Progress Report Andrew Orr

AO06: Modeling the Atmospheric QBO in the Laboratory 22/11/2018

Prof. Peter Read
Prof. Alfonso Castrejon-Pita

As of 7th Week MT18, our experimental arrangement is very close to being able to observe the QBO.
However, previous students identified some issues which held them back from observing the phenomenon
fully. I am attempting to resolve as many of these as possible before starting collecting data properly.
My progress is thus:

Motor axles
The connections between the motor shafts and the pump piston screws are not strong enough to withstand
the high torques suffered by the system. After a few minutes of operation, previous users reported slipping
and eventual disconnection of the shaft couplers. This prevented the system from producing the QBO.
To ameliorate this, we are going to machine some flats on the motor and screw shafts. We are
presently assessing what is exactly the best (and most cost-effective) way to do this. I will aim to finalize
and realize the plan for this within the coming fortnight.

Camera
We are testing out some new methods of capturing footage for Particle Image Velocimetry. An adapted
rig using a DSLR (with shutter timing driven by a microcontroller) has been devised, and will be tested
further once the other modifications have been done.

Tracer Particles
Typically the GFD lab works with heat-stratified systems, in which tracer particles of equal density
will remain distributed evenly even for large t. However, the QBO is a density-stratified experiment,
therefore particles of equal density will eventually cluster in one layer of the wave tank. Prof. Read has
procured a recipe (from another lab working on the QBO) for particles made with varying densities. I’ll
have a go at making some in the coming fortnight.

Density Measurement
The current method used to measure the water density is cumbersome. Components for making a new
Conduino density probe are either on order or have arrived, and this will be built within the coming
fortnight. We have already built a stepper-driven gantry to mount the probe to - this has been tested
and works well over the range we need it to.

Safety
A review raised some concerns about the experiment. We are in the process of addressing these - Prof.
Read has sourced a drip tray for the tank and I am rearranging the lab to increase separation of electronics
from the water tank. This will be complete by the time we start taking data.

Going Forward
The above modifications should all be complete within the coming few weeks. All things well, we will
be in position to take data come HT, with some slack in the event of the modifications taking longer.