TROCONVEX
Turbulent rotating convection to the extreme
TROCONVEX is a classical cylindrical rotating Rayleigh-Bénard experiment, but with extreme dimensions to reach extreme values for the dimensionless governing parameters!
- Constant diameter 0.4 m.
- Modular height: up to four cylinder sections can be combined, height varies between 0.8 and 4 m. Tallest dedicated convection setup in the world!
- Water as working fluid, about 500 L of it for the tallest configuration.
- Rayleigh numbers up to O(1012), Ekman numbers down to O(10-8).
- Fitted with temperature probes and active insulation to facilitate heat transfer measurements.
- Can also use a transparent cylinder section equipped for optical flow measurements (stereo-PIV, PTV).
Fun with shaving cream to visualize turbulent rotating convection!
Papers discussing the design constraints, technical realization, and data generation and processing:
- J.S. Cheng, J.M. Aurnou, K. Julien & R.P.J. Kunnen. A heuristic framework for next-generation models of geostrophic convective turbulence. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 112, 277-300, 2018.
- J.S. Cheng, M. Madonia, A.J. Aguirre Guzmán & R.P.J. Kunnen. Laboratory exploration of heat transfer regimes in rapidly rotating turbulent convection. Phys. Rev. Fluids 5, 113501, 2020.
- M. Madonia, A.J. Aguirre Guzmán, H.J.H. Clercx & R.P.J. Kunnen. Velocimetry in rapidly rotating convection: Spatial correlations, flow structures and length scales. EPL 135, 54002, 2021.
Other papers where this setup is used:
- X.M. de Wit, A.J. Aguirre Guzmán, M. Madonia, J.S. Cheng, H.J.H. Clercx & R.P.J. Kunnen. Turbulent rotating convection confined in a slender cylinder: the sidewall circulation. Phys. Rev. Fluids 5, 023502, 2020.
- M. Madonia, A.J. Aguirre Guzmán, H.J.H. Clercx & R.P.J. Kunnen. Reynolds number scaling and energy spectra in geostrophic convection. J. Fluid Mech. 962, A36, 2023.
- H.M. Clercx & R.P.J. Kunnen. Experiments on rapidly rotating convection: The role of the Prandtl number. Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 123503, 2025.
Contact
r.p.j.kunnen@tue.nl
Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Cascade 2.13