Onset of plane layer magnetoconvection at low Ekman number

Aujogue, Kelig and Potherat, Alban and Sreenivasan, Binod (2015) Onset of plane layer magnetoconvection at low Ekman number. In: PHYSICS OF FLUIDS, 27 (10).

PDF Phy_Flu_27-10_106602_2015.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (2MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

We study the onset of magnetoconvection between two infinite horizontal planes subject to a vertical magnetic field aligned with background rotation. In order to gain insight into the convection taking place in the Earth's tangent cylinder, we target regimes of asymptotically strong rotation. The critical Rayleigh number Ra-c and critical wavenumber a(c) are computed numerically by solving the linear stability problem in a systematic way, with either stress-free or no-slip kinematic boundary conditions. A parametric study is conducted, varying the Ekman number E (ratio of viscous to Coriolis forces) and the Elsasser number. (ratio of the Lorentz force to the Coriolis force). E is varied from 10(-9) to 10(-2) and. from 10(-3) to 1. For a wide range of thermal and magnetic Prandtl numbers, our results verify and confirm previous experimental and theoretical results showing the existence of two distinct unstable modes at low values of E-one being controlled by the magnetic field, the other being controlled by viscosity (often called the viscous mode). It is shown that oscillatory onset does not occur in the range of parameters we are interested in. Asymptotic scalings for the onset of these modes are numerically confirmed and their domain of validity is precisely quantified. We show that with no-slip boundary conditions, the asymptotic behavior is reached for E < 10(-6) and establish a map in the (E, Lambda) plane. We distinguish regions where convection sets in either through the magnetic mode or through the viscous mode. Our analysis gives the regime in which the transition between magnetic and viscous modes may be observed. We also show that within the asymptotic regime, the role played by the kinematic boundary conditions is minimal. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	PHYSICS OF FLUIDS
Publisher:	AMER INST PHYSICS
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the AMER INST PHYSICS, 1305 WALT WHITMAN RD, STE 300, MELVILLE, NY 11747-4501 USA
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Earth Sciences
Date Deposited:	10 Dec 2015 06:10
Last Modified:	10 Dec 2015 06:10
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/52889

Actions (login required)

View Item