arXiv subjects

Laurette S. Tuckerman

Publications and source records attributed to Laurette S. Tuckerman.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Prediction of frequencies in thermosolutal convection from mean flows

Motivated by studies of the cylinder wake, in which the vortex-shedding frequency can be obtained from the mean flow, we study thermosolutal convection driven by opposing thermal and solutal gradients. In the archetypal two-dimensional geometry with horizontally periodic and vertical no-slip boundary conditions, branches of traveling waves and standing waves are created simultaneously by a Hopf bifurcation. Consistent with similar analyses performed on the cylinder wake, we find that the traveling waves of thermosolutal convection have the RZIF property, meaning that linearization about the mean fields of the traveling waves yields an eigenvalue whose real part is almost zero and whose imaginary part corresponds very closely to the nonlinear frequency. In marked contrast, linearization about the mean field of the standing waves yields neither zero growth nor the nonlinear frequency. It is shown that this difference can be attributed to the fact that the temporal power spectrum for the traveling waves is peaked, while that of the standing waves is broad. We give a general demonstration that the frequency of any quasi-monochromatic oscillation can be predicted from its temporal mean.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2015

Turbulent-laminar patterns in plane Poiseuille flow

Turbulent-laminar banded patterns in plane Poiseuille flow are studied via direct numerical simulations in a tilted and translating computational domain using a parallel version of the pseudospectral code Channelflow. 3D visualizations via the streamwise vorticity of an instantaneous and a time-averaged pattern are presented, as well as 2D visualizations of the average velocity field and the turbulent kinetic energy. Simulations for Reynolds numbers descending from 2300 to 700 show the gradual development from uniform turbulence to a pattern with wavelength 20 half-gaps near Re=1900, to a pattern with wavelength 40 near Re=1300 and finally to laminar flow near Re=800. These transitions are tracked quantitatively via diagnostics using the amplitude and phase of the Fourier transform and its probability distribution. The propagation velocity of the pattern is approximately that of the mean flux and is a decreasing function of Reynolds number. Examination of the time-averaged flow shows that a turbulent band is associated with two counter-rotating cells stacked in the cross-channel direction and that the turbulence is highly concentrated near the walls. Near the walls, the Reynolds stress force accelerates the fluid through a turbulent band while viscosity decelerates it; advection by the laminar profile acts in both directions. In the center, the Reynolds stress force decelerates the fluid through a turbulent band while advection by the laminar profile accelerates it. These characteristics are compared with those of turbulent-laminar banded patterns in plane Couette flow.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2012

Alternating hexagonal and striped patterns in Faraday surface waves

A direct numerical simulation of Faraday waves is carried out in a minimal hexagonal domain. Over long times, we observe the alternation of patterns we call quasi-hexagons and beaded stripes. The symmetries and spatial Fourier spectra of these patterns are analyzed.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2010

Stable Vortex-Bright Soliton Structures in Two-Component Bose Einstein Condensates

We report the numerical realization and demonstration of robustness of certain 2-component structures in Bose-Einstein Condensates in 2 and 3 spatial dimensions with non-trivial topological charge in one of the components. In particular, we identify a stable symbiotic state in which a higher-dimensional bright soliton exists even in a homogeneous setting with defocusing interactions, as a result of the effective potential created by a stable vortex in the other component. The resulting vortex-bright solitary waves, which naturally generalize the recently experimentally observed dark-bright solitons, are examined both in the homogeneous medium and in the presence of parabolic and periodic external confinement and are found to be very robust.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2010

Extreme multiplicity in cylindrical Rayleigh-Bénard convection: I. Time-dependence and oscillations

Rayleigh-Benard convection in a cylindrical container can take on many different spatial forms. Motivated by the results of Hof, Lucas and Mullin [Phys. Fluids 11, 2815 (1999)], who observed coexistence of several stable states at a single set of parameter values, we have carried out simulations at the same Prandtl number, that of water, and radius-to-height aspect ratio of two. We have used two kinds of thermal boundary conditions: perfectly insulating sidewalls and perfectly conducting sidewalls. In both cases we obtain a wide variety of coexisting steady and time-dependent flows.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2010

Extreme multiplicity in cylindrical Rayleigh-Benard convection: II. Bifurcation diagram and symmetry classification

A large number of flows with distinctive patterns have been observed in experiments and simulations of Rayleigh-Benard convection in a water-filled cylinder whose radius is twice the height. We have adapted a time-dependent pseudospectral code, first, to carry out Newton's method and branch continuation and, second, to carry out the exponential power method and Arnoldi iteration to calculate leading eigenpairs and determine the stability of the steady states. The resulting bifurcation diagram represents a compromise between the tendency in the bulk towards parallel rolls, and the requirement imposed by the boundary conditions that primary bifurcations be towards states whose azimuthal dependence is trigonometric. The diagram contains 17 branches of stable and unstable steady states. These can be classified geometrically as roll states containing two, three, and four rolls; axisymmetric patterns with one or two tori; three-fold symmetric patterns called mercedes, mitubishi, marigold and cloverleaf; trigonometric patterns called dipole and pizza; and less symmetric patterns called CO and asymmetric three-rolls. The convective branches are connected to the conductive state and to each other by 16 primary and secondary pitchfork bifurcations and turning points. In order to better understand this complicated bifurcation diagram, we have partitioned it according to azimuthal symmetry. We have been able to determine the bifurcation-theoretic origin from the conductive state of all the branches observed at high Rayleigh number.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2009

Numerical simulation of Faraday waves

We simulate numerically the full dynamics of Faraday waves in three dimensions for two incompressible and immiscible viscous fluids. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved using a finite-difference projection method coupled with a front-tracking method for the interface between the two fluids. The domain of calculation is periodic in the horizontal directions and bounded in the vertical direction by two rigid horizontal plates. The critical accelerations and wavenumbers, as well as the temporal behaviour at onset are compared with the results of the linear Floquet analysis of Kumar and Tuckerman [J. Fluid Mech. 279, 49-68 (1994)]. The finite amplitude results are compared with the experiments of Kityk et al. [Phys. Rev. E 72, 036209 (2005)]. In particular we reproduce the detailed spatiotemporal spectrum of both square and hexagonal patterns within experimental uncertainty.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2007

Standing and travelling waves in cylindrical Rayleigh-Benard convection

The Boussinesq equations for Rayleigh-Benard convection are simulated for a cylindrical container with an aspect ratio near 1.5. The transition from an axisymmetric stationary flow to time-dependent flows is studied using nonlinear simulations, linear stability analysis and bifurcation theory. At a Rayleigh number near 25,000, the axisymmetric flow becomes unstable to standing or travelling azimuthal waves. The standing waves are slightly unstable to travelling waves. This scenario is identified as a Hopf bifurcation in a system with O(2) symmetry.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2007

Poloidal-toroidal decomposition in a finite cylinder. I. Influence matrices for the magnetohydrodynamic equations

The Navier-Stokes equations and magnetohydrodynamics equations are written in terms of poloidal and toroidal potentials in a finite cylinder. This formulation insures that the velocity and magnetic fields are divergence-free by construction, but leads to systems of partial differential equations of higher order, whose boundary conditions are coupled. The influence matrix technique is used to transform these systems into decoupled parabolic and elliptic problems. The magnetic field in the induction equation is matched to that in an exterior vacuum by means of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann mapping, thus eliminating the need to discretize the exterior. The influence matrix is scaled in order to attain an acceptable condition number.

math.NA↗

arXiv2007

Mean flow of turbulent-laminar patterns in plane Couette flow

A turbulent-laminar banded pattern in plane Couette flow is studied numerically. This pattern is statistically steady, is oriented obliquely to the streamwise direction, and has a very large wavelength relative to the gap. The mean flow, averaged in time and in the homogeneous direction, is analysed. The flow in the quasi-laminar region is not the linear Couette profile, but results from a non-trivial balance between advection and diffusion. This force balance yields a first approximation to the relationship between the Reynolds number, angle, and wavelength of the pattern. Remarkably, the variation of the mean flow along the pattern wavevector is found to be almost exactly harmonic: the flow can be represented via only three cross-channel profiles as U(x,y,z) = U_0(y) + U_c(y) cos(kz) + U_s(y) sin(kz). A model is formulated which relates the cross-channel profiles of the mean flow and of the Reynolds stress. Regimes computed for a full range of angle and Reynolds number in a tilted rectangular periodic computational domain are presented. Observations of regular turbulent-laminar patterns in other shear flows -- Taylor-Couette, rotor-stator, and plane Poiseuille -- are compared.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2005

Turbulent-laminar patterns in plane Couette flow

Regular patterns of turbulent and laminar fluid motion arise in plane Couette flow near the lowest Reynolds number for which turbulence can be sustained. We study these patterns using an extension of the minimal flow unit approach to simulations of channel flows pioneered by Jimenez and Moin. In our case, computational domains are of minimal size in only two directions. The third direction is taken to be large. Furthermore, the long direction can be tilted at any prescribed angle to the streamwise direction. We report on different patterned states observed as a function of Reynolds number, imposed tilt, and length of the long direction. We compare our findings to observations in large aspect-ratio experiments.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2004

Computational Study of Turbulent-Laminar Patterns in Couette Flow

Turbulent-laminar patterns near transition are simulated in plane Couette flow using an extension of the minimal flow unit methodology. Computational domains are of minimal size in two directions but large in the third. The long direction can be tilted at any prescribed angle to the streamwise direction. Three types of patterned states are found and studied: periodic, localized, and intermittent. These correspond closely to observations in large aspect ratio experiments.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2003

Symmetry breaking and turbulence in perturbed plane Couette flow

Perturbed plane Couette flow containing a thin spanwise-oriented ribbon undergoes a subcritical bifurcation at Re = 230 to a steady 3D state containing streamwise vortices. This bifurcation is followed by several others giving rise to a fascinating series of stable and unstable steady states of different symmetries and wavelengths. First, the backwards-bifurcating branch reverses direction and becomes stable near Re = 200. Then, the spanwise reflection symmetry is broken, leading to two asymmetric branches which are themselves destabilized at Re = 420. Above this Reynolds number, time evolution leads first to a metastable state whose spanwise wavelength is halved and then to complicated time-dependent behavior. These features are in agreement with experiments.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2003

Stability analysis of perturbed plane Couette flow

Plane Couette flow perturbed by a spanwise oriented ribbon, similar to a configuration investigated experimentally at the Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, is investigated numerically using a spectral-element code. 2D steady states are computed for the perturbed configuration; these differ from the unperturbed flows mainly by a region of counter-circulation surrounding the ribbon. The 2D steady flow loses stability to 3D eigenmodes at Re = 230, beta = 1.3 for rho = 0.086 and Re = 550, beta = 1.5 for rho = 0.043, where Re is the Reynolds number, beta is the spanwise wavenumber and rho is the half-height of the ribbon. For rho = 0.086, the bifurcation is determined to be subcritical by calculating the cubic term in the normal form equation from the timeseries of a single nonlinear simulation; steady 3D flows are found for Re as low as 200. The critical eigenmode and nonlinear 3D states contain streamwise vortices localized near the ribbon, whose streamwise extent increases with Re. All of these results agree well with experimental observations.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2002

Transient growth in Taylor-Couette flow

Transient growth due to non-normality is investigated for the Taylor-Couette problem with counter-rotating cylinders as a function of aspect ratio eta and Reynolds number Re. For all Re < 500, transient growth is enhanced by curvature, i.e. is greater for eta < 1 than for eta = 1, the plane Couette limit. For fixed Re < 130 it is found that the greatest transient growth is achieved for eta between the Taylor-Couette linear stability boundary, if it exists, and one, while for Re > 130 the greatest transient growth is achieved for eta on the linear stability boundary. Transient growth is shown to be approximately 20% higher near the linear stability boundary at Re = 310, eta = 0.986 than at Re = 310, eta = 1, near the threshold observed for transition in plane Couette flow. The energy in the optimal inputs is primarily meridional; that in the optimal outputs is primarily azimuthal. Pseudospectra are calculated for two contrasting cases. For large curvature, eta = 0.5, the pseudospectra adhere more closely to the spectrum than in a narrow gap case, eta = 0.99.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2002

Thermosolutal and binary fluid convection as a 2 x 2 matrix problem

We describe an interpretation of convection in binary fluid mixtures as a superposition of thermal and solutal problems, with coupling due to advection and proportional to the separation parameter S. Many properties of binary fluid convection are then consequences of generic properties of 2 x 2 matrices. The eigenvalues of 2 x 2 matrices varying continuously with a parameter r undergo either avoided crossing or complex coalescence, depending on the sign of the coupling (product of off-diagonal terms). We first consider the matrix governing the stability of the conductive state. When the thermal and solutal gradients act in concert (S>0, avoided crossing), the growth rates of perturbations remain real and of either thermal or solutal type. In contrast, when the thermal and solutal gradients are of opposite signs (S<0, complex coalescence), the growth rates become complex and are of mixed type. Surprisingly, the kinetic energy of nonlinear steady states is governed by an eigenvalue problem very similar to that governing the growth rates. There is a quantitative analogy between the growth rates of the linear stability problem for infinite Prandtl number and the amplitudes of steady states of the minimal five-variable Veronis model for arbitrary Prandtl number. For positive S, avoided crossing leads to a distinction between low-amplitude solutal and high-amplitude thermal regimes. For negative S, the transition between real and complex eigenvalues leads to the creation of branches of finite amplitude, i.e. to saddle-node bifurcations. The codimension-two point at which the saddle-node bifurcations disappear, separating subcritical from supercritical pitchfork bifurcations, is exactly analogous to the Bogdanov codimension-two point at which the Hopf bifurcations disappear in the linear problem.

nlin.PS↗