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This content will become publicly available on November 25, 2025

Title: Turbulent convection in emulsions: the Rayleigh–Bénard configuration
This study explores heat and turbulent modulation in three-dimensional multiphase Rayleigh–Bénard convection using direct numerical simulations. Two immiscible fluids with identical reference density undergo systematic variations in dispersed-phase volume fractions,$$0.0 \leq \varPhi \leq 0.5$$, and ratios of dynamic viscosity,$$\lambda _{\mu }$$, and thermal diffusivity,$$\lambda _{\alpha }$$, within the range$$[0.1\unicode{x2013}10]$$. The Rayleigh, Prandtl, Weber and Froude numbers are held constant at$$10^8$$,$$4$$,$$6000$$and$$1$$, respectively. Initially, when both fluids share the same properties, a 10 % Nusselt number increase is observed at the highest volume fractions. In this case, despite a reduction in turbulent kinetic energy, droplets enhance energy transfer to smaller scales, smaller than those of single-phase flow, promoting local mixing. By varying viscosity ratios, while maintaining a constant Rayleigh number based on the average mixture properties, the global heat transfer rises by approximately 25 % at$$\varPhi =0.2$$and$$\lambda _{\mu }=10$$. This is attributed to increased small-scale mixing and turbulence in the less viscous carrier phase. In addition, a dispersed phase with higher thermal diffusivity results in a 50 % reduction in the Nusselt number compared with the single-phase counterpart, owing to faster heat conduction and reduced droplet presence near walls. The study also addresses droplet-size distributions, confirming two distinct ranges dominated by coalescence and breakup with different scaling laws.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1854376
PAR ID:
10585731
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Cambridge University Press
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Volume:
999
ISSN:
0022-1120
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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