Abstract
Numerical solutions for two-dimensional convection rolls in a fluid layer of infinite Prandtl number are obtained by the Galerkin method. Stress-free, isothermal boundaries are assumed at the horizontal boundaries of the fluid layer. The stability of the steady solutions with respect to three-dimensional disturbances is analyzed in the Rayleigh number-wave number space. It is found that even for Rayleigh numbers as high as several millions there appears to exist a region of the wavenumber α where the convection rolls are stable. This result contrasts with the well known transition to three-dimensional bimodal convection in the presence of no-slip boundaries, but it agrees with simple arguments about the stability of the thermal boundary layers.
Zusammenfassung
Numerische Lösungen für zwei-dimensionale Konvektionsrollen in einer Flüssigkeitsschicht mit unendlicher Prandtlzahl sind gewonnen worden durch Anwendungen der Galerkin-Methode. Es wurden spannungsfreie isotherme Ränder an den Grenzen der horizontalen Flüssigkeitsschicht angenommen. Die Stabilität der stationären Lösungen bezüglich drei-dimensionaler Störungen wurde im Rayleighzahl-Wellenzahl-Raum analysiert. Es wurde gefunden, daß für Rayleighzahlen bis zu einigen Millionen ein Bereich der Wellenzahlα existiert, in dem die Konvektionsrollen stabil sind. Dieses Resultat steht im Gegensatz zu dem wohl bekannten Übergang zu bimodaler Konvektion im Fall der festen Ränder, ist aber im Einklang mit einfachen Betrachtungen über die Stabilität der thermischen Grenzschichten.
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Schnaubelt, M., Busse, F.H. On the stability of two-dimensional convection rolls in an infinite Prandtl number fluid with stress-free boundaries. Z. angew. Math. Phys. 40, 153–162 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00944995
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00944995