Thermal boundary layer equation for turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

Phys Rev Lett. 2015 Mar 20;114(11):114302. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.114302. Epub 2015 Mar 20.

Abstract

We report a new thermal boundary layer equation for turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection for Prandtl number Pr>1 that takes into account the effect of turbulent fluctuations. These fluctuations are neglected in existing equations, which are based on steady-state and laminar assumptions. Using this new equation, we derive analytically the mean temperature profiles in two limits: (a) Pr≳1 and (b) Pr≫1. These two theoretical predictions are in excellent agreement with the results of our direct numerical simulations for Pr=4.38 (water) and Pr=2547.9 (glycerol), respectively.