Stressed horizontal convection

We consider the problem of a Boussinesq fluid forced by applying both non-uniform temperature and stress at the top surface. On the other boundaries the conditions are thermally insulating and either no-slip or stress-free. The interesting case is when the direction of the steady applied surface str...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fluid mechanics 2012-02, Vol.692, p.317-331
Main Authors: Hazewinkel, J., Paparella, F., Young, W. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boundaries
Boundary layer
Buoyancy
Circulation
Computational fluid dynamics
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Fluid flow
Fluid mechanics
Fluids
Horizontal
Ocean circulation
Physics of the oceans
Stresses
Thermohaline structure and circulation. Turbulence and diffusion
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Summary:We consider the problem of a Boussinesq fluid forced by applying both non-uniform temperature and stress at the top surface. On the other boundaries the conditions are thermally insulating and either no-slip or stress-free. The interesting case is when the direction of the steady applied surface stress opposes the sense of the buoyancy driven flow. We obtain two-dimensional numerical solutions showing a regime in which there is an upper cell with thermally indirect circulation (buoyant fluid is pushed downwards by the applied stress and heavy fluid is elevated), and a second deep cell with thermally direct circulation. In this two-cell regime the driving mechanisms are competitive in the sense that neither dominates the flow. A scaling argument shows that this balance requires that surface stress vary as the horizontal Rayleigh number to the three-fifths power.
ISSN:0022-1120
1469-7645
DOI:10.1017/jfm.2011.514