论文标题
无剪切对流湍流中的大规模循环:平均场模拟
Large-scale circulations in a shear-free convective turbulence: Mean-field simulations
论文作者
论文摘要
先前已经显示出(物理学Rev. E 66,066305,2002)表明,具有不均匀大规模流量的非旋转湍流对流有助于湍流通量。结果,湍流通量不仅明确取决于大规模温度的梯度,而且还取决于大规模速度的梯度。这是因为非均匀的大规模流量会产生各向异性速度的波动,从而改变了湍流通量。这种效果引起对流风的不稳定性,并形成大规模的半组织相干结构(大规模对流细胞)。我们进行无剪切对流的平均场数值模拟,考虑到不均匀的大规模流量对湍流通量的修饰。在湍流对流中,不均匀大规模动作对湍流通量的重新分布在形成大型半大规模相干结构的形成中起着至关重要的作用。这种作用导致临界有效瑞利数量的大幅度降低(基于涡流粘度和湍流温度扩散率),形成了大型对流细胞。当对流层的高度与积分湍流尺度之间的比例分离比很大时,对流的不稳定性会激发。饱和时平均动能的水平随尺度的分离比增加。在大规模的对流电池内,有一些局部区域具有潜在温度的正垂直梯度,这意味着这些区域稳定地分层。
It has been previously shown (Phys. Rev. E 66, 066305, 2002) that a non-rotating turbulent convection with nonuniform large-scale flows contributes to the turbulent heat flux. As a result, the turbulent heat flux depends explicitly not only on the gradients of the large-scale temperature, but it also depends on the gradients of the large-scale velocity. This is because the nonuniform large-scale flows produce anisotropic velocity fluctuations which modify the turbulent heat flux. This effect causes an excitation of a convective-wind instability and formation of large-scale semi-organised coherent structures (large-scale convective cells). We perform mean-field numerical simulations of shear-free convection which take into account the modification of the turbulent heat flux by nonuniform large-scale flows. The redistribution of the turbulent heat flux by the nonuniform large-scale motions in turbulent convection plays a crucial role in the formation of the large-scale semi-organised coherent structures. This effect results in a strong reduction of the critical effective Rayleigh number (based on the eddy viscosity and turbulent temperature diffusivity) required for the formation of the large-scale convective cells. The convective-wind instability is excited when the scale separation ratio between the height of the convective layer and the integral turbulence scale is large. The level of the mean kinetic energy at saturation increases with the scale separation ratio. Inside the large-scale convective cells, there are local regions with the positive vertical gradient of the potential temperature which implies that these regions are stably stratified.