No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

International audienceThe effect of a radial temperature gradient on the stability of a circular Couette flow is investigated when the gravitational acceleration is neglected. The induced radial stratification of the fluid density coupled with the centrifugal acceleration generates radial buoyancy which is centrifugal for inward heating and centripetal for outward heating. This radial buoyancy modifies the Rayleigh discriminant and induces the asymmetry between inward heating and outward heating in flow behavior. The critical modes are axisymmetric and stationary for inward heating while for outward heating, they can be oscillatory axisymmetric or nonaxisymmetric depending on fluid diffusion properties, i.e., on the Prandtl number Pr. The dependence of the critical modes on Pr is explored for different values of the radius ratio of the annulus. The power input of the radial buoyancy is compared with other power terms. The critical frequency of the oscillatory axisymmetric modes is linked to the Brunt-Väisälä frequency due to the density stratification in the radial gravity field induced by the rotation. These modes are associated with inertial waves. The dispersion relation of the oscillatory axisymmetric modes is derived in the vicinity of the critical conditions. A weakly nonlinear amplitude equation with a forcing term is proposed to explain the domination of these axisymmetric oscillatory modes over the stationary centrifugal mode

The stability of the circular Couette flow of a dielectric fluid is analyzed by a linear perturbation theory. The fluid is confined between two concentric cylindrical electrodes of infinite length with only the inner one rotating. A temperature difference and an alternating electric tension are applied to the electrodes to produce a radial dielectrophoretic body force that can induce convection in the fluid. We examine the effects of superposition of this thermoelectric force with the centrifugal force including its thermal variation. The Earth's gravity is neglected to focus on the situations of a vanishing Grashof number such as microgravity conditions. Depending on the electric field strength and of the temperature difference, critical modes are either axisymmetric or nonaxisymmetric, occurring in either stationary or oscillatory states. An energetic analysis is performed to determine the dominant destabilizing mechanism. When the inner cylinder is hotter than the outer one, the circular Couette flow is destabilized by the centrifugal force for weak and moderate electric fields. The critical mode is steady axisymmetric, except for weak fields within a certain range of the Prandtl number and of the radius ratio of the cylinders, where the mode is oscillatory and axisymmetric. The frequency of this oscillatory mode is correlated with a Brunt-Väisälä frequency due to the stratification of both the density and the electric permittivity of the fluid. Under strong electric fields, the destabilization by the dielectrophoretic force is dominant, leading to oscillatory nonaxisymmetric critical modes with a frequency scaled by the frequency of the inner-cylinder rotation. When the outer cylinder is hotter than the inner one, the instability is again driven by the centrifugal force. The critical mode is axisymmetric and either steady under weak electric fields or oscillatory under strong electric fields. The frequency of the oscillatory mode is also correlated with the Brunt-Väisälä frequency.

Context: A radial temperature difference together with an inhomogeneous radial electric field gradient is applied to a dielectric fluid confined in a vertical cylindrical annulus inducing thermal electro-hydrodynamic convection. Aims: Identification of the stability of the flow and hence of the line of marginal stability separating stable laminar free (natural) convection from thermal electro-hydrodynamic convection, its flow structures, pattern formation and critical parameters. Methods: Combination of different measurement techniques, namely the shadowgraph method and particle image velocimetry, as well as numerical simulation are used to qualify/quantify the flow. Results: We identify the transition from stable laminar free convection to thermal electro-hydrodynamic convective flow in a wide range of Rayleigh number and electric potential. The line of marginal stability found confirms results from linear stability analysis. The flow after first transition forms a structure of axially aligned stationary columnar modes. We experimentally confirm critical parameters resulting from linear stability analysis and we show numerically an enhancement of heat transfer.

No abstract

A dielectric fluid is confined in a stationary vertical cylindrical annulus. A temperature difference is applied between the two cylinders, as well as an alternating electric potential. This configuration creates an active force called dielectrophoretic force, which acts as a thermal buoyancy force. Different axial gravity intensities are considered, so that two thermal buoyancies will affect the flow: the thermoelectric buoyancy intervenes in the radial direction and the Archimedean buoyancy acts in the axial direction. Linear stability analysis and direct numerical simulation are performed following experimental research that has been performed during parabolic flight campaigns.