Salt-Finger Instability Generated by Surface-Tension and Buoyancy-Driven Convection in a Stratified Fluid Layer

2003 ◽  
pp. 45-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Chen ◽  
Cho Lik Chan
Keyword(s):  
Surface Tension ◽  
Fluid Layer ◽  
Stratified Fluid ◽  
Buoyancy Driven Convection

scholarly journals A centre manifold approach to solitary waves in a sheared, stably stratified fluid layer

1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. B. Zimmerman ◽  
M. G. Velarde
Keyword(s):  
Nonlinear Waves ◽  
Fluid Layer ◽  
Approximate Equation ◽  
Stratified Fluid ◽  
Material Surface ◽  
Centre Manifold ◽  
Wave Approximation ◽  
Long Wave ◽  
Long Wave Approximation ◽  
Energy Argument

Abstract. The centre manifold approach is used to derive an approximate equation for nonlinear waves propagating in a sheared, stably stratified fluid layer. The evolution equation matches limiting forms derived by other methods, including the inviscid, long wave approximation leading to the Korteweg- deVries equation. The model given here allows large modulations of the height of the waveguide. This permits the crude modelling of shear layer instabilities at the upper material surface of the waveguide which excite solitary internal waves in the waveguide. An energy argument is used to support the existence of these waves.

The influence of Coriolis force on surface-tension-driven convection

1966 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Vidal ◽  
Andreas Acrivos
Keyword(s):  
Surface Tension ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Coriolis Force ◽  
Fluid Layer ◽  
Functional Relation ◽  
Wave Number ◽  
Neutral Stability ◽  
Uniform Rotation ◽  
Critical Marangoni Number ◽  
Deep Layers

The effect of uniform rotation on surface-tension-driven convection in an evaporating fluid layer is considered both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical analysis follows the usual small-disturbance approach of perturbation theory and leads, at the neutral state, to a functional relation between the Marangoni and Taylor numbers which is then computed numerically. In addition, it is shown analytically that, in the limit of rapid rotation, the velocity and temperature fluctuations are confined to a thin Ekman layer near the surface, and that Mc = 4·42T½ and ac = 0·5T¼, where Mc and ac are, respectively, the critical Marangoni number and the critical wave number for neutral stability, and T is the Taylor number.The experimental part deals primarily with the flow pattern of a 50% solution of ethyl ether in n-heptane evaporating into still air. In this case, the convective flow is surface-tension-driven and its structure was observed using schlieren optics. In the absence of rotation, the flow shows a remarkable cellular pattern when the layer is shallow, but when the depth of the layer is increased the pattern quickly becomes highly irregular. In contrast, for T > 103, a cellular structure is always observed even for deep layers, a result which is attributable to the stabilizing effect of the Coriolis force. A further increase in T leaves the flow pattern unchanged except that the size of the cells is found to decrease as T−¼ which is in agreement with the results of the linear stability analysis.

Instability of a gravity-modulated fluid layer with surface tension variation

2001 ◽  
Vol 434 ◽  
pp. 243-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. RAYMOND LEE SKARDA
Keyword(s):  
Surface Tension ◽  
Fluid Layer ◽  
Modulation Frequency ◽  
Galerkin Approximation ◽  
Neutral Stability ◽  
Modulation Amplitude ◽  
Neutral Stability Curve ◽  
Stability Curve ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Rayleigh Benard

Gravity modulation of an unbounded fluid layer with surface tension variations along its free surface is investigated. The stability of such systems is often characterized in terms of the wavenumber, α and the Marangoni number, Ma. In (α, Ma) parameter space, modulation has a destabilizing effect on the unmodulated neutral stability curve for large Prandtl number, Pr, and small modulation frequency, Ω, while a stabilizing effect is observed for small Pr and large Ω. As Ω → ∞ the modulated neutral stability curves approach the unmodulated neutral stability curve. At certain values of Pr and Ω, multiple minima are observed and the neutral stability curves become highly distorted. Closed regions of subharmonic instability are also observed. In (1/Ω, g1Ra)-space, where g1 is the relative modulation amplitude, and Ra is the Rayleigh number, alternating regions of synchronous and subharmonic instability separated by thin stable regions are observed. However, fundamental differences between the stability boundaries occur when comparing the modulated Marangoni–Bénard and Rayleigh–Bénard problems. Modulation amplitudes at which instability tongues occur are strongly influenced by Pr, while the fundamental instability region is weakly affected by Pr. For large modulation frequency and small amplitude, empirical relations are derived to determine modulation effects. A one-term Galerkin approximation was also used to reduce the modulated Marangoni–Bénard problem to a Mathieu equation, allowing qualitative stability behaviour to be deduced from existing tables or charts, such as Strutt diagrams. In addition, this reduces the parameter dependence of the problem from seven transport parameters to three Mathieu parameters, analogous to parameter reductions of previous modulated Rayleigh–Bénard studies. Simple stability criteria, valid for small parameter values (amplitude and damping coefficients), were obtained from the one-term equations using classical method of averaging results.

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