INTERMITTENT TURBULENCE IN THE VERY STABLE EKMAN LAYER This study describes a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of a very stable Ekman layer in which a constant downward heat flux is applied at the lower boundary, thus cooling the fluid above. Numerical experiments were performed in which the strength of the imposed heat flux was varied. For downward heat fluxes above a certain critical value the turbulence becomes intermittent and, as the heat flux increases beyond this value, the flow tends to relaminarize because of the very strong ambient stratification. We adopt Mahrt?s (1999) definition of the very stable boundary layer as a boundary layer in which intermittent, rather than continuous turbulence, is observed. Numerical experiments were used to test various hypothesis of where in ?stability parameter space? the very stable boundary layer is found. These experiments support the findings of Howell and Sun (1999) that the boundary layer will exhibit intermittency and therefore be categorized as ?very stable?, when the stability parameter, z/L, exceeds unity. Another marker for the very stable boundary layer, Derbyshire?s (1990) maximum heat flux criterion, was also examined. Using a case study drawn from the simulations where turbulence intermittency was observed, the mechanism that causes the …

As of the end of August, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is satisfactorily meeting its technical performance, cost and schedule milestones. Hensel Phelps Construction Company (HPCC) turned over the Laser Building to the Beampath Infrastructure System (BIS) Commissioning and Operations team for beneficial occupancy.