Microconvection in a domain with free boundary (Q2714079)

The author studies two approximate models accounting for the so-called microconvection effects which are derived from the well-known Oberbeck--Boussinesq system for describing the convection under low gravity forces, in small domains, and the fast changing temperature fields. These models can be used for modeling the gravitational-thermocapillary convection. Actually, the author investigates numerically a two-dimensional steady-state problem for semicircular regions with free boundaries and considers only the cases that exhibit both mechanisms of the convection (gravity and thermocapillarity).NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEThe rest of the article is devoted to numerical studying the models under consideration. Numerical solutions are obtained for distinct Prandtl, Maragoni, and Grashof numbers. The author presents calculation results for a glycerin-type liquid and a silicon-glass alloy under microgravity forces.