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Experimental study of double-diffusive instability in sidewall heating

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2006

Charles G. Jeevaraj
Affiliation:
Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
Jörg Imberger
Affiliation:
Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia

Abstract

The response of a salinity-stratified fluid to sidewall heating is examined. Experiments were conducted using a linear salt gradient alone and with a combination of salt and thermal gradient in which the thermal stratification destabilized the density. The dominant feature of the flow was intrusions which propagated into the interior of the fluid. These were studied using shadowgraph, vertical temperature and salinity profiles, and dye streaks. Using the theory for convection in a long shallow cavity, an expression is derived for the velocity of propagation of the intrusions. The mechanism by which intrusions merge is also discussed to explain the observed formation of wavy interfaces during merging.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1991 Cambridge University Press

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