RESUMO
This experimental study analyzes the relationship between the dimensionality of turbulence and the upscale or downscale nature of its energy transfers. We do so by forcing low-Rm magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in a confined channel, while precisely controlling its dimensionality by means of an externally applied magnetic field. We first identify a specific length scale l[over ^]_{â¥}^{c} that separates smaller 3D structures from larger quasi-2D ones. We then show that an inverse energy cascade of horizontal kinetic energy along horizontal scales is always observable at large scales, and that it extends well into the region of 3D structures. At the same time, a direct energy cascade confined to the smallest and strongly 3D scales is observed. These dynamics therefore appear not to be simply determined by the dimensionality of individual scales, nor by the forcing scale, unlike in other studies. In fact, our findings suggest that the relationship between kinematics and dynamics is not universal and may strongly depend on the forcing and dissipating mechanisms at play.
RESUMO
In this paper, we present a new experimental facility, Little Earth Experiment, designed to study the hydrodynamics of liquid planetary cores. The main novelty of this apparatus is that a transparent electrically conducting electrolyte is subject to extremely high magnetic fields (up to 10 T) to produce electromagnetic effects comparable to those produced by moderate magnetic fields in planetary cores. This technique makes it possible to visualise for the first time the coupling between the principal forces in a convection-driven dynamo by means of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) in a geometry relevant to planets. We first present the technology that enables us to generate these forces and implement PIV in a high magnetic field environment. We then show that the magnetic field drastically changes the structure of convective plumes in a configuration relevant to the tangent cylinder region of the Earth's core.
