Abstract
High-precision measurements of the Nusselt number Nu for Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) convection have been made in rectangular cells of water (Prandtl number Pr ≈ 5 and 7) with aspect ratios (Γ x ,Γ y ) varying between (1, 0.3) and (20.8, 6.3). For each cell the data cover a range of a little over a decade of Rayleigh number Ra and for all cells they jointly span the range 6×105 < Ra<1011. The two implicit equations of the Grossmann-Lohse (GL) model together with the empirical finite conductivity correction factor f(X) were fitted to obtain estimates of Nu ∞ in the presence of perfectly conducting plates, and the obtained Nu ∞ is independent of the cells’ aspect ratios. A combination of two-power-law, Nu ∞ = 0.025Ra 0.357+0.525Ra 0.168, can be used to describe Nu ∞(Ra). The fitted exponents 0.357 and 0.168 are respectively close to the predictions 1/3 and 1/5 of the II u and IV u regimes of the GL model. Furthermore, a clear transition from the II u regime to the IV u regime with increasing Ra is revealed.
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Zhou, Q., Lu, H., Liu, B. et al. Measurements of heat transport by turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection in rectangular cells of widely varying aspect ratios. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 56, 989–994 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-013-5063-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-013-5063-z