Mixed convection in turbulent channels with unstable stratification

Abstract

We study turbulent flows in pressure-driven planar channels with imposed unstable thermal stratification, using direct numerical simulations in a wide range of Reynolds and Rayleigh numbers and reaching flow conditions which are representative of fully developed turbulence. The combined effect of forced and free convection produces a peculiar pattern of quasi-streamwise rollers occupying the full channel thickness, with aspect ratio considerably higher than unity; it has been observed that they have an important redistributing effect on temperature and momentum, providing for a substantial fraction of the heat and momentum flux at bulk Richardson numbers larger than$0.01$. The mean values and the variances of the flow variables do not appear to follow Prandtl’s scaling in the free-convection regime, except for the temperature and vertical velocity fluctuations, which are more directly affected by wall-attached turbulent plumes. We find that the Monin–Obukhov theory nevertheless yields a useful representation of the main flow features. In particular, the widely used Businger–Dyer flux-profile relationships are found to provide a convenient way of approximately accounting for the bulk effects of friction and buoyancy, although the individual profiles may have wide scatter from the alleged trends. Significant deviations are found in direct numerical simulations with respect to the commonly used parametrization of the momentum flux in the light-wind regime, which may have important practical impact in wall models of atmospheric dynamics. Finally, for modelling purposes, we devise a set of empirical predictive formulae for the heat flux and friction coefficients, which are within approximately$10\,\%$standard deviation from the numerical results in a wide range of flow parameters.