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Disentangle plume-induced anisotropy in the velocity field in buoyancy-driven turbulence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2011

Quan Zhou  and
Ke-Qing Xia
Quan Zhou
Affiliation:
Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, China Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy and Environment Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, China Modern Mechanics Division, E-Institutes of Shanghai Universities, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, China
Ke-Qing Xia*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
*
†Email address for correspondence: kxia@phy.cuhk.edu.hk
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Abstract

We present a method of disentangling the anisotropies produced by the cliff structures in a turbulent velocity field. These cliff structures induce asymmetry in the velocity increments, which leads us to consider the plus and minus velocity structure functions (VSFs). We test the method in the system of turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard (RB) convection. It is found that in the RB system, the cliff structures in the velocity field are generated by thermal plumes. The plus velocity increments exclude cliff structures, while the minus ones include them. Our results show that the scaling exponents of the plus VSFs are in excellent agreement with those predicted for homogeneous and isotropic turbulence (HIT), whereas those of the minus VSFs exhibit significant deviations from HIT expectations in places where thermal plumes abound. These results demonstrate that plus and minus VSFs can be used to quantitatively study the effect of cliff structures in the velocity field and to effectively disentangle the associated anisotropies caused by these structures.

JFM classification

Convection: Plumes/thermals Turbulent Flows: Turbulent Flows
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 684 , 10 October 2011 , pp. 192 - 203
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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