The onset of convection in a multicomponent fluid layer

Guillermo Terrones, Arne J. Pearlstein

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The onset of convective instability is investigated in a multicomponent fluid layer in which the density depends on N stratifying agencies with different diffusivities. The general equations required to determine the topology of the neutral curves and stability boundaries are given. We show that 1 + 2 [(N - 1)/2] (where [α] is the integer part of α) critical Rayleigh numbers are sometimes required to specify the linear stability criteria. This multivaluedness can be traced to the existence of disconnected neutral curves. The general theory is illustrated by a numerical example for the quintuply diffusive case (N = 5).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)845-853
Number of pages9
JournalPhysics of Fluids A
Volume1
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1989
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The onset of convection in a multicomponent fluid layer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this