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Experimental and numerical study of mean zonal flows generated by librations of a rotating spherical cavity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2010

A. SAURET ,
D. CÉBRON ,
C. MORIZE  and
M. LE BARS
A. SAURET*
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Équilibre, CNRS/Universités Aix-Marseille, 49, rue F. Joliot-Curie, BP 146, F-13384 Marseille cedex 13, France
D. CÉBRON
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Équilibre, CNRS/Universités Aix-Marseille, 49, rue F. Joliot-Curie, BP 146, F-13384 Marseille cedex 13, France
C. MORIZE
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Équilibre, CNRS/Universités Aix-Marseille, 49, rue F. Joliot-Curie, BP 146, F-13384 Marseille cedex 13, France Laboratoire FAST, UMR 7608, Bat. 502, Campus Universitaire, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
M. LE BARS
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Équilibre, CNRS/Universités Aix-Marseille, 49, rue F. Joliot-Curie, BP 146, F-13384 Marseille cedex 13, France
*
†Email address for correspondence: sauret@irphe.univ-mrs.fr
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Abstract

We study both experimentally and numerically the steady zonal flow generated by longitudinal librations of a spherical rotating container. This study follows the recent weakly nonlinear analysis of Busse (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 650, 2010, pp. 505–512), developed in the limit of small libration frequency–rotation rate ratio and large libration frequency–spin-up time product. Using particle image velocimetry measurements as well as results from axisymmetric numerical simulations, we confirm quantitatively the main features of Busse's analytical solution: the zonal flow takes the form of a retrograde solid-body rotation in the fluid interior, which does not depend on the libration frequency nor on the Ekman number, and which varies as the square of the amplitude of excitation. We also report the presence of an unpredicted prograde flow at the equator near the outer wall.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Rotating flows
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 662 , 10 November 2010 , pp. 260 - 268
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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