Free convection in liquid gallium

Abstract

Free convection in liquid metals is of significant practical interest to the crystal-growing community since the adverse effects of convective instabilities in the melt phase can be frozen into the solid product. Here, we present the results of a combined numerical and experimental study of steady convective flows in a sample of liquid gallium which is heated at one end and cooled at the other. Experimental measurements of temperature distributions in the flow are compared with the standard Hadley-cell solution and with the numerical results obtained from a two-dimensional model. Excellent quantitative agreement is found between all three for low Grashof numbers but a systematic divergence between the results is seen as this parameter is increased.