Effect of sidewall on heat transfer and flow structure in Rayleigh-Bénard convection

Wan, Z.-H.; Wei, P.; Verzicco, R.; Lohse, D.; Ahlers, G.; Stevens, R.J.A.M.

doi:10.1017/jfm.2019.770

Publication 58 · Thermal convection

Effect of sidewall on heat transfer and flow structure in Rayleigh-Bénard convection

Z.-H. Wan, P. Wei, R. Verzicco, D. Lohse, G. Ahlers, R.J.A.M. Stevens, J. Fluid Mech. 881, 218-243 (2019).

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Main finding

Thermal coupling to the sidewall changes local temperature gradients and flow in Rayleigh–Bénard convection. Small apparatus details still prevent a complete quantitative match between model and experiment.

Mean vertical temperature gradient against Rayleigh number for different sidewall treatments — **How to read the figure.** Mean vertical temperature gradient measured (a) on the cylinder axis and (b) nearer the sidewall, across Rayleigh number, for the different wall models. Realistic wall coupling changes the local gradient even where the global heat transport is similar. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 3. Z.-H. Wan et al. (2019). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

Real walls change the fluid, not only the thermometer.

Research context

This paper independently combines experiment and DNS and extends Sidewall effects in Rayleigh-Bénard convection (read the finding).

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