Buoyancy Vortex Power from Low-Temperature Heat: Progress

Abstract

This paper is a progress report since NZGW 2018, describing laboratory results and a scaling or non-dimensionalisation of atmospheric buoyancy vortices for power generation. It is based on the Oberbeck-Boussinesq assumption and assumes that the vortex flows are pseudo-cyclostrophic and that a radial Richardson number can serve as a predictor of the onset of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability leading to a transition to a turbulent plume. This is used to locate the cold reservoir of the vortex when viewed as a heat engine. It permits the prediction of the behaviour of large vortices in the atmosphere by using data from experiments on small vortices.