Models of rotating compressible convection
Final Report Abstract
Most geodynamo models treat the core as an incompressible medium, even though the density of the core varies by 20% from the inner core to the core mantle boundary. This project intended to determine the effect of the finite compressibility on convection by means of numerical computations. A direct numerical simulation of Earth’s core with realistic parameters is not feasible. This project attempted instead to reproduce a laboratory experiment in which a temperature gradient is applied to a gas filled cell mounted on a centrifuge to drive convection within the cell. The experiment was operated in Lyon. The simulations could show under which conditions one has to expect a transition from two to three dimensional flows, that the anelastic approximation (which is frequently invoked to filter out sound waves) is not applicable near the onset of convection in this system, and they showed how the heat flow varies as a function of the control parameters.
Publications
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Transition to three-dimensional flow in thermal convection with spanwise rotation. Physical Review Fluids, 7(6).
Lüdemann, K. & Tilgner, A.
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Thermal convection in compressible gas with spanwise rotation. Physical Review Fluids, 8(10).
Lüdemann, K. & Tilgner, A.
