Measurement of the turbulent heat fluxes in mixed convection using combined stereoscopic PIV and PIT

Abstract

Abstract The results of simultaneous measurements of velocity and temperature fields in a turbulent mixed convection airflow are analyzed and discussed. To access local temperature and velocity fields in airflows, we present a combination of stereoscopic particle image velocimetry and particle image thermometry. The obtained flow fields make it possible to determine the local convective heat fluxes, thus giving insight into the dynamics of plumes and Taylor–Görtler-like vortices. The evaluated mean local heat fluxes further reveal that the main convection roll transports a substantial amount of heat along the cooling plate and back to the heated bottom plate. Yet, the associated mean turbulent heat fluxes remain positive as they are dominated by the correlation of the temperature and the vertical velocity component. More specifically, a statistical analysis of the local heat flux distribution reveals that Taylor–Görtler-like vortices lead to more skewed distributions of the turbulent convective heat fluxes than plumes. Graphical abstract