Article
Mechanics
Naoto Yokoyama, Masanori Takaoka
Summary: In this study, a method to determine the energy-flux vector in anisotropic turbulence using the Moore-Penrose inverse is proposed, and the energy-flux direction in strongly rotating turbulence is found to be consistent with the prediction of weak turbulence theory, but the energy flux along the critical wavenumbers predicted by critical balance is not observed in the buffer zone.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
H. Lam, A. Delache, F. S. Godeferd
Summary: Direct numerical simulations of rotating turbulence were conducted, separating the velocity field into inertial waves, eddies, and a geostrophic mode. The interactions and energy transfers among them were analyzed, providing insights into the mechanisms involved.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2023)
Article
Mechanics
Jim Thomas, Lingyun Ding
Summary: We investigate the inverse flux of waves in a one-dimensional rotating shallow water model, a simplified geophysical fluid dynamics model. By directly integrating the governing equations, we observe that waves injected at small scales primarily transfer upscale through resonant quartic interactions between wave modes. The upscale transfer of waves is found to be non-local and involves turbulent transfer between different scales of the flow. Our analysis reveals intermittent bursts in wave action flux, resulting in a shallower wave spectrum and higher amplitude wave fields in physical space. Additionally, statistics of the flow fields indicate that lower energy high wavenumbers follow the assumptions of wave turbulence theory, while non-uniform wave phase distribution and non-Gaussian statistics dominate at larger scales or low wavenumbers containing the majority of the flow energy. These findings highlight the complex and intricate features associated with the upscale transfer of waves in the simple geophysical fluid dynamic model of one-dimensional rotating shallow water that have not been previously recognized.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Taylor L. Lonner, Ashna Aggarwal, Jonathan M. Aurnou
Summary: This study simulates turbulent convection in a planet's outer core using a thermally-driven, free surface paraboloidal laboratory annulus. The researchers found that the dynamics of rapidly rotating convection in free-surface paraboloidal annuli are similar to those in planetary spherical shell geometries. The experiments showed the presence of thermal Rossby waves and multiple azimuthal jets, with more jets forming at higher rotation rates. The migration of the jets and the flux of energy into larger-scale zonal flow structures were also observed. The effects of ambient magnetic fields on such turbulent flows remain unknown.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2022)
Article
Mechanics
L. Oruba, A. M. Soward, E. Dormy
Summary: This paper investigates the primary quasi-steady geostrophic motion of a constant density fluid in a rotating cylindrical container through direct numerical simulation, revealing significant inertial wave activity. Building on previous results for an infinite plane layer, the study provides analytical insights into the inertial wave generation triggered by the QG-flow and lateral boundary effects.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Xuan Zhang, Robert E. Ecke, Olga Shishkina
Summary: In rapidly rotating turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection with a small Prandtl number fluid in slender cylindrical containers, a boundary zonal flow (BZF) is found to develop near the sidewall, carrying a disproportionate amount of heat transport for Pr < 1 but decreasing abruptly for larger Pr. The BZF is robust and appears in containers of different aspect ratios and over a broad range of Pr and Ra values.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Jeremie Vidal, David Cebron
Summary: Motivated by the modeling of rotating turbulence in planetary fluid layers, this study investigates precession-driven flows in ellipsoids under stress-free boundary conditions. The results show that viscosity affects the long-term evolution of angular momentum in triaxial geometries and axisymmetric ellipsoids when the mean rotation axis of the fluid is not the symmetry axis. By using stress-free boundary conditions, the study also explores non-viscous instabilities that are relevant for planetary applications but are often limited in experiments or simulations that use no-slip boundary conditions.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2022)
Article
Mechanics
H. Jung, I. A. Frigaard
Summary: This study experimentally investigates the effects of inner cylinder rotation on displacement flow of two Newtonian fluids in a horizontal eccentric annulus. The results show that rotation of the inner cylinder changes the flow behavior and can improve the displacement efficiency. This research provides insights for optimizing displacement flows in various applications.
Article
Mechanics
Matthew N. Crowe, Cameron J. D. Kemp, Edward R. Johnson
Summary: This study models the decay of Hill's vortex in a weakly rotating flow, deriving analytic results for the modification of the vortex structure by rotational effects and the generated wave field. Predictions for the decay of vortex speed and radius are made using an asymptotic approach, and results are compared against numerical simulations of the full axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
S. Benard, W. Herreman, J. L. Guermond, C. Nore
Summary: In this study, we investigated swirling electrovortex flows in a cylinder filled with GaInSn metal through numerical simulations. Different flow regimes were identified and the velocity magnitude was studied both numerically and theoretically. The influence of the aspect ratio and wiring configuration on the flow was analyzed. Additionally, a simple model was proposed to explain the variation of flow intensity with wire radius.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2022)
Article
Mechanics
Geert Brethouwer
Summary: The study shows that rotation can significantly influence passive tracer transport in shear flows, making it much faster than momentum transport, in violation of the Reynolds analogy. This dissimilarity is observed in steady flows with large counter-rotating vortices at low Reynolds numbers as well as in fully turbulent flows at higher Reynolds numbers. The Coriolis force induced by rotation dampens velocity fluctuations more strongly than tracer fluctuations near the neutral stability limit, breaking the Reynolds analogy.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Yufeng Lin, Andrew Jackson
Summary: This study focuses on the dynamics of Boussinesq convection in a rotating full sphere, particularly on the development of large-scale coherent structures and mean zonal flows. The research reveals the critical role of the convective Rossby number in the formation and transition of large-scale vortices.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Review
Mathematics, Applied
Artur Perevalov, Ruben E. Rojas, Daniel P. Lathrop
Summary: In this experiment, the dissipation of kinetic energy to heat in rotating turbulent shear flows was studied by torque measurements. The purpose was to understand rotating turbulence in atmospheres, oceans, and liquid planetary cores, as well as the role of viscosity in the Kolmogorov-Constantin-Doering limit. The findings showed that differential rotation in cylindrical and spherical Couette flows could either enhance or reduce dissipation. Additionally, new results regarding increased scaling exponents in rough spherical Couette flows were documented.
PHYSICA D-NONLINEAR PHENOMENA
(2023)
Article
Mechanics
Manita Chouksey, Carsten Eden, Goekce Tuba Masur, Marcel Oliver
Summary: We compare a higher-order asymptotic construction for balance in geophysical flows with the numerical method of 'optimal balance'. Both methods achieve balance in geostrophic and inertia-gravity wave modes, resulting in minimal residual wave emission. The performance of both methods is comparable in a benchmark setting, and they find approximately the same balanced state.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2023)
Article
Mechanics
Michael R. R. Cox, Hossein A. A. Kafiabad, Jacques Vanneste
Summary: The dispersion of three-dimensional inertia-gravity waves by a turbulent geostrophic flow leads to a diffusion process in wavevector space. Previous studies have obtained the diffusivity tensor assuming a time-independent geostrophic flow. This study relaxes this assumption and examines how the weak diffusion of wave action affects the distribution of wave energy due to the slow time dependence of the geostrophic flow. The results show that the wave-energy spectrum is localized within a thin boundary layer around the constant-frequency cone, with its thickness controlled by the acceleration spectrum of the geostrophic flow.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2023)