Richard J.A.M. Stevens

Physics of Fluids · University of Twente

Publication 17 · Thermal convection

Breakdown of the large-scale circulation in Γ = 1/2 rotating Rayleigh-Bénard flow

R.J.A.M. Stevens, H.J.H. Clercx, D. Lohse, Phys. Rev. E 86, 056311 (2012).

Main finding

The observed post-transition state is neither a single roll nor the simple two-vortex topology proposed from sparse probes. It is a collection of vertically aligned vortices whose time-averaged organization mimics an LSC temperature signature. Temperature isosurfaces and the three-dimensional Q criterion agree on the dominant vortex tubes; small interior vortices can be missed by the temperature criterion.

Flow visualisation of vertically aligned vortices in a slender rotating convection cell
How to read the figure. Flow structure in a slender rotating Rayleigh-Benard cell above the heat-transfer transition, shown by temperature isosurfaces and by the three-dimensional Q criterion. The post-transition state is neither a single roll nor the simple two-vortex topology inferred from sparse sidewall probes: it is a collection of vertically aligned vortices whose time average happens to mimic a large-scale-circulation signature. The two criteria agree on the dominant tubes, though small interior vortices are missed by the temperature criterion. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 6. R.J.A.M. Stevens et al. (2012). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

The result demonstrates that a persistent sinusoidal sidewall-temperature signal is not a unique identifier of the underlying flow topology.

Research context

The study directly applies the diagnostic cautions introduced by the plume-measurement analysis and complements the later two-threshold Lagrangian study. Its central warning is that a persistent sidewall-temperature mode does not uniquely identify the three-dimensional flow state.

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