Numerical investigation of near-wall transport and structure formation in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

The dynamical processes in the temperature and velocity boundary layers of a turbulent convection flow are of fundamental interest for a more detailed determination of the global heat transport. In the present project, we want to study the dynamics and structure formation in the boundary layers of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection by means of direct numerical simulations. We want to vary therefore the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers as well as the aspect ratio of the cylindrical convection cell and study the dependence of the global transport laws on these parameters. In parallel we want to investigate the near-wall coherent structures, their dynamics in the boundary layers and their statistical impact on the global transport properties. Our simulations will unravel the differences of the convection boundary layers to the classical boundary layers and resolve the beginning of the transition to turbulence at high Rayleigh numbers.