Numerical study of dynamo action at low magnetic Prandtl numbers

We present a three-pronged numerical approach to the dynamo problem at low magnetic Prandtl numbers P(M). The difficulty of resolving a large range of scales is circumvented by combining direct numerical simulations, a Lagrangian-averaged model and large-eddy simulations. The flow is generated by the Taylor-Green forcing; it combines a well defined structure at large scales and turbulent fluctuations at small scales. Our main findings are (i) dynamos are observed from P(M)=1 down to P(M)=10(-2), (ii) the critical magnetic Reynolds number increases sharply with P(M)(-1) as turbulence sets in and then it saturates, and (iii) in the linear growth phase, unstable magnetic modes move to smaller scales as P(M) is decreased. Then the dynamo grows at large scales and modifies the turbulent velocity fluctuations.     

Lagrangian temperature, velocity, and local heat flux measurement in Rayleigh-Bénard convection

We have developed a small, neutrally buoyant, wireless temperature sensor. Using a camera for optical tracking, we obtain simultaneous measurements of position and temperature of the sensor as it is carried along by the flow in Rayleigh-Bénard convection, at Ra approximately 10;{10}. We report on statistics of temperature, velocity, and heat transport in turbulent thermal convection. The motion of the sensor particle exhibits dynamics close to that of Lagrangian tracers in hydrodynamic turbulence. We also quantify heat transport in plumes, revealing self-similarity and extreme variations from plume to plume.     

Time-resolved tracking of a sound scatterer in a complex flow: nonstationary signal analysis and applications

It is known that ultrasound techniques yield nonintrusive measurements of hydrodynamic flows. For example, the study of the echoes produced by a large number of particles insonified by pulsed wavetrains has led to a now-standard velocimetry device. In this paper, a new technique for the measurement of the velocity of individual solid particles moving in fluid flows is proposed. It relies on the ability to resolve in time the Doppler shift of the sound scattered by the continuously insonified particle. For this signal-processing problem two classes of approaches can be used: time-frequency analysis and parametric high-resolution methods. In the first class the spectrogram and reassigned spectrogram is considered, and applied to detect the motion of a small bead settling in a fluid at rest. In nonstationary flows, methods in the second class are more robust. An approximated maximum likelihood (AML) technique has been adapted, coupled with a generalized Kalman filter. This method allows for the estimation of rapidly varying frequencies; the parametric nature of the algorithm also provides an estimate of the variance of the identified frequency parameters.     

Nonlinear magnetic induction by helical motion in a liquid sodium turbulent flow

We report an experimental study of the magnetic field B--> induced by a turbulent swirling flow of liquid sodium submitted to a transverse magnetic field B-->(0). We show that the induced field can behave nonlinearly as a function of the magnetic Reynolds number, R(m). At low R(m), the induced mean field along the axis of the flow, , and the one parallel to B-->(0), , first behave like R(2)(m), whereas the third component, , is linear in R(m). The sign of is determined by the flow helicity. At higher R(m), B--> strongly depends on the local geometry of the mean flow: decreases to zero in the core of the swirling flow but remains finite outside. We compare the experimental results with the computed magnetic induction due to the mean flow alone.     

Magnetic induction by coherent vortex motion

We investigate experimentally the advection of a magnetic field by a flow of conducting fluid, at moderate magnetic Reynolds numbers. More specifically, we study the influence of a large scale intense vortex on an externally applied field. We show that at large scales the magnetic field lines are distorted in a way that is consistent with a scenario of magnetic field expulsion by vorticity. Measurements at small scales show that the magnetic fluctuations are also quite sensitive to the large scale vortex motion. Received 27 October 1999 and Received in final form 16 March 2000     

Temporal variations of iodine-127, potassium-40 and technetium-99 concentrations in Fucus serratus in the English Channel

The trends of¹²⁷I,⁴⁰K, and⁹⁹Tc levels were measured for several years inFucus serratus collected in 3 different Channel coastal stations. The results demonstrated cyclic seasonal variations of the levels, with maximum values in winter and minimum values in summer (ranging between 2 and 3). Ash levels evolved with a similar cycle, which allowed to estimate that the cycle thus observed was related to the alga biological activity and not to the releases. Trends of⁹⁹Tc levels were more complex. At Roscoff, a station little exposed to the releases, levels varied with the same annual cycle as natural elements. At Herquemoulin, a station close to the release point, the trend was mainly related to the released activities with a delay of about 1 year. At Wimereux, a distant station more strongly affected by sea currents, the cycle appeared in 1983 and 1984 but was hidden in 1985 and 1986 by the arrival of waters more strongly labelled because of the larger releases that occurred in 1985 (26 TBq), instead of 12 TBq in 1983 and 1984.