Richard J.A.M. Stevens

Professor at the University of Twente

Wind energy · Turbulence · Environmental flows

Publication 2 · Thermal convection

Prandtl-, Rayleigh-, and Rossby-Number dependence of heat transport in turbulent rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection

J.Q. Zhong, R.J.A.M. Stevens, H.J.H. Clercx, R. Verzicco, D. Lohse, G. Ahlers, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 044502 (2009).

Read the article Open-access version (university repository)

Main finding

Modest rotation can enhance heat transport by up to about 30% in selected high-Pr, moderate-Ra cylindrical cases.

Heat transport ratio against Rossby number for five Rayleigh and Prandtl number combinations
How to read the figure. Nusselt number under rotation, normalised by its non-rotating value, against the Rossby number on logarithmic axes, for five combinations of Rayleigh and Prandtl number from experiment and simulation. At high Prandtl number modest rotation raises the heat transport by as much as 30%; at Pr = 0.7 there is no enhancement at all and rotation only suppresses it. Whether rotation helps or hinders depends on the fluid, not only on the rotation rate. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 3. J.Q. Zhong et al. (2009). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

Rotation-induced heat-transfer enhancement depends jointly on Rayleigh, Prandtl, and Rossby number rather than on rotation rate alone.

Research context

The Letter anchors the companion Prandtl-, Rayleigh-, and Rossby-number dependence of heat transport in… and is extended by Boundary layers in rotating weakly turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (read the finding), later flow-state work, and Heat transport and flow structure in rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection (read the finding).

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