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Periodic intrusions in a stratified fluid

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2007

OLIVER S. KERR
OLIVER S. KERR*
Affiliation:
Centre for Mathematical Science, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK
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Abstract

When a salt-stratified body of fluid is heated from the side a series of almost horizontal convective layers can develop with well-mixed interiors. These layers can propagate into the interior of the stratified fluid. This behaviour is also observed with intrusions at fronts between stratified bodies of fluid where their composition varies. We look at a simplified model of intrusion growth where the mechanism behind the creation of their well-mixed interiors is neglected, and look at how a stack of such intrusions will propagate away from the wall or front. We find that there is a transition from a regime where the propagation is essentially inviscid and the intrusion length is proportional to time, to one where viscosity is important and the propagation rate slows down, with the length being proportional to the square-root of time.

Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 580 , 10 June 2007 , pp. 467 - 480
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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