Stability and transition of natural convection boundary layers

Summary

This ongoing project is developing analytic and semi-analytic methods and using direct numerical simulation to further develop our understanding of the fundamental behaviour of the transition.

Supervisor(s)

Professor Steven Armfield

Research Location

Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

Program Type

N/A

Synopsis

Natural convection boundary layers occur in all heat transfer devices and in many other industrial and environmental settings. The effective heat transfer is strongly dependent on the state of the boundary layer, although currently little is known about the mechanism whereby natural convection boundary layers undergo transition. As devices that utilize natural convection heat transfer are passive, they will often be operating in the transition regime, and thus development of efficient devices requires the accurate prediction of the state of the boundary layer.

Keywords

stability, natural convection, boundary layer, transition, turbulence, Computational Fluid Dynamics, direct numerical simulation

Opportunity ID

The opportunity ID for this research opportunity is: 402

Other opportunities with Professor Steven Armfield

• Purging of density stabilised saline river ponds by freshwater overflows