Richard J.A.M. Stevens

Physics of Fluids · University of Twente

Publication 1 · Thermal convection

Transitions between turbulent states in rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection

R.J.A.M. Stevens, J.Q. Zhong, H.J.H. Clercx, G. Ahlers, D. Lohse, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 024503 (2009).

Main finding

The paper establishes regime-dependent, sometimes staged changes in heat transfer and flow diagnostics near 1/Ro=O(0.4) in the tested cells. It supports but does not uniquely prove the three-stage Ekman-pumping mechanism or a universal supercritical bifurcation.

Heat transport ratio against inverse Rossby number with a boundary layer inset
How to read the figure. Nusselt number under rotation, normalised by its non-rotating value, against the inverse Rossby number, with the boundary-layer behaviour inset. The heat transport changes near an inverse Rossby number of about 0.4, and in stages rather than smoothly. Figure 3 gives the flow-side diagnostic, the root-mean-square vertical velocity, over the same range. The staged behaviour is consistent with a three-stage Ekman pumping picture without proving it uniquely. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 2. R.J.A.M. Stevens et al. (2009). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

Rotation can reorganize turbulence and abruptly change heat transport.

Research context

The broader parameter map supplies the experiment–simulation context for the staged transition near inverse Rossby number 0.4. Subsequent boundary-layer, Prandtl-number, finite-size, aspect-ratio, and flow-topology studies separate the diagnostics that this Letter brings together.

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