Atmospheric Convection Model

A simple model of buoyant convection in a fluid. The application solves the 2D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations.

Simple simulations of buoyant convection in a fluid. The App will plot the evolution of the temperature field (warmer is brighter colors).

Features:
- Two modes of convection:
o A uniformly warm surface ("surface" mode)
o An initially circular region of warm fluid ("bubble" mode)

- Variable temperature gradient of the ambient fluid ("Lapse rate" setting). This setting models the lapse rate of the real atmosphere. A higher lapse rate corresponds to an atmosphere warming faster with height, thus convection plumes will rise slower.

- Simulation with and and without shear.

The application was developed by the Computational Fluid Dynamics group at the University of Connecticut. The application was developed as part of the Joules Fellows Program at the University of Connecticut, a US National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program.