Verification of the oscillatory state of thermocapillary convection in a floating zone under low gravity
Abstract
The oscillatory thermocapillary convection in a floating zone has been investigated in a sounding rocket experiment (TEXUS IIIb on 30 April 1981). The thermocapillary convection became oscillatory under 0.0001 g for both realized supercritical Marangoni numbers (Ma equals 1.6 x 10 to the 4th and Ma equals 3.6 x 10 to the 4th). The frequency spectrum of the temperature oscillations under low gravity is very similar to that under earth gravity. Thermocapillary convection needs no interaction with buoyancy forces to become unstable.
- Publication:
-
Acta Astronautica
- Pub Date:
- April 1982
- DOI:
- 10.1016/0094-5765(82)90030-3
- Bibcode:
- 1982AcAau...9..265S
- Keywords:
-
- Capillary Flow;
- Convective Heat Transfer;
- Oscillating Flow;
- Reduced Gravity;
- Space Processing;
- Temperature Distribution;
- Buoyancy;
- Fourier Analysis;
- Microgravity Applications;
- Sounding Rockets;
- Space Commercialization;
- Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer