Convective instability in liquid pools heated from below

Abstract

The linear hydrodynamic stability analysis of liquid pools heated from below combining surface tension and buoyancy effects as presented by Nield (1964) is confirmed by experiment for a series of silicone oils. The experimental method used is an adaptation of the Schmidt–Milverton technique, in which the stability limit is located by the change of slope in the plot of heat flux versus temperature drop across the liquid pool.