Transient Convective Spin-up Dynamics

Abstract

We study the formation, longevity and breakdown of convective rings during impulsive spin-up in square and cylindrical containers using direct numerical simulations. The rings, which are axisymmetric alternating regions of up- and down-welling flow that can last for O (100) rotation times, were first demonstrated experimentally and arise due to a balance between Coriolis and viscous effects. We study the formation of these rings in the context of the Greenspan-Howard spin-up process, the disruption of which modifies ring formation and evolution. We show that, unless imprinted by boundary geometry, convective rings can only form when the surface providing buoyancy forcing is a free-slip surface, thereby explaining an apparent disagreement between experimental results in the literature. For Prandtl numbers from 1--5 we find that the longest-lived rings occur for intermediate Prandtl numbers, with a Rossby number dependence. Finally, we find that the constant evaporative heat-flux conditions imposed in the experiments are essential in sustaining the rings and in maintaining the vortices that form in consequence of the ring breakdown.