Richard J.A.M. Stevens

Physics of Fluids · University of Twente

Publication 6 · Thermal convection

Prandtl-Blasius temperature and velocity boundary layer profiles in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

Q. Zhou, R.J.A.M. Stevens, K. Sugiyama, S. Grossmann, D. Lohse, K. Q. Xia, J. Fluid Mech. 664, 297-312 (2010).

Main finding

Dynamic coordinates are useful for separating thickness jitter from residual profile-shape variation. The paper supplies conditional PB-shape evidence, not a parameter-free or universal validation of laminar boundary-layer theory in turbulent convection.

Velocity and temperature boundary layer profiles in laboratory and dynamic frames
How to read the figure. Velocity (a) and temperature (b) boundary layer profiles in turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection, each shown in the laboratory frame, in a frame that follows the fluctuating boundary layer thickness, and against the laminar Prandtl-Blasius curve. The dynamic-frame profile tracks the laminar shape while the laboratory-frame one falls below it: moving with the thickness separates the jitter from the profile shape underneath. This is conditional evidence for that shape, not a parameter-free or universal validation of laminar boundary-layer theory. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 4. Q. Zhou et al. (2010). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

Moving with a fluctuating boundary-layer thickness reveals a more stable underlying profile shape.

Research context

Shishkina et al. (2010) provides the PB thickness-ratio and resolution framework and cites this work in at-press form as profile evidence. The present profile collapse does not directly validate its node-count criteria. Horizontal structures of velocity and temperature boundary layers in… examines horizontal nonuniformity in related 2D boundary layers ; comparisons need to account for the related numerical methods, sampling definitions, and possible overlap in simulation evidence.

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