties, conjugate effects, species interdiffusion, and radiation were not accounted for in the model.

The study and development of the empirical correlations equation of natural convection heat transfer on vertical rectangular sub-channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamajaya, Ketut; Umar, Efrizon; Sudjatmi, K. S.

2012-06-01

This study focused on natural convection heat transfer using a vertical rectangular sub-channel and water as the coolant fluid. To conduct this study has been made pipe heaters are equipped with thermocouples. Each heater is equipped with five thermocouples along the heating pipes. The diameter of each heater is 2.54 cm and 45 cm in length. The distance between the central heating and the pitch is 29.5 cm. Test equipment is equipped with a primary cooling system, a secondary cooling system and a heat exchanger. The purpose of this study is to obtain new empirical correlations equations of the vertical rectangular sub-channel, especially for the natural convection heat transfer within a bundle of vertical cylinders rectangular arrangement sub-channels. The empirical correlation equation can support the thermo-hydraulic analysis of research nuclear reactors that utilize cylindrical fuel rods, and also can be used in designing of baffle-free vertical shell and tube heat exchangers. The results of this study that the empirical correlation equations of natural convection heat transfer coefficients with rectangular arrangement is Nu = 6.3357 (Ra.Dh/x)0.0740.

Influences of Gravity Waves on Convectively Induced Turbulence (CIT): A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharman, Robert D.; Trier, S. B.

2018-03-01

Thunderstorms are known to produce turbulence. Such turbulence is commonly referred to as convectively induced turbulence or CIT, and can be hazardous to aviation. Although this turbulence can occur both within and outside the convection, out-of-cloud CIT is particularly hazardous, since it occurs in clear air and cannot be seen by eye or onboard radar. Furthermore, due to its small scale and its ties to the underlying convection, it is very difficult to forecast. Guidelines for out-of-cloud CIT avoidance are available, but they are oversimplified and can be misleading. In the search for more appropriate and physically based avoidance guidelines, considerable research has been conducted in recent years on the nature of the phenomenon, and in particular, its connection to gravity waves generated by the convection. This paper reviews the advances in our understanding of out-of-cloud CIT and its relation to convective gravity waves, and provides several detailed examples of observed cases to elucidate some of the underlying dynamics.

Microstructural Indicators Of Convection In Sills And Dykes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holness, M. B.; Neufeld, J. A.; Gilbert, A. J.; Macdonald, R.

2016-12-01

The question of whether or not convection occurs in crustal magma chambers is a vexed one, with some advocating vigorous convection while others argue that convection is weak and short-lived. We argue that microstructural analysis is key to determining whether crystallization took place in solidification fronts or whether crystals grew suspended in a convecting magma before settling. The 168m, composite, Shiant Isles Main Sill is dominated by a 140m unit, of which the lower 45m contains olivine phenocrysts. The phenocrysts first fine upwards, then coarsen upwards. The coarsening-upwards sequence contains clustered olivines. Both the extent of sintering and average cluster size increase upwards. The coarsening-upwards sequence is mirrored at the roof. The fining-upwards sequence formed by rapid settling of incoming cargo crystals, while the coarsening-upwards sequence represents post-emplacement growth and clustering of grains suspended in a convecting magma. Convection is also recorded by plagioclase grain shape. Well-facetted and compact plagioclase grains are platy in rapidly-cooled rocks and blocky in slowly-cooled rocks. Plagioclase grain shape varies smoothly across mafic sills, consistent with growth in solidification fronts. In contrast, grain shape is invariant across mafic dykes, consistent with growth as individual grains and clusters suspended in a convecting magma. Convection in sills occurs when the critical Rayleigh number is exceeded, but cooling at vertical walls always results in convective instabilities. That the Shiant Isles Main Sill records prolonged and vigorous convection, while other sills of comparable thickness record grain growth predominantly in solidification fronts, is most likely due to the composite nature of the Shiant. The 140m unit is underlain by 23m of picrite which intruded shortly before - the strongly asymmetric cooling and absence of a cold, stagnant basal thermal boundary layer make convection throughout the sill more

A numerical study of thermal stratification due to transient natural convection in densified liquid propellant tanks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manalo, Lawrence B.

A comprehensive, non-equilibrium, two-domain (liquid and vapor), physics based, mathematical model is developed to investigate the onset and growth of the natural circulation and thermal stratification inside cryogenic propellant storage tanks due to heat transfer from the surroundings. A two-dimensional (planar) model is incorporated for the liquid domain while a lumped, thermodynamic model is utilized for the vapor domain. The mathematical model in the liquid domain consists of the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy equations and incorporates the Boussinesq approximation (constant fluid density except in the buoyancy term of the momentum equation). In addition, the vapor is assumed to behave like an ideal gas with uniform thermodynamic properties. Furthermore, the time-dependent nature of the heat leaks from the surroundings to the propellant (due to imperfect tank insulation) is considered. Also, heterogeneous nucleation, although not significant in the temperature range of study, has been included. The transport of mass and energy between the liquid and vapor domains leads to transient ullage vapor temperatures and pressures. (The latter of which affects the saturation temperature of the liquid at the liquid-vapor interface.) This coupling between the two domains is accomplished through an energy balance (based on a micro-layer concept) at the interface. The resulting governing, non-linear, partial differential equations (which include a Poisson's equation for determining the pressure distribution) in the liquid domain are solved by an implicit, finite-differencing technique utilizing a non-uniform (stretched) mesh (in both directions) for predicting the velocity and temperature fields. (The accuracy of the numerical scheme is validated by comparing the model's results to a benchmark numerical case as well as to available experimental data.) The mass, temperature, and pressure of the vapor is determined by using a simple explicit finite

Numerical simulation of multicellular natural convection in air-filled vertical cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunaeva, A. I.; Ivanov, N. G.

2017-11-01

The paper deals with 2D laminar natural convection in vertical air-filled cavities of aspect ratio 20, 30 and 40 with differentially heated sidewalls. The airflow and heat transfer were simulated numerically with an in-house Navier-Stokes code SINF. The focus is on the appearance of stationary vortex structures, “cat’s eyes”, and their transition to unsteady regime in the Rayleigh number range from 4.8×103 to 1.3×104. The dependence of the predicted flow features and the local and integral heat transfer on the aspect ratio value is analysed.

Localized traveling pulses in natural doubly diffusive convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo Jacono, D.; Bergeon, A.; Knobloch, E.

2017-09-01

Two-dimensional natural doubly diffusive convection in a vertical slot driven by an imposed temperature difference in the horizontal is studied using numerical continuation and direct numerical simulation. Two cases are considered and compared. In the first a concentration difference that balances thermal buoyancy is imposed in the horizontal and stationary localized structures are found to be organized in a standard snakes-and-ladders bifurcation diagram. Disconnected branches of traveling pulses TPn consisting of n ,n =1 ,2 ,⋯ , corotating cells are identified and shown to accumulate on a tertiary branch of traveling waves. With Robin or mixed concentration boundary conditions on one wall all localized states travel and the hitherto stationary localized states may connect up with the traveling pulses. The stability of the TPn states is determined and unstable TPn shown to evolve into spatio-temporal chaos. The calculations are done with no-slip boundary conditions in the horizontal and periodic boundary conditions in the vertical.

Numerical model of two-dimensional heterogeneous combustion in porous media under natural convection or forced filtration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lutsenko, Nickolay A.

2018-03-01

A novel mathematical model and original numerical method for investigating the two-dimensional waves of heterogeneous combustion in porous media are proposed and described in detail. The mathematical model is constructed within the framework of the model of interacting interpenetrating continua and includes equations of state, continuity, momentum conservation and energy for solid and gas phases. Combustion, considered in the paper, is due to the exothermic reaction between fuel in the porous solid medium and oxidiser contained in the gas flowing through the porous object. The original numerical method is based on a combination of explicit and implicit finite-difference schemes. A distinctive feature of the proposed model is that the gas velocity at the open boundaries (inlet and outlet) of the porous object is unknown and has to be found from the solution of the problem, i.e. the flow rate of the gas regulates itself. This approach allows processes to be modelled not only under forced filtration, but also under free convection, when there is no forced gas input in porous objects, which is typical for many natural or anthropogenic disasters (burning of peatlands, coal dumps, landfills, grain elevators). Some two-dimensional time-dependent problems of heterogeneous combustion in porous objects have been solved using the proposed numerical method. It is shown that two-dimensional waves of heterogeneous combustion in porous media can propagate in two modes with different characteristics, as in the case of one-dimensional combustion, but the combustion front can move in a complex manner, and gas dynamics within the porous objects can be complicated. When natural convection takes place, self-sustaining combustion waves can go through the all parts of the object regardless of where an ignition zone was located, so the all combustible material in each part of the object is burned out, in contrast to forced filtration.

A stochastic parameterization for deep convection using cellular automata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bengtsson, L.; Steinheimer, M.; Bechtold, P.; Geleyn, J.

2012-12-01

Cumulus parameterizations used in most operational weather and climate models today are based on the mass-flux concept which took form in the early 1970's. In such schemes it is assumed that a unique relationship exists between the ensemble-average of the sub-grid convection, and the instantaneous state of the atmosphere in a vertical grid box column. However, such a relationship is unlikely to be described by a simple deterministic function (Palmer, 2011). Thus, because of the statistical nature of the parameterization challenge, it has been recognized by the community that it is important to introduce stochastic elements to the parameterizations (for instance: Plant and Craig, 2008, Khouider et al. 2010, Frenkel et al. 2011, Bentsson et al. 2011, but the list is far from exhaustive). There are undoubtedly many ways in which stochastisity can enter new developments. In this study we use a two-way interacting cellular automata (CA), as its intrinsic nature possesses many qualities interesting for deep convection parameterization. In the one-dimensional entraining plume approach, there is no parameterization of horizontal transport of heat, moisture or momentum due to cumulus convection. In reality, mass transport due to gravity waves that propagate in the horizontal can trigger new convection, important for the organization of deep convection (Huang, 1988). The self-organizational characteristics of the CA allows for lateral communication between adjacent NWP model grid-boxes, and temporal memory. Thus the CA scheme used in this study contain three interesting components for representation of cumulus convection, which are not present in the traditional one-dimensional bulk entraining plume method: horizontal communication, memory and stochastisity. The scheme is implemented in the high resolution regional NWP model ALARO, and simulations show enhanced organization of convective activity along squall-lines. Probabilistic evaluation demonstrate an enhanced spread in

Simulation of Natural Convection Heat Transfer in an Inclined Square Cavity With Perfectly Conducting Side Walls Using Finite Difference Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azwadi, C. S. Nor; Fairus, M. Y. Mohd

2010-06-01

This study is about numerical simulation of natural heat transfer inside an inclined square cavity with perfectly conducting boundary conditions for the side walls. The Navier Stokes equations were solved using finite difference approach with uniform mesh procedure. Three different inclination angels were applied and the results are presented in terms of streamlines and isotherms plots. Based on the fluid flow pattern and the isothermal lines behaviour, the convection heat transfer has shown domination over the conduction as the tilt angle increases. The simulation of natural convection inside an air filled-tilted cavity is the first time to be done to the best of our knowledge.

Forced convection in the wakes of impacting and sliding bubbles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Reilly Meehan, R.; Williams, N. P.; Donnelly, B.; Persoons, T.; Nolan, K.; Murray, D. B.

2017-09-01

Both vapour and gas bubbles are known to significantly increase heat transfer rates between a heated surface and the surrounding fluid, even with no phase change. The cooling structures observed are highly temporal, intricate and complex, with a full description of the surface cooling phenomena not yet available. The current study uses high speed infrared thermography to measure the surface temperature and determine the convective heat flux enhancement associated with the interaction of a single air bubble with a heated, inclined surface. This process can be discretised into the initial impact, in which enhancement levels in excess of 20 times natural convection are observed, and the subsequent sliding behaviour, with more moderate maximum enhancement levels of 8 times natural convection. In both cases, localised regions of suppressed heat transfer are also observed due to the recirculation of warm fluid displaced from the thermal boundary layer with the surface. The cooling patterns observed herein are consistent with the interaction between an undulating wake containing multiple hairpin vortex loops and the thermal boundary layer that exists under the surface, with the initial nature of this enhancement and suppression dependent on the particular point on its rising path at which the bubble impacts the surface.

Transport Phenomena Projects: Natural Convection between Porous, Concentric Cylinders--A Method to Learn and to Innovate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saatadjian, Esteban; Lesage, Francois; Mota, Jose Paulo B.

2013-01-01

A project that involves the numerical simulation of transport phenomena is an excellent method to teach this subject to senior/graduate chemical engineering students. The subject presented here has been used in our senior/graduate course, it concerns the study of natural convection heat transfer between two concentric, horizontal, saturated porous…

Simulating North American mesoscale convective systems with a convection-permitting climate model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prein, Andreas F.; Liu, Changhai; Ikeda, Kyoko; Bullock, Randy; Rasmussen, Roy M.; Holland, Greg J.; Clark, Martyn

2017-10-01

Deep convection is a key process in the climate system and the main source of precipitation in the tropics, subtropics, and mid-latitudes during summer. Furthermore, it is related to high impact weather causing floods, hail, tornadoes, landslides, and other hazards. State-of-the-art climate models have to parameterize deep convection due to their coarse grid spacing. These parameterizations are a major source of uncertainty and long-standing model biases. We present a North American scale convection-permitting climate simulation that is able to explicitly simulate deep convection due to its 4-km grid spacing. We apply a feature-tracking algorithm to detect hourly precipitation from Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) in the model and compare it with radar-based precipitation estimates east of the US Continental Divide. The simulation is able to capture the main characteristics of the observed MCSs such as their size, precipitation rate, propagation speed, and lifetime within observational uncertainties. In particular, the model is able to produce realistically propagating MCSs, which was a long-standing challenge in climate modeling. However, the MCS frequency is significantly underestimated in the central US during late summer. We discuss the origin of this frequency biases and suggest strategies for model improvements.

Thermal convection in a cylindrical enclosure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, K. N.

2005-02-01

The paper highlights the onset of convection in a fluid layer partially filled in an axisymmetric container. The equilibrium of the fluid is disturbed with the deformation of the interface due to residual acceleration. The general problem of deformable interface involves a dimensionless parameter, the Bond number. An analytical expression for the natural frequencies of the deformable surface is derived in terms of the Bond number, which determines the time period required for the stable location of the fluid for the propellant management of the spacecraft.

Numerical Analysis of Convection/Transpiration Cooling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, David E.; Dilley, Arthur D.; Kelly, H. Neale

1999-01-01

An innovative concept utilizing the natural porosity of refractory-composite materials and hydrogen coolant to provide CONvective and TRANspiration (CONTRAN) cooling and oxidation protection has been numerically studied for surfaces exposed to a high heat flux, high temperature environment such as hypersonic vehicle engine combustor walls. A boundary layer code and a porous media finite difference code were utilized to analyze the effect of convection and transpiration cooling on surface heat flux and temperature. The boundary, layer code determined that transpiration flow is able to provide blocking of the surface heat flux only if it is above a minimum level due to heat addition from combustion of the hydrogen transpirant. The porous media analysis indicated that cooling of the surface is attained with coolant flow rates that are in the same range as those required for blocking, indicating that a coupled analysis would be beneficial.

Comparisons of RELAP5-3D Analyses to Experimental Data from the Natural Convection Shutdown Heat Removal Test Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bucknor, Matthew; Hu, Rui; Lisowski, Darius

2016-04-17

The Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) is an important passive safety system being incorporated into the overall safety strategy for high temperature advanced reactor concepts such as the High Temperature Gas- Cooled Reactors (HTGR). The Natural Convection Shutdown Heat Removal Test Facility (NSTF) at Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) reflects a 1/2-scale model of the primary features of one conceptual air-cooled RCCS design. The project conducts ex-vessel, passive heat removal experiments in support of Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Technology (ART) program, while also generating data for code validation purposes. While experiments are being conducted at themore » NSTF to evaluate the feasibility of the passive RCCS, parallel modeling and simulation efforts are ongoing to support the design, fabrication, and operation of these natural convection systems. Both system-level and high fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses were performed to gain a complete understanding of the complex flow and heat transfer phenomena in natural convection systems. This paper provides a summary of the RELAP5-3D NSTF model development efforts and provides comparisons between simulation results and experimental data from the NSTF. Overall, the simulation results compared favorably to the experimental data, however, further analyses need to be conducted to investigate any identified differences.« less

From convection rolls to finger convection in double-diffusive turbulence

PubMed Central

Verzicco, Roberto; Lohse, Detlef

2016-01-01

Double-diffusive convection (DDC), which is the buoyancy-driven flow with fluid density depending on two scalar components, is ubiquitous in many natural and engineering environments. Of great interests are scalars' transfer rate and flow structures. Here we systematically investigate DDC flow between two horizontal plates, driven by an unstable salinity gradient and stabilized by a temperature gradient. Counterintuitively, when increasing the stabilizing temperature gradient, the salinity flux first increases, even though the velocity monotonically decreases, before it finally breaks down to the purely diffusive value. The enhanced salinity transport is traced back to a transition in the overall flow pattern, namely from large-scale convection rolls to well-organized vertically oriented salt fingers. We also show and explain that the unifying theory of thermal convection originally developed by Grossmann and Lohse for Rayleigh–Bénard convection can be directly applied to DDC flow for a wide range of control parameters (Lewis number and density ratio), including those which cover the common values relevant for ocean flows. PMID:26699474

Climatology of convective showers dynamics in a convection-permitting model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brisson, Erwan; Brendel, Christoph; Ahrens, Bodo

2017-04-01

Convection-permitting simulations have proven their usefulness in improving both the representation of convective rain and the uncertainty range of climate projections. However, most studies have focused on temporal scales greater or equal to convection cell lifetime. A large knowledge gap remains on the model's performance in representing the temporal dynamic of convective showers and how could this temporal dynamic be altered in a warmer climate. In this study, we proposed to fill this gap by analyzing 5-minute convection-permitting model (CPM) outputs. In total, more than 1200 one-day cases are simulated at the resolution of 0.01° using the regional climate model COSMO-CLM over central Europe. The analysis follows a Lagrangian approach and consists of tracking showers characterized by five-minute intensities greater than 20 mm/hour. The different features of these showers (e.g., temporal evolution, horizontal speed, lifetime) are investigated. These features as modeled by an ERA-Interim forced simulation are evaluated using a radar dataset for the period 2004-2010. The model shows good performance in representing most features observed in the radar dataset. Besides, the observed relation between the temporal evolution of precipitation and temperature are well reproduced by the CPM. In a second modeling experiment, the impact of climate change on convective cell features are analyzed based on an EC-Earth RCP8.5 forced simulation for the period 2071-2100. First results show only minor changes in the temporal structure and size of showers. The increase in convective precipitation found in previous studies seems to be mainly due to an increase in the number of convective cells.

Study on convection improvement of standard vacuum tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, J. H.; Du, W. P.; Qi, R. R.; He, J. X.

2017-11-01

For the standard all-glass vacuum tube collector, enhancing the vacuum tube axial natural convection can improve its thermal efficiency. According to the study of the standard all-glass vacuum tube, three kinds of guide plates which can inhibit the radial convection and increase axial natural convection are designed, and theory model is established. Experiments were carried out on vacuum tubes with three types of baffles and standard vacuum tubes without the improvement. The results show that T-type guide plate is better than that of Y-type guide plate on restraining convection and increasing axial radial convection effect, Y type is better than that of flat plate type, all guide plates are better than no change; the thermal efficiency of the tube was 2.6% higher than that of the unmodified standard vacuum tube. The efficiency of the system in the experiment can be increased by 3.1%.

Characterization of Radial Curved Fin Heat Sink under Natural and Forced Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khadke, Rishikesh; Bhole, Kiran

2018-02-01

Heat exchangers are important structures widely used in power plants, food industries, refrigeration, and air conditioners and now widely used in computing systems. Finned type of heat sink is widely used in computing systems. The main aim of the design of the heat sink is to maintain the optimum temperature level. To achieve this goal so many geometrical configurations are implemented. This paper presents a characterization of radially curved fin heat sink under natural and forced convection. Forced convection is studied for the optimization of temperature for better efficiency. The different alternatives in geometry are considered in characterization are heat intensity, the height of the fin and speed of the fan. By recognizing these alternatives the heat sink is characterized by the heat flux usually generated in high-end PCs. The temperature drop characteristics across height and radial direction are presented for the constant heat input and air flow in the heat sink. The effect of dimensionless elevation height (0 ≤ Z* ≤ 1) and Elenbaas Number (0.4 ≤ El ≤ 2.8) of the heat sink were investigated for study of the Nusselt number. Based on experimental characterization, process plan has been developed for the selection of the similar heat sinks for desired output (heat dissipation and temperature distribution).

Advanced modelling of the transport phenomena across horizontal clothing microclimates with natural convection.

PubMed

Mayor, T S; Couto, S; Psikuta, A; Rossi, R M

2015-12-01

The ability of clothing to provide protection against external environments is critical for wearer's safety and thermal comfort. It is a function of several factors, such as external environmental conditions, clothing properties and activity level. These factors determine the characteristics of the different microclimates existing inside the clothing which, ultimately, have a key role in the transport processes occurring across clothing. As an effort to understand the effect of transport phenomena in clothing microclimates on the overall heat transport across clothing structures, a numerical approach was used to study the buoyancy-driven heat transfer across horizontal air layers trapped inside air impermeable clothing. The study included both the internal flow occurring inside the microclimate and the external flow occurring outside the clothing layer, in order to analyze the interdependency of these flows in the way heat is transported to/from the body. Two-dimensional simulations were conducted considering different values of microclimate thickness (8, 25 and 52 mm), external air temperature (10, 20 and 30 °C), external air velocity (0.5, 1 and 3 m s(-1)) and emissivity of the clothing inner surface (0.05 and 0.95), which implied Rayleigh numbers in the microclimate spanning 4 orders of magnitude (9 × 10(2)-3 × 10(5)). The convective heat transfer coefficients obtained along the clothing were found to strongly depend on the transport phenomena in the microclimate, in particular when natural convection is the most important transport mechanism. In such scenario, convective coefficients were found to vary in wavy-like manner, depending on the position of the flow vortices in the microclimate. These observations clearly differ from data in the literature for the case of air flow over flat-heated surfaces with constant temperature (which shows monotonic variations of the convective heat transfer coefficients, along the length of the surface). The flow

Wind-chill-equivalent temperatures: regarding the impact due to the variability of the environmental convective heat transfer coefficient.

PubMed

Shitzer, Avraham

2006-03-01

The wind-chill index (WCI), developed in Antarctica in the 1940s and recently updated by the weather services in the USA and Canada, expresses the enhancement of heat loss in cold climates from exposed body parts, e.g., face, due to wind. The index provides a simple and practical means for assessing the thermal effects of wind on humans outdoors. It is also used for indicating weather conditions that may pose adverse risks of freezing at subfreezing environmental temperatures. Values of the WCI depend on a number of parameters, i.e, temperatures, physical properties of the air, wind speed, etc., and on insolation and evaporation. This paper focuses on the effects of various empirical correlations used in the literature for calculating the convective heat transfer coefficients between humans and their environment. Insolation and evaporation are not included in the presentation. Large differences in calculated values among these correlations are demonstrated and quantified. Steady-state wind-chill-equivalent temperatures (WCETs) are estimated by a simple, one-dimensional heat-conducting hollow-cylindrical model using these empirical correlations. Partial comparison of these values with the published "new" WCETs is presented. The variability of the estimated WCETs, due to different correlations employed to calculate them, is clearly demonstrated. The results of this study clearly suggest the need for establishing a "gold standard" for estimating convective heat exchange between exposed body elements and the cold and windy environment. This should be done prior to the introduction and adoption of further modifications to WCETs and indices. Correlations to estimate the convective heat transfer coefficients between exposed body parts of humans in windy and cold environments influence the WCETs and need to be standardized.

REVIEWS OF TOPICAL PROBLEMS: Free convection in geophysical processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alekseev, V. V.; Gusev, A. M.

1983-10-01

A highly significant geophysical process, free convection, is examined. Thermal convection often controls the dynamical behavior in several of the earth's envelopes: the atmosphere, ocean, and mantle. Section 2 sets forth the thermohydrodynamic equations that describe convection in a compressible or incompressible fluid, thermochemical convection, and convection in the presence of thermal diffusion. Section 3 reviews the mechanisms for the origin of the global atmospheric and oceanic circulation. Interlatitudinal convection and jet streams are discussed, as well as monsoon circulation and the mean meridional circulation of ocean waters due to the temperature and salinity gradients. Also described are the hypotheses for convective motion in the mantle and the thermal-wave (moving flame) mechanism for inducing global circulation (the atmospheres of Venus and Mars provide illustrations). Eddy formation by convection in a centrifugal force field is considered. Section 4 deals with medium- and small-scale convective processes, including hurricane systems with phase transitions, cellular cloud structure, and convection penetrating into the ocean, with its stepped vertical temperature and salinity microstructure. Self-oscillatory processes involving convection in fresh-water basins are discussed, including effects due to the anomalous (p,T) relation for water.

Nature, theory and modelling of geophysical convective planetary boundary layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zilitinkevich, Sergej

2015-04-01

Geophysical convective planetary boundary layers (CPBLs) are still poorly reproduced in oceanographic, hydrological and meteorological models. Besides the mean flow and usual shear-generated turbulence, CPBLs involve two types of motion disregarded in conventional theories: 'anarchy turbulence' comprised of the buoyancy-driven plumes, merging to form larger plumes instead of breaking down, as postulated in conventional theory (Zilitinkevich, 1973), large-scale organised structures fed by the potential energy of unstable stratification through inverse energy transfer in convective turbulence (and performing non-local transports irrespective of mean gradients of transporting properties). C-PBLs are strongly mixed and go on growing as long as the boundary layer remains unstable. Penetration of the mixed layer into the weakly turbulent, stably stratified free flow causes turbulent transports through the CPBL outer boundary. The proposed theory, taking into account the above listed features of CPBL, is based on the following recent developments: prognostic CPBL-depth equation in combination with diagnostic algorithm for turbulence fluxes at the CPBL inner and outer boundaries (Zilitinkevich, 1991, 2012, 2013; Zilitinkevich et al., 2006, 2012), deterministic model of self-organised convective structures combined with statistical turbulence-closure model of turbulence in the CPBL core (Zilitinkevich, 2013). It is demonstrated that the overall vertical transports are performed mostly by turbulence in the surface layer and entrainment layer (at the CPBL inner and outer boundaries) and mostly by organised structures in the CPBL core (Hellsten and Zilitinkevich, 2013). Principal difference between structural and turbulent mixing plays an important role in a number of practical problems: transport and dispersion of admixtures, microphysics of fogs and clouds, etc. The surface-layer turbulence in atmospheric and marine CPBLs is strongly enhanced by the velocity shears in

Gliding in convection currents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Georgii, W

1935-01-01

A survey of the possibilities of gliding in convection currents reveals that heretofore only the most simple kind of ascending convection currents, that is, the "thermic" of insolation, has been utilized to any extent. With the increasing experience in gliding, the utilization of the peculiar nature of the "wind thermic" and increased glider speed promises further advances. Evening, ocean, and height "thermic" are still in the exploration stage, and therefore not amenable to survey in their effects.

Thermodynamic Environments Supporting Extreme Convection in Subtropical South America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasmussen, K. L.; Trier, S. B.

2015-12-01

Extreme convection tends to form in the vicinity of mountain ranges, and the Andes in subtropical South America help spawn some of the most intense convection in the world. Subsequent to initiation, the convection often evolves into propagating mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) similar to those seen over the U.S. Great Plains and produces damaging tornadoes, hail, and floods across a wide agricultural region. In recent years, studies on the nature of convection in subtropical South America using spaceborne radar data have elucidated key processes responsible for their extreme characteristics, including a strong relationship between the Andes topography and convective initiation. Building on previous work, an investigation of the thermodynamic environment supporting some of the deepest convection in the world will be presented. In particular, an analysis of the thermodynamic destabilization in subtropical South America, which considers the parcel buoyancy minimum for conditionally unstable air parcels, will be presented. Additional comparisons between the nocturnal nature and related diurnal cycle of MCSs in subtropical South America the U.S. Great Plains will provide insights into the processes controlling MCS initiation and upscale growth.

Internal Wave Generation by Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lecoanet, Daniel Michael

In nature, it is not unusual to find stably stratified fluid adjacent to convectively unstable fluid. This can occur in the Earth's atmosphere, where the troposphere is convective and the stratosphere is stably stratified; in lakes, where surface solar heating can drive convection above stably stratified fresh water; in the oceans, where geothermal heating can drive convection near the ocean floor, but the water above is stably stratified due to salinity gradients; possible in the Earth's liquid core, where gradients in thermal conductivity and composition diffusivities maybe lead to different layers of stable or unstable liquid metal; and, in stars, as most stars contain at least one convective and at least one radiative (stably stratified) zone. Internal waves propagate in stably stratified fluids. The characterization of the internal waves generated by convection is an open problem in geophysical and astrophysical fluid dynamics. Internal waves can play a dynamically important role via nonlocal transport. Momentum transport by convectively excited internal waves is thought to generate the quasi-biennial oscillation of zonal wind in the equatorial stratosphere, an important physical phenomenon used to calibrate global climate models. Angular momentum transport by convectively excited internal waves may play a crucial role in setting the initial rotation rates of neutron stars. In the last year of life of a massive star, convectively excited internal waves may transport even energy to the surface layers to unbind them, launching a wind. In each of these cases, internal waves are able to transport some quantity--momentum, angular momentum, energy--across large, stable buoyancy gradients. Thus, internal waves represent an important, if unusual, transport mechanism. This thesis advances our understanding of internal wave generation by convection. Chapter 2 provides an underlying theoretical framework to study this problem. It describes a detailed calculation of the

Effect of surface radiation on natural convection in an asymmetrically heated channel-chimney system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasri, Zied; Derouich, Youssef; Laatar, Ali Hatem; Balti, Jalloul

2018-05-01

In this paper, a more realistic numerical approach that takes into account the effect of surface radiation on the laminar air flow induced by natural convection in a channel-chimney system asymmetrically heated at uniform heat flux is used. The aim is to enrich the results given in Nasri et al. (Int J Therm Sci 90:122-134, 2015) by varying all the geometric parameters of the system and by taking into account the effect of surface radiation on the flows. The numerical results are first validated against experimental and numerical data available in the literature. The computations have allowed the determination of optimal configurations that maximize the mass flow rate and the convective heat transfer and minimize the heated wall temperatures. The analysis of the temperature fields with the streamlines and the pressure fields has helped to explain the effects of surface radiation and of the different thermo-geometrical parameters on the system performances to improve the mass flow rate and the heat transfer with respect to the simple channel. It is shown that the thermal performance of the channel-chimney system in terms of lower heated wall temperatures is little affected by the surface radiation. At the end, simple correlation equations have been proposed for quickly and easily predict the optimal configurations as well as the corresponding enhancement rates of the induced mass flow rate and the convective heat transfer.

The variable nature of convection in the tropics and subtropics: A legacy of 16 years of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite

PubMed Central

Rasmussen, Kristen L.; Zuluaga, Manuel D.; Brodzik, Stella R.

2015-01-01

Abstract For over 16 years, the Precipitation Radar of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite detected the three‐dimensional structure of significantly precipitating clouds in the tropics and subtropics. This paper reviews and synthesizes studies using the TRMM radar data to present a global picture of the variation of convection throughout low latitudes. The multiyear data set shows convection varying not only in amount but also in its very nature across the oceans, continents, islands, and mountain ranges of the tropics and subtropics. Shallow isolated raining clouds are overwhelmingly an oceanic phenomenon. Extremely deep and intense convective elements occur almost exclusively over land. Upscale growth of convection into mesoscale systems takes a variety of forms. Oceanic cloud systems generally have less intense embedded convection but can form very wide stratiform regions. Continental mesoscale systems often have more intense embedded convection. Some of the most intense convective cells and mesoscale systems occur near the great mountain ranges of low latitudes. The Maritime Continent and Amazonia exhibit convective clouds with maritime characteristics although they are partially or wholly land. Convective systems containing broad stratiform areas manifest most strongly over oceans. The stratiform precipitation occurs in various forms. Often it occurs as quasi‐uniform precipitation with strong melting layers connected with intense convection. In monsoons and the Intertropical Convergence Zone, it takes the form of closely packed weak convective elements. Where fronts extend into the subtropics, broad stratiform regions are larger and have lower and sloping melting layers related to the baroclinic origin of the precipitation. PMID:27668295

Seismic Constraints on Interior Solar Convection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanasoge, Shravan M.; Duvall, Thomas L.; DeRosa, Marc L.

2010-01-01

We constrain the velocity spectral distribution of global-scale solar convective cells at depth using techniques of local helioseismology. We calibrate the sensitivity of helioseismic waves to large-scale convective cells in the interior by analyzing simulations of waves propagating through a velocity snapshot of global solar convection via methods of time-distance helioseismology. Applying identical analysis techniques to observations of the Sun, we are able to bound from above the magnitudes of solar convective cells as a function of spatial convective scale. We find that convection at a depth of r/R(solar) = 0.95 with spatial extent l < 30, where l is the spherical harmonic degree, comprise weak flow systems, on the order of 15 m/s or less. Convective features deeper than r/R(solar) = 0.95 are more difficult to image due to the rapidly decreasing sensitivity of helioseismic waves.

Natural convection heat transfer in an oscillating vertical cylinder

PubMed Central

Ali Shah, Nehad; Tassaddiq, Asifa; Mustapha, Norzieha; Kechil, Seripah Awang

2018-01-01

This paper studies the heat transfer analysis caused due to free convection in a vertically oscillating cylinder. Exact solutions are determined by applying the Laplace and finite Hankel transforms. Expressions for temperature distribution and velocity field corresponding to cosine and sine oscillations are obtained. The solutions that have been obtained for velocity are presented in the forms of transient and post-transient solutions. Moreover, these solutions satisfy both the governing differential equation and all imposed initial and boundary conditions. Numerical computations and graphical illustrations are used in order to study the effects of Prandtl and Grashof numbers on velocity and temperature for various times. The transient solutions for both cosine and sine oscillations are also computed in tables. It is found that, the transient solutions are of considerable interest up to the times t = 15 for cosine oscillations and t = 1.75 for sine oscillations. After these moments, the transient solutions can be neglected and, the fluid moves according with the post-transient solutions. PMID:29304161

Natural convection heat transfer in an oscillating vertical cylinder.

PubMed

Khan, Ilyas; Ali Shah, Nehad; Tassaddiq, Asifa; Mustapha, Norzieha; Kechil, Seripah Awang

2018-01-01

This paper studies the heat transfer analysis caused due to free convection in a vertically oscillating cylinder. Exact solutions are determined by applying the Laplace and finite Hankel transforms. Expressions for temperature distribution and velocity field corresponding to cosine and sine oscillations are obtained. The solutions that have been obtained for velocity are presented in the forms of transient and post-transient solutions. Moreover, these solutions satisfy both the governing differential equation and all imposed initial and boundary conditions. Numerical computations and graphical illustrations are used in order to study the effects of Prandtl and Grashof numbers on velocity and temperature for various times. The transient solutions for both cosine and sine oscillations are also computed in tables. It is found that, the transient solutions are of considerable interest up to the times t = 15 for cosine oscillations and t = 1.75 for sine oscillations. After these moments, the transient solutions can be neglected and, the fluid moves according with the post-transient solutions.

Effects of properties variations of Al2O3-EG-water nanofluid on natural convection heat transfer in a two-dimensional enclosure: Enhancement or deterioration?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khorasanizadeh, H.; Fakhari, M. M.; Ghaffari, S. P.

2015-05-01

Heat transfer enhancement or deterioration of variable properties Al2O3-EG-water nanofluid natural convection in a differentially heated rectangular cavity has been investigated numerically. A finite volume approach has been utilized to solve the governing equations for a Newtonian fluid. The influences of the pertinent parameters such as Rayleigh number, Ra, in the range of 103-107 and nanoparticles volume fraction from 0 to 0.04 have been studied. The results verified by making overall comparison with some existing experimental results have shown that for Ra = 103, for which conduction heat transfer is dominant, the average Nusselt number increases as nanoparticles volume fraction increases, but contradictory with the constant properties cases it decreases for higher Ra values. This reduction, which is associated with the increased viscosity, is more severe at Ra = 104 and the least deterioration in heat transfer occurs for Ra = 107. This is due to the fact that the Brownian motion enhances as Ra increases; thus at Ra = 107 the improved conductivity becomes more important than viscosity enhancement. To clarify the contradictory reports existing in the literature on the natural convection heat transfer enhancement or deterioration of nanofluids, a scale analysis performed showed that unlike methods of evaluating the base fluid Ra have led to such differences.

Changing Characteristics of convective storms: Results from a continental-scale convection-permitting climate simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prein, A. F.; Ikeda, K.; Liu, C.; Bullock, R.; Rasmussen, R.

2016-12-01

Convective storms are causing extremes such as flooding, landslides, and wind gusts and are related to the development of tornadoes and hail. Convective storms are also the dominant source of summer precipitation in most regions of the Contiguous United States. So far little is known about how convective storms might change due to global warming. This is mainly because of the coarse grid spacing of state-of-the-art climate models that are not able to resolve deep convection explicitly. Instead, coarse resolution models rely on convective parameterization schemes that are a major source of errors and uncertainties in climate change projections. Convection-permitting climate simulations, with grid-spacings smaller than 4 km, show significant improvements in the simulation of convective storms by representing deep convection explicitly. Here we use a pair of 13-year long current and future convection-permitting climate simulations that cover large parts of North America. We use the Method for Object-Based Diagnostic Evaluation (MODE) that incorporates the time dimension (MODE-TD) to analyze the model performance in reproducing storm features in the current climate and to investigate their potential future changes. We show that the model is able to accurately reproduce the main characteristics of convective storms in the present climate. The comparison with the future climate simulation shows that convective storms significantly increase in frequency, intensity, and size. Furthermore, they are projected to move slower which could result in a substantial increase in convective storm-related hazards such as flash floods, debris flows, and landslides. Some regions, such as the North Atlantic, might experience a regime shift that leads to significantly stronger storms that are unrepresented in the current climate.

Marangoni Convection and Deviations from Maxwells' Evaporation Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Segre, P. N.; Snell, E. H.; Adamek, D. H.

2003-01-01

We investigate the convective dynamics of evaporating pools of volatile liquids using an ultra-sensitive thermal imaging camera. During evaporation, there are significant convective flows inside the liquid due to Marangoni forces. We find that Marangoni convection during evaporation can dramatically affect the evaporation rates of volatile liquids. A simple heat balance model connects the convective velocities and temperature gradients to the evaporation rates.

Natural convection in symmetrically heated vertical parallel plates with discrete heat sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Manca, O.; Nardini, S.; Naso, V.

Laminar air natural convection in a symmetrically heated vertical channel with uniform flush-mounted discrete heat sources has been experimentally investigated. The effects of heated strips location and of their number are pointed out in terms of the maximum wall temperatures. A flow visualization in the entrance region of the channel was carried out and air temperatures and velocities in two cross sections have been measured. Dimensionless local heat transfer coefficients have been evaluated and monomial correlations among relevant parameters have bee derived in the local Rayleigh number range 10--10{sup 6}. Channel Nusselt number has been correlated in a polynomial formmore » in terms of channel Rayleigh number.« less

Wind-chill-equivalent temperatures: regarding the impact due to the variability of the environmental convective heat transfer coefficient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shitzer, Avraham

2006-03-01

The wind-chill index (WCI), developed in Antarctica in the 1940s and recently updated by the weather services in the USA and Canada, expresses the enhancement of heat loss in cold climates from exposed body parts, e.g., face, due to wind. The index provides a simple and practical means for assessing the thermal effects of wind on humans outdoors. It is also used for indicating weather conditions that may pose adverse risks of freezing at subfreezing environmental temperatures. Values of the WCI depend on a number of parameters, i.e, temperatures, physical properties of the air, wind speed, etc., and on insolation and evaporation. This paper focuses on the effects of various empirical correlations used in the literature for calculating the convective heat transfer coefficients between humans and their environment. Insolation and evaporation are not included in the presentation. Large differences in calculated values among these correlations are demonstrated and quantified. Steady-state wind-chill-equivalent temperatures (WCETs) are estimated by a simple, one-dimensional heat-conducting hollow-cylindrical model using these empirical correlations. Partial comparison of these values with the published “new” WCETs is presented. The variability of the estimated WCETs, due to different correlations employed to calculate them, is clearly demonstrated. The results of this study clearly suggest the need for establishing a “gold standard” for estimating convective heat exchange between exposed body elements and the cold and windy environment. This should be done prior to the introduction and adoption of further modifications to WCETs and indices. Correlations to estimate the convective heat transfer coefficients between exposed body parts of humans in windy and cold environments influence the WCETs and need to be standardized.

Quantifying near-wall coherent structures in turbulent convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunasegarane, G. S.; A Puthenveettil, Baburaj; K Agrawal, Yogesh; Schmeling, Daniel; Bosbach, Johannes; Arakeri, Jaywant; IIT Madras-DLR-IISc Collaboration

2011-11-01

We present planforms of line plumes formed on horizontal surfaces in turbulent convection, along with the length of near- wall line plumes measured from these planforms, in a six decade range of Rayleigh numbers (105 < Ra <1011) and at three Prandtl numbers (Pr = 0 . 7 , 6 , 602). Using geometric constraints on the relations for the mean plume spacings, we obtain expressions for the total length of these near-wall plumes in turbulent convection. The plume length per unit area (Lp / A), made dimensionless by the near-wall length scale in turbulent convection (Zw) remains a constant for a given fluid. The Nusselt number is shown to be directly proportional to Lp H / A for a given fluid layer of height H. Increase in Pr has a weak influence in decreasing Lp / A . These expressions match the measurements, thereby showing that the assumption of laminar natural convection boundary layers in turbulent convection is consistent with the observed total length of line plumes. We then show that similar relationships are obtained based on the assumption that the line plumes are the outcome of the instability of laminar natural convection boundary layers on the horizontal surfaces.

Effect of volumetric radiation on natural convection in a cavity with a horizontal fin using the lattice Boltzmann method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tighchi, Hashem Ahmadi; Sobhani, Masoud; Esfahani, Javad Abolfazli

2018-01-01

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is presented for the effects of volumetric radiation on laminar natural convection in a square cavity with a horizontal fin on the hot wall containing an absorbing, emitting and scattering medium. Accordingly, the flow, energy and radiative equations are solved by separate distribution functions in the LBM. A parametric study is performed: the effects of Rayleigh number and radiative parameters, such as extinction coefficient and scattering albedo on the flow and temperature fields are investigated. It is found that the isotherms become dense near the cold wall, due to highly participating properties and Rayleigh number. Also, the Nusselt number ratio (NNR) on the clod wall is examined for values of fin length and height. The maximum NNR is found at the longest fin length and near top wall for a given Rayleigh number.

Modeling condensation with a noncondensable gas for mixed convection flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Yehong

2007-05-01

This research theoretically developed a novel mixed convection model for condensation with a noncondensable gas. The model developed herein is comprised of three components: a convection regime map; a mixed convection correlation; and a generalized diffusion layer model. These components were developed in a way to be consistent with the three-level methodology in MELCOR. The overall mixed convection model was implemented into MELCOR and satisfactorily validated with data covering a wide variety of test conditions. In the development of the convection regime map, two analyses with approximations of the local similarity method were performed to solve the multi-component two-phase boundary layer equations. The first analysis studied effects of the bulk velocity on a basic natural convection condensation process and setup conditions to distinguish natural convection from mixed convection. It was found that the superimposed velocity increases condensation heat transfer by sweeping away the noncondensable gas accumulated at the condensation boundary. The second analysis studied effects of the buoyancy force on a basic forced convection condensation process and setup conditions to distinguish forced convection from mixed convection. It was found that the superimposed buoyancy force increases condensation heat transfer by thinning the liquid film thickness and creating a steeper noncondensable gas concentration profile near the condensation interface. In the development of the mixed convection correlation accounting for suction effects, numerical data were obtained from boundary layer analysis for the three convection regimes and used to fit a curve for the Nusselt number of the mixed convection regime as a function of the Nusselt numbers of the natural and forced convection regimes. In the development of the generalized diffusion layer model, the driving potential for mass transfer was expressed as the temperature difference between the bulk and the liquid-gas interface

Convective aggregation in realistic convective-scale simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holloway, Christopher E.

2017-06-01

To investigate the real-world relevance of idealized-model convective self-aggregation, five 15 day cases of real organized convection in the tropics are simulated. These include multiple simulations of each case to test sensitivities of the convective organization and mean states to interactive radiation, interactive surface fluxes, and evaporation of rain. These simulations are compared to self-aggregation seen in the same model configured to run in idealized radiative-convective equilibrium. Analysis of the budget of the spatial variance of column-integrated frozen moist static energy shows that control runs have significant positive contributions to organization from radiation and negative contributions from surface fluxes and transport, similar to idealized runs once they become aggregated. Despite identical lateral boundary conditions for all experiments in each case, systematic differences in mean column water vapor (CWV), CWV distribution shape, and CWV autocorrelation length scale are found between the different sensitivity runs, particularly for those without interactive radiation, showing that there are at least some similarities in sensitivities to these feedbacks in both idealized and realistic simulations (although the organization of precipitation shows less sensitivity to interactive radiation). The magnitudes and signs of these systematic differences are consistent with a rough equilibrium between (1) equalization due to advection from the lateral boundaries and (2) disaggregation due to the absence of interactive radiation, implying disaggregation rates comparable to those in idealized runs with aggregated initial conditions and noninteractive radiation. This points to a plausible similarity in the way that radiation feedbacks maintain aggregated convection in both idealized simulations and the real world.