NUMERICAL STUDY OF MULTILAYERED FLOW REGIME IN DOUBLE-DIFFUSIVE CONVECTION IN A ROTATING ANNULUS WITH LATERAL HEATING

Numerical investigations are conducted to study the multilayered flow regime occurring in double-diffusive convection of an initially stably stratified salt-water solution in a uniformly rotating annulus with lateral heating. The finite difference method is used to solve the basic conservation equations for an axisymmetric, unsteady, rotating double-diffusive convection, and calculations are made for Ra η = 2×10 5 , N = 9.1, and Ta = 0, 10 7 -2.5 × 10 8 . Formation of layered flow structure, merging process of layers, corresponding temperature and concentration distributions, and Nusselt number (Nu) variation with time are examined. Numerical results show clearly the variation of azimuthal and radial velocity because of rotation within a shallow layer, which would be very difficult to measure experimentally. As the effect of rotation increases (Taylor number (Ta) increases), compared with the stationary case, the generation of rolls at the hot wall, the development and formation of layers, and the merging of adjacent layers are all delayed. The temperature profile within a layer looks similar to an inverse S shape, and the concentration profile is uniform because of the convective mixing