2002/09/30 by N. Tsitverblit
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.flu-dyn
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.physleta.2004.07.011
published as Physics Letters A 329(6) (2004) 445-450 · Under consideration for publication in PRL since July 20, 2001; the latest version; 4 pages, 4 ps figures. V2: Submitted to and published in PLA; 11 manuscript pages, 4 figures; nonessential modifications/enhancements in the presentation
arxiv created 2004/08/31 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
A new mechanism of double-component convection is discovered. It emerges in a horizontal layer of Boussinesq fluid as a stable stratification due to flux boundary conditions is added to an unstable gradient specified by fixed boundary values. A large enough perturbation substantially decreases the stable flux gradient but fails to mix the unstable fixed-value gradient. Steady finite-amplitude flows reminiscent of Rayleigh--Benard convection then arise even as the net background stratification is stable, emphasizing the importance of the identified mechanism for double-component fluid systems. V2 Abstract: A new mechanism of double-component convection is discovered. It emerges in a horizontal layer of Boussinesq fluid as a stable stratification due to flux boundary conditions is added to an unstable gradient specified by fixed boundary values. Driven by this mechanism, steady finite-amplitude flows reminiscent of Rayleigh--Benard convection arise even when the background density stratification is stable.