Stratified spin-up experiments in enclosed cylinders have reported the
presence of small pockets of well-mixed fluids but quantitative measurements of
the mixedness of the fluid has been lacking. Previous numerical simulations
have not addressed these measurements. Here we present numerical simulations
that address how the combined effect of spin-up and thermal boundary conditions
enhances or hinders mixing of a fluid in a cylinder. Measurements of efficiency
of mixing are based on the variance of temperature and explained in terms of
the potential energy available. The numerical simulations of the Navier--Stokes
equations for the problem with different sets of thermal boundary conditions at
the horizontal walls helped shed some light on the physical mechanisms of
mixing, for which a clear explanation was lacking.Comment: Submitted to Physics of Fluids, 9 figure