Dynamics of electroconvective structures in a weakly conducting liquid

The finite-amplitude evolution of electroconvective structures in a weakly conducting liquid with an electroconductive charge formation mechanism is examined. The liquid is in the electrostatic field of a horizontally placed capacitor and is heated from below, and the electric charge time constant is much shorter than the characteristic hydrodynamic time. The interaction between the electroconductive convection and thermogravitational convection is considered. The evolution of the supercritical structures is investigated by direct numerical simulation using the finite-difference method. The bifurcations leading to the formation of stationary and wave liquid flows are analyzed. Nonlinear modes of stationary convection and traveling waves with different space-time patterns are identified and investigated. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 20–27, May–June, 2008.