Instability triggered by mixed convection in a thin fluid layer

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Rein, Florian, Burns, Keaton J., Smith, Stefan G. Llewellyn, Young, William R., Favier, Benjamin, Bars, Michael Le
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Rein, Florian
Burns, Keaton J.
Smith, Stefan G. Llewellyn
Young, William R.
Favier, Benjamin
Bars, Michael Le
author_facet Rein, Florian
Burns, Keaton J.
Smith, Stefan G. Llewellyn
Young, William R.
Favier, Benjamin
Bars, Michael Le
contents We investigate the convective stability of a thin, infinite fluid layer with a rectangular cross-section, subject to imposed heat fluxes at the top and bottom and fixed temperature along the vertical sides. The instability threshold depends on the Prandtl number as well as the normalized flux difference ($f$) and decreases with the aspect ratio ($ε$), following a $εf^{-1}$ power law. Using 3D initial value and 2D eigenvalue calculations, we identify a dominant 3D mode characterized by two transverse standing waves attached to the domain edges. We characterize the dominant mode's frequency and transverse wave number as functions of the Rayleigh number and aspect ratio. An analytical asymptotic solution for the base state in the bulk is obtained, valid over most of the domain and increasingly accurate for lower aspect ratios. A local stability analysis, based on the analytical base state, reveals oscillatory transverse instabilities consistent with the global instability characteristics. The source term for this most unstable mode appears to be interactions between vertical shear and horizontal temperature gradients.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_02331
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Instability triggered by mixed convection in a thin fluid layer
Rein, Florian
Burns, Keaton J.
Smith, Stefan G. Llewellyn
Young, William R.
Favier, Benjamin
Bars, Michael Le
Fluid Dynamics
We investigate the convective stability of a thin, infinite fluid layer with a rectangular cross-section, subject to imposed heat fluxes at the top and bottom and fixed temperature along the vertical sides. The instability threshold depends on the Prandtl number as well as the normalized flux difference ($f$) and decreases with the aspect ratio ($ε$), following a $εf^{-1}$ power law. Using 3D initial value and 2D eigenvalue calculations, we identify a dominant 3D mode characterized by two transverse standing waves attached to the domain edges. We characterize the dominant mode's frequency and transverse wave number as functions of the Rayleigh number and aspect ratio. An analytical asymptotic solution for the base state in the bulk is obtained, valid over most of the domain and increasingly accurate for lower aspect ratios. A local stability analysis, based on the analytical base state, reveals oscillatory transverse instabilities consistent with the global instability characteristics. The source term for this most unstable mode appears to be interactions between vertical shear and horizontal temperature gradients.
title Instability triggered by mixed convection in a thin fluid layer
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.02331