ENGINEERING AND CFD

Many wall-bounded flows in nature and technology are affected by the surface roughness of the wall. In some cases, this has adverse effects, e.g. drag increase leading to higher fuel costs; in others, it is beneficial for mixing enhancement or transfer properties. Computationally, it is notoriously difficult to simulate these flows because of the vast separation of scales in highly turbulent flows and the challenges involved in handling complex geometries. The studies are carried out in two paradigmatic and complementary systems in turbulence research, Taylor-Couette and Rayleigh-Bénard flow.

The characteristic patterns seen on the solar surface, on gas giants, in Earth's atmosphere and oceans, and many other geo- and astrophysical settings originate from turbulent convection dynamics flows driven by a density difference caused by, for instance, a temperature gradient. Convection in itself is inherently complex, but often it is the interaction with other forces, such as the Coriolis and Lorentz force due to rotation and magnetic fields, that determines the actual shape and behaviour of the flow structures. Understanding these convective patterns is often essentially tantamount to understanding the underlying physics at play. In this project, surveys through the huge parameter space are conducted, to not only categorise flow…