On the Linear Stability of Large Stefan Number Convection in Rotating Mushy Layers for a New Darcy Equation Formulation

The Coriolis effect on a solidifying mushy layer is considered. A near-eutectic approximation and large far-field temperature is employed in the current study for large Stefan numbers. The linear stability theory is used to investigate analytically the Coriolis effect on convection in a rotating mushy layer for a new formulation of the Darcy equation. It was found that a large Stefan number scaling allows for the presence of both the stationary and oscillatory modes of convection. In contrast to the problem of a stationary mushy layer, rotating the mushy layer has a stabilising effect on convection. It was observed that increasing the Taylor number or the Stefan number encouraged the oscillatory mode of convection.     

Stefan Number Effect on the Transition from Stationary to Oscillatory Convection in a Solidifying Mushy Layer Subjected to Rotation

The current study investigates the Stefan number effect on the transition from stationary to oscillatory convection in a rotating mushy layer where the near eutectic approximation is applied. It is found that for rotating solidifying systems exhibiting a Stefan number of unit order (i.e., St=1), stationary convection is only possible up to Ta=3. Beyond Ta=3, for St=1, it is found that the oscillatory mode is the most dangerous mode of convection. A map showing the region of occurrence of the oscillatory mode is also presented for a range of Stefan numbers. The map reveals that the oscillatory mode is the most dangerous mode for intermediate values of Stefan number whilst the stationary mode is the most dangerous mode for very small and very large values of Stefan number. It is also demonstrated that increasing the rotation rate serves to render the oscillatory mode as the becoming the most dangerous mode of convection.     

Weak Nonlinear Analysis of Moderate Stefan Number Oscillatory Convection in Rotating Mushy Layers

We consider the solidification of a binary alloy in a mushy layer subject to Coriolis effects. A near-eutectic approximation and large far-field temperature is employed in order to study the dynamics of the mushy layer with a Stefan number of unit order of magnitude. The weak nonlinear theory is used to investigate analytically the Coriolis effect in a rotating mushy layer for a new moderate time scale proposed by the author. It is found that increasing the Taylor number favoured the forward bifurcation.     

Stability of Solutal Convection in a Gravity Modulated Mushy Layer During the Solidification of Binary Alloys

The linear stability theory is used to investigate analytically the effects of gravity modulation on solutal convection in the mushy layer of solidifying binary alloys. The gravitational field consists of a constant part and a sinusoidally varying part, which is synonymous to a vertically oscillating mushy layer subjected to constant gravity. The linear stability results are presented for both the synchronous and subharmonic solutions. It is demonstrated that up to the transition point between the synchronous and subharmonic regions, increasing the frequency of vibration rapidly stabilizes the solutal convection. Beyond the transition point, further increases in the frequency tend to destabilize the solutal convection, but gradually. It is also demonstrated that the effect of increasing the ratio of the Stefan number and the solid composition (₀) is to destabilize the solutal convection.     

Weak Non-Linear Analysis of Moderate Stefan Number Stationary Convection in Rotating Mushy Layers

The effects of rotation on a mushy layer, during the solidification of binary alloys, is considered. A near-eutectic approximation and large far-field temperature are employed in order to decouple the mushy layer from the overlying liquid melt. The current study employs a new moderate time scale for mushy layers exhibiting Stefan numbers of unit order of magnitude. The weak non-linear theory is used to evaluate the leading order amplitude. The results of the weak non-linear theory are then used to establish the nature of the bifurcation, that is whether the bifurcation is forward or inverse.     

Stability of Moderate Vadasz Number Solutal Convection in a Cylindrical Mushy Layer Subjected to Vertical Vibration

We consider vibration effects on the stability of solutal convection in a mushy layer being cast in a cylindrical geometry. The near eutectic limit is applied and moderate Vadasz numbers are considered to retain the second-order time derivative in the Darcy equation. Since small to moderate radii casting crucibles are the current area of interest, only synchronous modes are analyzed. The results indicate that the presence of vibration in solidifying mushy layers stabilizes the convection, and provides a quantification of the Rayleigh number associated with solutal convection. Of particular interest is the fact that in solidifying systems, the Rayleigh numbers are significantly smaller than that of a passive porous layer.     

Moderate Time Scale Finite Amplitude Analysis of Large Stefan Number Convection in Rotating Mushy Layers

We investigate the steady state convection amplitude for solutal convection occurring during the solidification of a rotating mushy layer in a binary alloy system for a new Darcy equation formulation. We adopt a large far field temperature and assume that the initial composition is very close to the eutectic composition. The linear stability analysis showed that rotation stabilised solutal convection. The results of the weak non-linear analysis of stationary convection indicates the presence of Hopf bifurcation, associated with the oscillatory mode, developing at Ta = 3.     

On the Stefan problem with volumetric energy generation

This paper presents results of solid–liquid phase change, driven by volumetric energy generation (VEG), in a vertical cylinder. We show excellent agreement between a quasi-static, approximate analytical solution valid for Stefan numbers less than one, and a computational model solved using the computational fluid dynamics code FLUENT®. A computational study also shows the effect that the VEG has on both the mushy zone thickness and convection in the melt during phase change.     

Three-Dimensional Convection in an Inclined Porous Layer Heated from below and Subjected to Gravity and Coriolis Effects

The linear stability theory is used to investigate analytically the effects of Coriolis acceleration on gravity driven convection in a rotating porous layer. The stability of a basic solution is analysed with respect to the onset of stationary convection. It was discovered that increasing the Taylor number caused degeneracy to polyhedric cells for a specific range of inclination angles. The effects of the magnitude of the horizontal wavenumber is discussed in relation to the magnitude of the Taylor number.     

The Effect of Rotation on the Onset of Double Diffusive Convection in a Horizontal Anisotropic Porous Layer

The effect of rotation and anisotropy on the onset of double diffusive convection in a horizontal porous layer is investigated using a linear theory and a weak nonlinear theory. The linear theory is based on the usual normal mode technique and the nonlinear theory on the truncated Fourier series analysis. Darcy model extended to include time derivative and Coriolis terms with anisotropic permeability is used to describe the flow through porous media. The effect of rotation, mechanical and thermal anisotropy parameters, and the Prandtl number on the stationary and overstable convection is discussed. It is found that the effect of mechanical anisotropy is to allow the onset of oscillatory convection instead of stationary. It is also found that the existence of overstable motions in case of rotating porous medium is not restricted to a particular range of Prandtl number as compared to the pure viscous fluid case. The finite amplitude analysis is performed to find the thermal and solute Nusselt numbers. The effect of various parameters on heat and mass transfer is also investigated.     

Analysis of periodic and aperiodic convective stability of double diffusive nanofluid convection in rotating porous layer

The onset of periodic and aperiodic convection in a binary nanofluid saturated rotating porous layer is studied considering constant flux boundary conditions. The porous medium obeys Darcy’s law, while the nanofluid envisages the effects of the Brownian motion and thermophoresis. The Rayleigh numbers for stationary and oscillatory convection are obtained in terms of various non-dimensional parameters. The effect of the involved physical parameters on the aperiodic convection is studied graphically. The results are validated in comparison with the published literature in limiting cases of the present study.     

Linear stability of solutal convection in solidifying mushy layers: permeable mush–melt interface

The linear stability theory is used to investigate analytically the effect of a permeable mush–melt boundary condition on the stability of solutal convection in a mushy layer of homogenous permeability at the near eutectic (solid) limit. The results clearly show that, in contrast to the impermeable mush–melt interface boundary condition, the application of the permeable mush–melt interface boundary condition destabilizes the convection in a mushy layer.     

On Three-Dimensional Non-linear Buoyant Convection in Ternary Solidification

We consider the problem of three-dimensional non-linear buoyant convection in ternary solidification. Under the limit of large far-field temperature, the convective flow is modeled to be in a rectangular cube composing of a horizontal liquid layer above a primary mushy layer, which itself is over a secondary mushy layer. We first apply linear stability analysis to calculate the conditions at the onset of motion. Next, we carry out weakly non-linear analyses to determine solutions in the form of hexagons and their possible stability and to obtain information about tendency for chimney formation. We find that if the flow is driven either from both mushy layers with equal critical conditions at the onset of motion or only by the primary mushy layer, then the flow can be in the form of a double-cell structure vertically with down-hexagons below or above up-hexagons. There is tendency for vertically oriented chimney formation at different horizontal locations in each mushy layer. For the cases where only the critical conditions at the onset of motion are equal in both mushy layers and depending on the values of the mush Rayleigh numbers, the flow can be subcritical (or supercritical) in both mushy layers or mixed subcritical in one layer and supercritical in another layer.     

Stability of Solutal Convection in a Rotating Mushy Layer Solidifying from a Vertical Surface

We consider the effects of rotation in a mushy layer being cast from a vertical surface where the effects of Coriolis acceleration, gravity and centrifugal effects are included. It is demonstrated that the Coriolis acceleration and gravity play a passive role in convection and are excluded from the stability criteria. The stability criteria is presented as the critical centrifugal Rayleigh numbers referenced for locations far away (start of solidification) and close to (nearing end of solidification) the axis or rotation.     

Solidification and Flow of a Binary Alloy Over a Moving Substrate

We study the solidification and flow of a binary alloy over a horizontally moving substrate. A situation in which the solid, liquid and mushy regions are separated by the stationary two-dimensional interfaces is considered. The self-similar solutions of the governing boundary layer equations are obtained, and their parametric dependence is analysed asymptotically. The effect of the boundary layer flow on the physical characteristics is determined. It is found that the horizontal pulling and the resulting flow in the liquid enhance the formation of the mushy region.     

Numerical Investigation on Marginal Stability and Convection with and without Magnetic Field in a Mushy Layer

In this article, an investigation is conducted to analyze the marginal stability with and without magnetic field in a mushy layer. During alloy solidification, such mushy layer, which is adjacent to the solidification front and composed of solid dendrites and liquid, is known to produce vertical chimneys. Here, we carry out numerical investigation for particular range of parameter values, which cover those of available experimental studies, to determine the convective flow at the onset of motion. The governing coupled non-linear partial differential equations are non-dimensionalised and solved to get the steady basic-state solution. The thickness of the mushy layer is determined as a part of the solution. Using multiple shooting technique, we determine the steady-state solutions in a range of critical Rayleigh number. We analyse the effect of several parameters, Chandrasekhar number Q, and Robert’s number τ on the problem. It was found that an increase in Q has a stabilizing effect on solidification and the critical Rayleigh number increases on increasing Q. It was also found that for moderate or small values of Robert’s number τ the critical Rayleigh number is mostly insensitive.     

Küppers-Lortz instability in rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a porous medium

The Darcy-Lapwood-Brinkman model with the Boussinesq approximation is used to study Küppers-Lortz (KL) instability in the nonlinear regime of rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a sparsely packed porous medium near the onset of stationary convection. The threshold Taylor numbers and critical angles for the onset of KL instability are obtained for different values of Λ, M for finite Prandtl numbers (1.5≤Pr≤100). Heat transfer is studied from Nusselt number at the onset of stationary convection.     

Coriolis effect on convection for a low Prandtl number fluid

The problem of finite-amplitude thermal convection in a horizontal layer of a low Prandtl number heated from below and rotating about a vertical axis is studied. Linear stability and weak non-linear theories are used to investigate analytically the Coriolis effect on gravity-driven convection. The non-linear steady problem is solved by perturbation techniques, and the preferred mode of convection is determined by a stability analysis. Finite-amplitude results, obtained by using a weak amplitude, correspond to both stationary and oscillatory convections. These amplitude equations permit to identify from the post-transient conditions that the fluid is subject to Pitchfork bifurcation in the stationary convection and Hopf bifurcation in the oscillatory convection. Thereafter, in the small perturbations hypothesis, an amplitude solution is evaluated and drawn in time and space scales.     

Convection in a rotating medium above a thermally inhomogeneous horizontal surface

The linear stationary problem of convection in a medium rotating about a vertical axis above a thermally inhomogeneous horizontal surface is theoretically investigated. Attention is mainly focused on the case of a homogeneous medium, but certain stratification effects and especially the convection characteristics in binary mixtures (for example, in saline sea water) are also considered. When the rotation is rapid (large Taylor numbers) the convective cells are strongly elongated in the vertical direction, though they also contain a thin Ekman boundary layer. The importance of the boundary conditions on the horizontal surface (in parallel with the no-slip conditions, more general conditions that may follow from the quadratic turbulent friction model are considered) is shown. In the case of binary mixtures, the differential diffusion and rotation effects may together result in the appearance of “induced salt fingers”, the deep penetration of convection into an arbitrarily stably stratified medium. The convective motions may then have a considerable effect on the background vertical temperature and admixture distributions. Attention is drawn to an original manifestation of the analogy between the rotation and stratification effects: in a non-rotating, stably stratified medium, near a thermally inhomogeneous vertical surface, the convection also penetrates deep into the medium, but in the horizontal direction, so that, when the coordinate system is rotated through 90°, the solution coincides with the case of a rotating non-stratified fluid considered here.     

Linear and non-linear double diffusive convection in a rotating porous layer using a thermal non-equilibrium model

Double diffusive convection in a fluid-saturated rotating porous layer heated from below and cooled from above is studied when the fluid and solid phases are not in local thermal equilibrium, using both linear and non-linear stability analyses. The Darcy model that includes the time derivative and Coriolis terms is employed as momentum equation. A two-field model that represents the fluid and solid phase temperature fields separately is used for energy equation. The onset criterion for stationary, oscillatory and finite amplitude convection is derived analytically. It is found that small inter-phase heat transfer coefficient has significant effect on the stability of the system. There is a competition between the processes of thermal and solute diffusions that causes the convection to set in through either oscillatory or finite amplitude mode rather than stationary. The effect of solute Rayleigh number, porosity modified conductivity ratio, Lewis number, diffusivity ratio, Vadasz number and Taylor number on the stability of the system is investigated. The non-linear theory based on the truncated representation of Fourier series method predicts the occurrence of subcritical instability in the form of finite amplitude motions. The effect of thermal non-equilibrium on heat and mass transfer is also brought out.