Abstract: | In many technological processes, thin extended layers of nonuniformly heated fluid are used 1–3]. If they are sufficiently thin, thermocapillary forces have a decisive influence on the occurrence and development of motion of the fluid 4–6]. Investigation of convective motion in such a layer is of great interest for estimating the intensity of heat and mass transfer in technological processes. This paper is a study of unsteady thermocapillary motion in a layer of viscous incompressible fluid with free surface in which a thermal inhomogeneity is created at the initial time. Approximate expressions are obtained for the fields of the velocity, temperature, and pressure in the fluid, and also for the shape of the free surface.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 17–25, May–June, 1991. |