Journal Article

Evolution of the rotating Rayleigh–Taylor instability under the influence of magnetic fields

Singh, Narinder, Pal, Anikesh

2025

Overview

The combined effects of the imposed vertical mean magnetic field ( $B_0$ , scaled as the Alfvèn velocity) and rotation on the heat transfer phenomenon driven by the Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability are investigated using direct numerical simulations. In the hydrodynamic (HD) case, as the strength of the Coriolis frequency ( $f$ ) increases, the Coriolis force enhances the mixing of fluids that dampens the growth of the mixing layer height ( $h$ ) and reversible exchanges between the fluids, leading to a reduction in the heat transport, characterised by the Nusselt number ( $Nu$ ). In non-rotating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) cases, we find a significant delay in the onset of RT instability with increasing $B_0$ , consistent with the linear theory in the literature. The imposed $B_0$ forms vertically elongated thermal plumes that exhibit a larger reversible buoyancy flux due to limited mixing, enabling them to transport heat efficiently between the bottom hot fluid and the upper cold fluid. This leads to enhanced heat transfer in the initial regime of unbroken elongated plumes in non-rotating MHD cases compared to the corresponding HD case. In the turbulent regime of broken small-scale structures, the imposed $B_0$ collimates the flow along the vertical magnetic field lines, reducing vertical velocity fluctuations ( $u_3^{\\prime }$ ) and increasing the growth of $h$ . The increased $h$ primarily drives the heat transfer enhancement in the turbulent regime of non-rotating MHD over the corresponding HD case. When rotation is added along with the imposed $B_0$ , the growth and breakdown of vertically elongated plumes are inhibited by the instability-damping effect of the Coriolis force. Consequently, heat transfer is also reduced in the rotating MHD cases compared to the corresponding non-rotating MHD cases. Interestingly, heat transport in rotating MHD cases is enhanced compared to the corresponding rotating HD cases because $B_0$ reduces mixing and mitigates the instability-damping effect of the Coriolis force. The presence of the ultimate state regime $Nu\\simeq Ra^{1/2}Pr^{1/2}$ , where $Ra$ is the Rayleigh number and $Pr$ is the Prandtl number, is observed in the non-rotating HD and MHD cases. However, the rotating HD and MHD cases depart from this ultimate state scaling. Furthermore, the dynamic balance between different forces is analysed to understand the behaviour of the thermal plumes. The turbulent kinetic energy budget reveals the conversion of the turbulent kinetic energy, generated by the buoyancy flux, into turbulent magnetic energy.

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Subject: Buoyancy / Buoyancy flux / Coriolis force / Damping / Direct numerical simulation / Elongation / Energy budget / Fluid flow / Fluids / Heat transfer / Heat transport / Heated water / Instability / JFM Papers / Kinetic energy / Magnetic field / Magnetic fields / Magnetic flux / Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence / Nusselt number / Plumes / Prandtl number / Rayleigh number / Reynolds number / Rotation / Simulation / Supernovae / Taylor instability / Thermal plumes / Velocity / Viscosity