Longitudinal vortices in natural convection flow on inclined plates

Experiments are performed to demonstrate the occurrence and explore the characteristics of a secondary flow superposed upon the natural convection main flow on an inclined plate. A flow visualization technique is employed whereby the flow pattern is made visible by local changes of colour of the fluid itself, the colour change being brought about by a change in pH. The secondary flow consists of longitudinal vortices or rolls distributed more or less periodically across the width of the plate. The number of such vortices increases with the temperature difference between the surface and the ambient fluid, but appears to be relatively insensitive to the inclination angle of the plate. The secondary flow results from the destabilizing effect of the buoyancy force component, which acts normal to the plate surface. The longitudinal vortices are the first stage of the laminarturbulent transition process. This is in contrast to the case of natural convection on a vertical plate, where the first stage of transition is Tollmien-Schlichting waves.