Advection-enhanced diffusion in biased convection arrays

We numerically investigated the transport of a passive colloidal particle in a one-dimensional periodic array of planar counter-rotating convection rolls at high Peclet numbers. We show that advection-enhanced diffusion is drastically suppressed by an external transverse bias but strongly reinforced by a longitudinal drive of appropriate intensity. Both effects are magnified by imposing free-slip flows at the array's edges. The dependence of the diffusion constant on an external forcing is interpreted as a measure of the fluid-mechanical robustness of the flow boundary layer mechanism governing diffusion in convection rolls.

Automated summary

The numerical investigation on the transport of passive colloidal particles in a one-dimensional periodic array of planar counter-rotating convection rolls at high Peclet numbers reveals that advection-enhanced diffusion is suppressed by external transverse bias but reinforced by longitudinal drive. These effects are magnified by imposing free-slip flows at the array's edges. The dependence of the diffusion constant on external forcing reflects the fluid-mechanical robustness of the flow boundary layer mechanism governing diffusion in convection rolls.