Evolution of convective rolls to zonal flows in horizontally rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection.
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| Title: | Evolution of convective rolls to zonal flows in horizontally rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Mishra, Siddhant1 (AUTHOR), Pal, Anikesh1 (AUTHOR) pala@iitk.ac.in |
| Source: | Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 5/10/2026, Vol. 1034, p1-29. 29p. |
| Subjects: | Rayleigh-Bénard convection, Rotating fluid, Large eddy simulation models, Gas giants, Jet streams, Kinetic energy, Energy transfer |
| Abstract: | Zonal winds on Jovian planets play an important role in governing the cloud dynamics, transport of momentum, scalars and weather patterns. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the evolution of zonal flows and their sustainability. Based on studies in two-dimensional $\beta$ -plane set-ups, zonal flow is believed to be forced at the intermediate scale via baroclinic instabilities, and the inverse cascade leads to the transfer of energy to large scales. However, whether such a process exists in three-dimensional deep convection systems remains an open and challenging question. To explore a possible answer, we perform large-eddy simulations at Rayleigh and Ekman numbers in the spans $10^7 {-} 10^{12}$ and $10^{-3}{-}10^{-8}$ , respectively, corresponding to the inverse of the convective Rossby number, $1/Ro_c$ , ranging from $0.1685$ to $168.52$ , in a horizontally rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection set-up. We find the emergence of mean flow at the expense of small-scale turbulence for $1/Ro_c = 1.68522$ , $16.852$ and $168.52$. The turbulent kinetic energy budget analysis shows negative turbulent production in zonal flows, implying an energy transfer from the fluctuating velocity fields to the mean flow. We further quantify this energy transfer in spectral space using the kinetic energy spectra and the energy flux, and conclude that the energy deposited at small scales owing to the work done by buoyancy is transferred to large scales via upscale energy transfer, thus corroborating the emanation of a strong mean flow from chaos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Fluid Mechanics is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 193952162 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Evolution of convective rolls to zonal flows in horizontally rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mishra%2C+Siddhant%22">Mishra, Siddhant</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pal%2C+Anikesh%22">Pal, Anikesh</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> pala@iitk.ac.in</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Fluid+Mechanics%22">Journal of Fluid Mechanics</searchLink>. 5/10/2026, Vol. 1034, p1-29. 29p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rayleigh-Bénard+convection%22">Rayleigh-Bénard convection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rotating+fluid%22">Rotating fluid</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Large+eddy+simulation+models%22">Large eddy simulation models</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gas+giants%22">Gas giants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Jet+streams%22">Jet streams</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kinetic+energy%22">Kinetic energy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Energy+transfer%22">Energy transfer</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Zonal winds on Jovian planets play an important role in governing the cloud dynamics, transport of momentum, scalars and weather patterns. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the evolution of zonal flows and their sustainability. Based on studies in two-dimensional $\beta$ -plane set-ups, zonal flow is believed to be forced at the intermediate scale via baroclinic instabilities, and the inverse cascade leads to the transfer of energy to large scales. However, whether such a process exists in three-dimensional deep convection systems remains an open and challenging question. To explore a possible answer, we perform large-eddy simulations at Rayleigh and Ekman numbers in the spans $10^7 {-} 10^{12}$ and $10^{-3}{-}10^{-8}$ , respectively, corresponding to the inverse of the convective Rossby number, $1/Ro_c$ , ranging from $0.1685$ to $168.52$ , in a horizontally rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection set-up. We find the emergence of mean flow at the expense of small-scale turbulence for $1/Ro_c = 1.68522$ , $16.852$ and $168.52$. The turbulent kinetic energy budget analysis shows negative turbulent production in zonal flows, implying an energy transfer from the fluctuating velocity fields to the mean flow. We further quantify this energy transfer in spectral space using the kinetic energy spectra and the energy flux, and conclude that the energy deposited at small scales owing to the work done by buoyancy is transferred to large scales via upscale energy transfer, thus corroborating the emanation of a strong mean flow from chaos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Fluid Mechanics is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1017/jfm.2026.11479 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 29 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Rayleigh-Bénard convection Type: general – SubjectFull: Rotating fluid Type: general – SubjectFull: Large eddy simulation models Type: general – SubjectFull: Gas giants Type: general – SubjectFull: Jet streams Type: general – SubjectFull: Kinetic energy Type: general – SubjectFull: Energy transfer Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Evolution of convective rolls to zonal flows in horizontally rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Mishra, Siddhant – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pal, Anikesh IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 10 M: 05 Text: 5/10/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00221120 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 1034 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Fluid Mechanics Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
