Flow and temperature field measurements of thermal convection in a small vertical gap using liquid crystals

Thermal convection in a small vertical gap is studied experimentally applying digital particle image velocimetry/thermometry. This optical method enables the simultaneous measurement of two-dimensional flow and temperature fields in a liquid. The principle is based on seeding the liquid flow medium with thermochromic liquid crystal particles. The temperature is measured by the crystal particles which change their reflected colour as function of temperature. The flow velocity is measured by using the same particles as flow tracers. The investigation shall contribute to the understanding of the fluid mechanical behaviour of biological liquids within micro reactor systems. However, the problem is also of fundamental interest as far as heat and mass transfer is concerned. Measured temperature and flow velocity fields are presented and discussed. Presented in part at the 4th Chemnitz/Hamburger Colloquium (CHC) on Microflows, Hamburg, Germany, November 2004.