High Marangoni number convection in a square cavity: Part II

Abstract

Steady thermocapillary flow is examined in a square two-dimensional cavity with a single free surface and differentially heated side walls. The numerical solutions are obtained with a finite difference method applied to a streamfunction-temperature formulation. This work investigates the Prandtl number dependence, structure, and stability of high Marangoni number flow. It is found that the character of thermocapillary flow is highly sensitive to the value of the Prandtl number over a range of Marangoni numbers exceeding 1×105 for 1≤Pr≤50, the magnitude of the flow showing nonmonotonic dependence on the Marangoni number for Pr≤∼10. A complete structural analogy is observed between flow in a cavity driven by a moving lid and thermocapillary flow in the boundary layer limit, and it is found that all the solutions, spanning a wide range of Marangoni and Prandtl numbers, are linearly stable to a restricted class of disturbances.