ISSN:
1089-7666
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
The problem of double-diffusive convection for a thermohaline system consisting of a horizontal fluid layer situated above a saturated porous bed is studied experimentally. The porous bed is constructed from 5 mm spherical glass beads. The system initially contains a linear stabilizing salt distribution and is suddenly heated uniformly from below. The evolving temperature and concentration fields were determined at various times and were used to piece together a reliable picture of the behavior of the composite layer. In the majority of the experiments, convective flow was initiated and sustained in the fluid portion of the system. The flow was characterized by thorough mixing, resulting in uniform temperature and concentration distributions. The presence of the porous layer was responsible for a large delay in the flow initiation near the bottom wall, resulting in a considerable temperature increase. In some cases, the fluid saturating the porous matrix remained stagnant throughout the experiment, despite the fact that a vivid flow region existed directly above the porous region. The effect of the thermal Rayleigh number, the salinity Rayleigh number, and the height of the porous substrate are also investigated in the course of the present study.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.857418
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