Through numerical solution of the governing time-dependent and non-linear Navier-Stokes equations cast in the framework of the Oldroyd-B model, the supercritical states of thermal Marangoni-Bénard convection in a viscoelastic fluid are investigated for increasing values of the relaxation time while keeping fixed other parameters (the total viscosity of the fluid, the Prandtl number and the intensity of the driving force, Ma=300). A kaleidoscope of patterns is obtained revealing the coexistence of different branches of steady and oscillatory states in the space of parameters in the form of multiple solutions. In particular, two main families of well-defined attractors are identified, i.e. multicellular steady states and oscillatory solutions. While the former are similar for appearance and dynamics to those typically produced by thermogravitational hydrodynamic disturbances in layers of liquid metals, the latter display waveforms ranging from pervasive standing waves to different types of spatially localised oscillatory structures (oscillons). On the one hand, these localised phenomena contribute to increase the multiplicity of solutions and, on the other hand, give rise to interesting events, including transition to chaos and phenomena of intermittency. In some intervals of the elasticity number, the interference among states corresponding to different branches produces strange attractors for which we estimate the correlation dimension by means of the algorithm originally proposed by Grassberger and Procaccia.

Natural convective flows of liquid metals in open or closed ducts and containers play a relevant role in a variety of applications in mechanical, materials and nuclear engineering. This analysis follows and integrates the line of inquiry started in past authors’ work about the typical properties of these flows and associated hierarchy of bifurcations in rectangular geometries. The Navier Stokes and energy equations are solved in their time-dependent and non-linear formulation to investigate the onset and evolution of oscillatory disturbances and other effects breaking the initially unicellular structure of the flow. It is shown that a kaleidoscope of oscillatory patterns is made possible by the new degree of freedom represented by the opposite inclination of the walls with respect to the horizontal direction. Even minute variations in the geometry and/or initial conditions can cause significant changes. Multiple states exist which can replace each other in given sub-regions of the space of parameters. Observed regimes include: stationary convection, weakly oscillating rolls, coalescing rolls, traveling waves, and modulated (pulso-traveling) disturbances. Most interestingly, traveling waves can propagate either in the downstream or the upstream direction according to whether the walls are converging or diverging

The rmogravitational flows of liquid me tals in ope n or close d ducts and containe rs play a re le vant role in a varie ty of applications in mechanical, mate rials and nuclear e ngineering. Such flows are known to be very sensitive to the e ffective shape of the containe r use d to host the fluid and its thermal boundary conditions. For the case of tempe rature gradie nts having the main compone nt dire cte d along the horizontal dire ction, re late d convective phe nome na fall unde r the ge neral heading of "Hadle y flow". He re we introduce a ge neral frame work for the de te rmination of the properties of these flows in the case of domains having converging or diverging top and bottom walls. The frame work is built via a hybrid approach in which typical techniques of CFD are use d in synergy with analytical solutions of the e nergy e quation. The prope r use of initial and boundar y conditions results in algorithm convergence acce le ration. The role playe d by the top and bottom wall inclination with re spect to the horizontal is assessed through parametric inve stigation.

Buoyancy flows of thermal origin and related heat transfer problems are central in a variety of disciplines and technological applications. In the present study the classical case of a cavity heated from one side and cooled from the other (internal size 4 cm, filled with water) is tackled both experimentally and numerically for different circumstances (horizontal and inclined temperature gradients). The main objective is to fill a gap, namely, the surprising lack of knowledge relating to the role played by the effective heat loss taking place through the walls delimiting the fluid domain from above and from below and along the spanwise direction in influencing the instabilities of these flows and their progression towards chaos. We explore the response of such systems with respect to several parameters, including the inclination of the cavity with respect to gravity, the average temperature of the fluid, the applied temperature difference, the dependence of fluid properties on temperature and the intensity of heat transfer to the ambient. Experiments are supported by dedicated numerical simulations based on the Navier Stokes and energy equations in their time-dependent and non-linear formulation (solved by means of the SIMPLE method with a collocated-grid approach). It is shown that a kaleidoscope of states is possible depending on the considered conditions. The results reveal the counter-intuitive triadic relationship among heat loss through non-thermally active walls, the hierarchy of bifurcations displayed by the system and the prevailing two-dimensional or three-dimensional nature of the flow.

This study extends the numerical results presented in past author's work (Lappa and Ferialdi, Phys. Fluids, 29(6), 064106, 2017) about the typical instabilities of thermogravitational convection (the so-called Hadley flow) in containers with inclined (converging or diverging) walls. The flow is now allowed to develop along the third dimension (z). In a region of the space of parameters where the two-dimensional solutions were found to be relatively regular in time and with a simple structure in space (supporting transverse waves propagating either in the downstream or in the upstream direction), the 3D flow exhibits either waves travelling along the spanwise direction or spatially disordered and chaotic patterns. In order to identify the related mechanisms, we analyse the competition between hydrodynamic and hydrothermal (Oscillatory Longitudinal Roll) modes of convection for different conditions. A peculiar strategy of analysis is implemented, which, on the one hand, exploits the typical properties of systems developing coexisting branches of solution ("multiple" states) and their sensitivity to a variation of the basin of attraction and, on the other hand, can force such systems to select a specific category of disturbances (by enabling or disabling the related "physical" mechanisms). It is shown that hydrodynamic modes can produce early transition to chaos. The dimensionality of such states is investigated through evaluation of the "fractal" (correlation) dimension on the basis of the algorithm by Grassberger and Procaccia. When low-dimensional chaos is taken over by high-dimensional chaos, the flow develops a recognisable interval of scales where turbulence obeys the typical laws of the so-called "inertial range" and produces small-scale features in agreement with available Kolmogorov estimates.