Turbulent natural convection in a horizontal fluid layer with volumetric energy sources: An intermediate layer (Q802424)

The turbulent natural convection driven by volumetric energy sources in a horizontal fluid layer bounded by a lower adiabatic plate and an upper isothermal plate, is studied at large values of the internal Rayleigh number. The existence of an intermediate layer is identified. The maxima in Reynolds heat flux and in turbulent energy dissipation are associated with the intermediate layer. The intermediate layer is matched with the inner and outer layers. It is shown that to the lowest order, the two- layer classical theory should suffice and to the next order an intermediate layer is needed.