We report experimental results on the heat transfer and instability onset of a Rayleigh-Bénard convection cell of aspect ratios 6:3:1 filled with a high Prandtl aqueous solution of glycerol under feedback control. We investigate the transient and stationary response of both local temperature readings and heat transfer fluxes on the Rayleigh Bénard cell in both conductive and convective states when we perform two independent feedback control actions on both hot and cold walls. We evaluate the performance of both controllers to maintain a temperature gradient independently if the system is below or above the convection threshold. As the convection cell can be rotated at 180° about the shorter axis of the cell, it was possible to perform transitions between thermal conduction and convection regimes and vice versa under a constant temperature difference maintained by both independent controllers. The experimental setup provided an accurate measurement of the critical Rayleigh number and the evolution of the Nusselt number as a function of the Rayleigh number in the moderately supercritical regime (). Flow visualizations show a steady cellular convection pattern formed by 6 transverse rolls throughout the range of Rayleigh numbers.
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July 2017
Research Article|
July 14 2017
Feedback control and heat transfer measurements in a Rayleigh-Bénard convection cell
M. Vial
;
M. Vial
LEAF-NL, Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Universidad de Chile
, Casilla, 2777 Santiago, Chile
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R. H. Hernández
LEAF-NL, Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Universidad de Chile
, Casilla, 2777 Santiago, Chile
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a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: rohernan@ing.uchile.cl. URL: http://www.leafnl.uchile.cl.
Physics of Fluids 29, 074103 (2017)
Article history
Received:
January 19 2017
Accepted:
June 21 2017
Citation
M. Vial, R. H. Hernández; Feedback control and heat transfer measurements in a Rayleigh-Bénard convection cell. Physics of Fluids 1 July 2017; 29 (7): 074103. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4991909
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