Thermal convection with large viscosity variations

Abstract

The influence of large variations of viscosity on convection in a layer of fluid heated from below has been investigated. Solutions for the flow and temperature fields were obtained numerically assuming infinite Prandtl number, free-surface boundary conditions, and two-dimensional motion of fixed horizontal wavelength. The effects of a temperature-dependent and a depth-dependent viscosity were each studied; calculations were also carried out using a temperature- and depth-dependent viscosity model appropriate to the earth's mantle.