Temperature spectra in shear flow and thermal convection

We show that the P_u(\om) \propto \om^{-7/3} shear velocity power spectrum gives rise to a P_\Theta (\om ) \propto \om^{-4/3} power spectrum for a passively advected scalar, as measured in experiment [K. Sreenivasan, Proc. R. Soc. London A {\bf 434}, 165 (1991)]. Applying our argument to high Rayleigh number Rayleigh Benard flow, we can account for the measured scaling exponents equally well as the Bolgiano Obukhov theory (BO59). Yet, of the two explanations, only the shear approach might be able to explain why no classical scaling range is seen in between the shear (or BO59) range and the viscous subrange of the experimental temperature spectrum [I. Procaccia {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 44}, 8091 (1991)].Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, 1 tabl

Ontological Investigations of a Pragmatic Kind? A Reply to Lauer

This paper is a reply to Richard Lauer’s “Is Social Ontology Prior to Social Scientific Methodology?” (2019) and an attempt to contribute to the meta-social ontological discourse more broadly. In the first part, I will give a rough sketch of Lauer’s general project and confront his pragmatist approach with a fundamental problem. The second part of my reply will provide a solution for this problem rooted in a philosophy of the social sciences in practice

Flow organization in non-Oberbeck-Boussinesq Rayleigh-Benard convection in water

Non-Oberbeck-Boussinesq (NOB) effects on the flow organization in two-dimensional Rayleigh-Benard turbulence are numerically analyzed. The working fluid is water. We focus on the temperature profiles, the center temperature, the Nusselt number, and on the analysis of the velocity field. Several velocity amplitudes (or Reynolds numbers) and several kinetic profiles are introduced and studied; these together describe the various features of the rather complex flow organization. The results are presented both as functions of the Rayleigh number Ra (with Ra up to 10^8) for fixed temperature difference (Delta) between top and bottom plates and as functions of Delta ("non-Oberbeck-Boussinesqness") for fixed Ra with Delta up to 60 K. All results are consistent with the available experimental NOB data for the center temperature Tc and the Nusselt number ratio Nu_{NOB}/Nu_{OB} (the label OB meaning that the Oberbeck-Boussinesq conditions are valid). Beyond Ra ~ 10^6 the flow consists of a large diagonal center convection roll and two smaller rolls in the upper and lower corners. In the NOB case the center convection roll is still characterized by only one velocity scale.Comment: 31 pages, 22 figure

Switching in heteroclinic networks

We study the dynamics near heteroclinic networks for which all eigenvalues of the linearization at the equilibria are real. A common connection and an assumption on the geometry of its incoming and outgoing directions exclude even the weakest forms of switching (i.e. along this connection). The form of the global transition maps, and thus the type of the heteroclinic cycle, plays a crucial role in this. We look at two examples in $\mathbb{R}^5$, the House and Bowtie networks, to illustrate complex dynamics that may occur when either of these conditions is broken. For the House network, there is switching along the common connection, while for the Bowtie network we find switching along a cycle

Scaling in thermal convection: A unifying theory

A systematic theory for the scaling of the Nusselt number $Nu$ and of the Reynolds number $Re$ in strong Rayleigh-Benard convection is suggested and shown to be compatible with recent experiments. It assumes a coherent large scale convection roll (``wind of turbulence'') and is based on the dynamical equations both in the bulk and in the boundary layers. Several regimes are identified in the Rayleigh number versus Prandtl number phase space, defined by whether the boundary layer or the bulk dominates the global kinetic and thermal dissipation, respectively. The crossover between the regimes is calculated. In the regime which has most frequently been studied in experiment (Ra smaller than 10^{11}) the leading terms are $Nu\sim Ra^{1/4}Pr^{1/8}$, $Re \sim Ra^{1/2} Pr^{-3/4}$ for $Pr < 1$ and $Nu\sim Ra^{1/4}Pr^{-1/12}$, $Re \sim Ra^{1/2} Pr^{-5/6}$ for $Pr > 1$. In most measurements these laws are modified by additive corrections from the neighboring regimes so that the impression of a slightly larger (effective) Nu vs Ra scaling exponent can arise. -- The presented theory is best summarized in the phase diagram figure 1.Comment: 30 pages, latex, 7 figures, under review at Journal of Fluid Mec

On geometry effects in Rayleigh-Benard convection

Various recent experiments hint at a geometry dependence of scaling relations in Rayleigh-B\'enard convection. Aspect ratio and shape dependences have been found. In this paper a mechanism is offered which can account for such dependences. It is based on Prandtl's theory for laminar boundary layers and on the conservation of volume flux of the large scale wind. The mechanism implies the possibility of different thicknesses of the kinetic boundary layers at the sidewalls and the top/bottom plates, just as experimentally found by Qiu and Xia (Phys. Rev. E58, 486 (1998)), and also different $Ra$-scaling of the wind measured over the plates and at the sidewalls. In the second part of the paper a scaling argument for the velocity and temperature fluctuations in the bulk is developeVarious recent experiments hint at a geometry dependence of scaling relations in Rayleigh-Benard convection. Aspect ratio and shape dependences have been found. In this paper a mechanism is offered which can account for such dependences. It is based on Prandtl's theory for laminar boundary layers and on the conservation of volume flux of the large scale wind. The mechanism implies the possibility of different thicknesses of the kinetic boundary layers at the sidewalls and the top/bottom plates, just as experimentally found by Qiu and Xia (Phys. Rev. E58, 486 (1998)), and also different $Ra$-scaling of the wind measured over the plates and at the sidewalls. In the second part of the paper a scaling argument for the velocity and temperature fluctuations in the bulk is developeComment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Scale resolved intermittency in turbulence

The deviations $\delta\zeta_m$ ("intermittency corrections") from classical ("K41") scaling $\zeta_m=m/3$ of the $m^{th}$ moments of the velocity differences in high Reynolds number turbulence are calculated, extending a method to approximately solve the Navier-Stokes equation described earlier. We suggest to introduce the notion of scale resolved intermittency corrections $\delta\zeta_m(p)$, because we find that these $\delta\zeta_m(p)$ are large in the viscous subrange, moderate in the nonuniversal stirring subrange but, surprisingly, extremely small if not zero in the inertial subrange. If ISR intermittency corrections persisted in experiment up to the large Reynolds number limit, our calculation would show, that this could be due to the opening of phase space for larger wave vectors. In the higher order velocity moment $\langle|u(p)|^m\rangle$ the crossover between inertial and viscous subrange is $(10\eta m/2)^{-1}$, thus the inertial subrange is {\it smaller} for higher moments.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 2 tables, 7 figure