Effects of non-uniform heating on a variable viscosity Rayleigh–Bénard problem

• Published in: Theoretical and computational fluid dynamics Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 301 - 313
• Main Authors: Pla, Francisco, Herrero, Henar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01-10-2011; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Buoyancy; Classical and Continuum Physics; Computational fluid dynamics; Computational Science and Engineering; Convection; Earth; Engineering; Engineering Fluid Dynamics; Fluid dynamics; Heat; Heating; Horizontal; Mantle; Original Article; Plate tectonics; Stability analysis; Tectonics (Geology); Temperature gradient; Temperature gradients; Three dimensional; Viscosity; Variable viscosity; Collocation; Mantle; Buoyancy driven convection
• ISSN: 0935-4964; 1432-2250
• DOI: 10.1007/s00162-010-0189-3

This study presents a natural convection problem with a temperature-dependent viscosity fluid, driven by buoyancy and influenced by horizontal temperature gradients. A numerical linear stability analysis of the stationary solutions is studied. The horizontal temperature gradients tend to localize motion near the warmer zones and favour pattern formation in the direction perpendicular to the gradient. In fact, the problem is almost 2D in the uniform heating case, but becomes totally 3D in the non-uniform heating case.