Heat transport regimes in an inclined channel

In this paper we report measurements of the heat flux in a slightly tilted channel (angle less than 45 degrees), filled with water, that connects two chambers: the hot in the lower part and the cold on the top. We show that different regimes develop depending on the angle and the applied power. We put in evidence a hard turbulent regime, a soft turbulent regime, a laminar regime, and an intermittent one. In the last regime, the flow oscillates between laminar and turbulent, which locks the temperature gradient to a constant value. We characterize those regimes thanks to the measurement of the axial gradient of temperature and to the measurement of the power. We model them giving descriptions in term of Nusselt and Rayleigh numbers. The soft turbulence to hard turbulence transition is interpreted as the birth of the inertial range of developed turbulence. This transition, which appears in several systems, is particularly clear here, thanks to its consequences on heat transport properties. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4774346]