Numerical Simulation of Convective Instabilities in a Liquid Layer Submitted to an Inclined Gradient of Temperature

In this paper, numerical results of convective instabilities in a horizontal liquid layer, with an upper free surface, are presented. The liquid layer has been submitted to an inclined gradient of temperature (i.e. a horizontal gradient of temperature superimposed to a vertical one). Silicone oil with a Prandtl number Pr = 102 has been used as a working liquid. The thickness of the liquid layer has been varied from 1.7 mm to 3.2 mm to study the influence of both gravity and surface tension effects on the formation of convective patterns. 3D numerical simulations have been carried out using “Gambit” as a mesh generator and the numerical code “Fluent”, which is based on the finite volume method. The obtained results have been compared to experimental results of other authors and a good agreement has been achieved. This fact allows validating our modelling and numerical simulation procedure.