arXiv subjects

Prafulla P. Shevkar

Publications and source records attributed to Prafulla P. Shevkar.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Lagrangian particles and particle clusters in large-aspect-ratio turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection experiment

We perform Lagrangian particle-tracking experiments in turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection at aspect ratio Gamma = 10, Rayleigh number Ra = 9.3 x 10^7, and Prandtl number Pr = 4.8. Approximately 50,000 neutrally buoyant particles are tracked for durations of up to 150 Kolmogorov times. The resulting trajectories are sufficiently long to capture the mean-square displacement of single particles from the short-time ballistic regime to the long-time diffusive regime. We further analyse Lagrangian velocity structure functions and particle-pair dispersion, both of which exhibit scaling behavior consistent with theoretical expectations in their respective temporal regimes. In the Richardson-like regime, the pair-dispersion exponent exceeds 3, most clearly in the lateral direction. Multi-particle statistics are investigated by analysing particle clouds with initial radii of approximately 8 and 20 Kolmogorov lengths using principal component analysis. The clouds spread more strongly in the lateral directions than in the vertical direction and deform from initially spherical shapes into oblate ellipsoids within approximately 10 Kolmogorov times, revealing pronounced anisotropic dispersion. The dynamics is identified from the particle-connectivity network through a spectral analysis of the graph Laplacian followed by k-means clustering. Furthermore, we examine the probability density functions of all three acceleration components and assess the statistical convergence of their second and fourth moments. The lateral acceleration components are more intermittent than the vertical component, as indicated by their heavier tails. Acceleration statistics conditioned on the bulk region are slightly less intermittent than those obtained over the full measurement volume, which we attribute to the highly intermittent plume-ejection and plume-aggregation events occurring near the walls.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Three-dimensional velocity gradient statistics in a mesoscale convection laboratory experiment

We present three-dimensional velocity gradient statistics from Rayleigh--B\'enard convection experiments in a horizontally extended cell of aspect ratio 25, a paradigm for mesoscale convection. The Rayleigh number $Ra$ ranges from $3.7 \times 10^5$ to $4.8 \times 10^6$, and the Prandtl number $Pr$ from 5 to 7.1. Spatio-temporally resolved volumetric data are reconstructed from moderately dense Lagrangian particle tracking measurements. All nine components of the velocity gradient tensor from the experiments show good agreement with those from direct numerical simulations, both conducted at $Ra = 1 \times 10^6$ and $Pr = 6.6$. The focus of our analysis is on non-Gaussian velocity gradient statistics. Specifically, we examine the probability density functions (PDFs) of components of the velocity gradient tensor, vorticity components, kinetic energy dissipation, and local enstrophy at different heights in the bottom half of the cell. The probability of high-amplitude derivatives increases from the bulk to the bottom plate. A similar trend is observed with increasing $Ra$ at fixed height. Both indicate enhanced small-scale intermittency of the velocity field. Furthermore, doubly-logarithmic plots of the PDFs of normalized energy dissipation and local enstrophy at all heights show that the left tails follow slopes of $3/2$ and $1/2$, respectively, in agreement with numerical results. In general, the left tails of the dissipation and local enstrophy distributions show higher probability values with increasing proximity towards the plate, compared to those in the bulk.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Flux scaling in Rayleigh B\'enard convection: a local boundary layer analysis

We study the effect of shear due to the large scale flow (LSF) on the heat flux in Rayleigh B'enard convection for a range of near-plate Rayleigh numbers $8\times 10^7 \leq Ra_w \leq 5\times 10^{14}$, by studying its effect on the local boundary layers (BLs) on either sides of the plumes, which are much thinner than the global shear BL created by the LSF velocity $V_F$. Considering these local BLs forced externally by the LSF, we obtain a fifth order algebraic equation for the local boundary layer thicknesses. Solving these equations numerically using $Re$ relations for aspect ratios $\Gamma=1$ and 0.5, we obtain the variation of the local BL thicknesses with the longitudinal distance for various $Ra_w$. We find that the average shear acting on the edges of these local BLs ($\overline{u|}_{z=\delta}$) increases as $\overline{u|}_{z=\delta} \sim Ra_w^{1/3}$ for $8\times 10^7\leq Ra_w \leq 10^{12}$ at $\Gamma=1$, and as $\overline{u|}_{z=\delta} \sim Ra_w^{0.38}$ for $1\times 10^{11}\leq Ra_w \leq 5\times 10^{14}$ at $\Gamma=0.5$. We then estimate the average local thermal BL thickness to find the global Nusselt number $Nu$.We find that $Nu\sim Ra_w^m$, where $m\approx 0.327$ for $8\times 10^7 \leq Ra_w \leq 1\times 10^{12}$ at $\Gamma=1$, and $m=0.33$ for $1\times10^{11}\leq Ra_w \leq 5\times10^{14}$ at $\Gamma=0.5$. Inspite of the increasing shear on these BLs with increasing $Ra_w$, we then surprisingly obtain the classical 1/3 scaling of flux since the shear forcing acting on those BLs remains sub-dominant compared to the NCBL velocities ($V_{bl}$) within these BLs, upto $Ra_w\leq 5\times10^{14}$.

physics.flu-dyn↗