Characters of Surface Deformation and Surface Wave in Thermal Capillary Convection

In the field of fluid mechanics, free surface phenomena is one of the most important physical processes. In the present research work, the surface deformation and surface wave caused by temperature difference of sidewalls in a rectangular cavity have been investigated. The horizontal cross-section of the container is 52 mmx42 mm, and there is a silicon oil layer of height 3.5 mm in the experimental cavity. Temperature difference between the two side walls of the cavity is increased gradually, and the flow on the liquid layer will develop from stable convection to un-stable convection. An optical diagnostic system consisting of a modified Michelson interferometer and image processor has been developed for study of the surface deformation and surface wave of thermal capillary convection. The Fourier transformation method is used to interferometer fringe analysis. The quantitative results of surface deformation and surface wave have been calculated from a serial of the interference fringe patterns.The characters of surface deformation and surface wave have been obtained. They are related with temperature gradient and surface tension. Surface deformation is fluctuant with time, which shows the character of surface wave. The cycle period of the wave is 4.8 s, and the amplitudes are from 0 to 0.55 mu m. The phase of the wave near the cool side of the cavity is opposite and correlative to that near the hot side. The present experiment proves that the surface wave of thermal capillary convection exists on liquid free surface, and it is wrapped in surface deformation.

Damping of Vertically Excited Surface Wave in Weakly Viscous Fluid

In a vertically oscillating circular cylindrical container, singular perturbation theory of two-time scale expansions is developed in weakly viscous fluids to investigate the motion of single free surface standing wave by linearizing the Navier-Stokes equation. The fluid field is divided into an outer potential flow region and an inner boundary layer region. The solutions of both two regions are obtained and a linear amplitude equation incorporating damping term and external excitation is derived. The condition to appear stable surface wave is obtained and the critical curve is determined. In addition, an analytical expression of damping coefficient is determined. Finally, the dispersion relation, which has been derived from the inviscid fluid approximation, is modified by adding linear damping. It is found that the modified results are reasonably closer to experimental results than former theory. Result shows that when forcing frequency is low, the viscosity of the fluid is prominent for the mode selection. However, when forcing frequency is high, the surface tension of the fluid is prominent.

The Optical Methods on Measuring Surface Deformation and Surface Wave in The Thermal Capillary Convection

An optical diagnostic system consisting of the Michelson interferometer with the image processor has been developed for the study of the kinetics of the thermal capillary convection. The capillary convection, surface deformation, surface wave and the velocity field in a rectangular cavity with different temperature's sidewalls have been investigated by optical interference method and PIV technique. In order to calculate the surface deformation from the interference fringe, Fourier transformation is used to grating analysis. The quantitative results of the surface deformation and surface wave have been calculated from the interference fringe pattern.

Instability of the vertically forced surface wave in a circular cylindrical container

The nonlinear amplitude equation, which was derived by Jian Yongjun employing expansion of two-time scales in inviscid fluids in a vertically oscillating circular cylindrical vessel, is modified by introducing a damping term due to the viscous dissipation of this system. Instability of the surface wave is analysed and properties of the solutions of the modified equation are determined together with phase-plane trajectories. A necessary condition of forming a stable surface wave is obtained and unstable regions are illustrated. Research results show that the stable pattern of surface wave will not lose its stability to an infinitesimal disturbance.

Vertically forced surface wave in weakly viscous fluids bounded in a circular cylindrical vessel

Two-time scale perturbation expansions were developed in weakly viscous fluids to investigate surface wave motions by linearizing the Navier-Stokes equation in a circular cylindrical vessel which is subject to a vertical oscillation. The fluid field was divided into an outer potential flow region and an inner boundary layer region. A linear amplitude equation of slowly varying complex amplitude, which incorporates a damping term and external excitation, was derived for the weakly viscid fluids. The condition for the appearance of stable surface waves was obtained and the critical curve was determined. In addition, an analytical expression for the damping coefficient was determined and the relationship between damping and other related parameters (such as viscosity, forced amplitude, forced frequency and the depth of fluid, etc.) was presented. Finally, the influence both of the surface tension and the weak viscosity on the mode formation was described by comparing theoretical and experimental results. The results show that when the forcing frequency is low, the viscosity of the fluid is prominent for the mode selection. However, when the forcing frequency is high, the surface tension of the fluid is prominent.

Experimental Study on Surface Deformation and Surface Wave of Fluid Convection with Free Surface

An optical diagnostic system consisting of Michelson interferometer with image processor has been developed for study of the kinetics of thermal capillary convection and buoyancy convection. This optical interferometer has been used to observe and measure surface deformation and surface wave of capillary convection and buoyancy convection in a rectangular cavity with different temperature’s sidewalls. Fourier transformation is used to image processing. The quantitative results of surface deformation and surface wave have been calculated from the interference fringe pattern. With the increasing of temperature gradient, the liquid surface slant gradually. It’s deformation has been calculated, which is related directly with temperature gradient. This is one of the characters introducing convection. Another interesting phenomenon is the inclining direction, which is different when the liquid layer is thin or thick. When the liquid layer is thin, convection is mainly controlled by thermocapillary effect. However, When the liquid layer is thick, convection is mainly controlled by buoyancy effect. Surface deformation in the present experiment are more and more declining in this process. The present experiment proved that surface deformation appears before the appearance of surface wave on fluid convection, it is related with temperature gradient, and the height of liquid layer, and lies on capillary convection and buoyancy convection. The present experiment also demonstrates that the amplitude of surface wave of thermocapillary-buoyancy convection is much smaller than surface deformation, the wave is covered by deformation.

Experimental Observation on Surface Wave Phenomena in Thermal Capillary Convection

An optical diagnostic system consisting of the Michelson interferometer with the image processor has been developed for studying of the surface wave in the thermal capillary convection in a rectangular cavity. In this paper, the capillary convection, surface deformation and surface wave due to the different temperature between the two sidewalls have been investigated. The cavity is 52mm?42mm in horizontal cross section and 4mm in height. The temperature difference is increased gradually and flow in liquid layer will change from steady convection to unstable convection. The optical interference method measures the surface deformation and the surface wave of the convection. The deformation of the interference fringes, which produced by the meeting of the reflected light from the liquid surface and the reference light has been captured, and the surface deformation appears when the steady convection is developed. The surface deformation is enhanced with the increasing of the temperature difference, and then several knaggy peeks in the interference fringes appear and move from the heated side to the cooled side, it demonstrates that the surface wave is existed. The surface deformation, the wavelength, the frequency, and the wave amplitude of the surface wave have been calculated.

Steady surface wave pattern in a shear flow

The subject under investigation concerns the steady surface wave patterns created by small concentrated disturbances acting on a non-uniform flow of a heavy fluid. The initial value problem of a point disturbance in a primary flow having an arbitrary velocity distribution (U(y), 0, 0) in a direction parallel to the undisturbed free surface is formulated. A geometric optics method and the classical integral transformation method are employed as two different methods of solution for this problem. Whenever necessary, the special case of linear shear (i.e. U(y) = 1+ϵy)) is chosen for the purpose of facilitating the final integration of the solution.

The asymptotic form of the solution obtained by the method of integral transforms agrees with the leading terms of the solution obtained by geometric optics when the latter is expanded in powers of small ϵ r.

The overall effect of the shear is to confine the wave field on the downstream side of the disturbance to a region which is smaller than the wave region in the case of uniform flows. If U(y) vanishes, and changes sign at a critical plane y = y_cr (e.g. ϵy_cr = -1 for the case of linear shear), then the boundary of this asymmetric wave field approaches this critical vertical plane. On this boundary the wave crests are all perpendicular to the x-axis, indicating that waves are reflected at this boundary.

Inside the wave field, as in the case of a point disturbance in a uniform primary flow, there exist two wave systems. The loci of constant phases (such as the crests or troughs) of these wave systems are not symmetric with respect to the x-axis. The geometric optics method and the integral transform method yield the same result of these loci for the special case of U(y) = U_o(1 + ϵy) and for large Kr (ϵr ˂˂ 1 ˂˂ Kr).

An expression for the variation of the amplitude of the waves in the wave field is obtained by the integral transform method. This is in the form of an expansion in small ϵr. The zeroth order is identical to the expression for the uniform stream case and is thus not applicable near the boundary of the wave region because it becomes infinite in that neighborhood. Throughout this investigation the viscous terms in the equations of motion are neglected, a reasonable assumption which can be justified when the wavelengths of the resulting waves are sufficiently large.

Plasmonic surface-wave splitter

The authors present an analysis of a plasmonic surface-wave splitter, simulated using a two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain technique. A single subwavelength slit is employed as a high-intensity nanoscale excitation source for plasmonic surface waves, resulting in a miniaturized light-surface plasmon coupler. With different surface structures located on the two sides of the slit, the device is able to confine and guide light waves of different wavelengths in opposite directions. Within the 15 mu m simulation region, it is found that the intensity of the guided light at the interface is roughly two to eight times the peak intensity of the incident light, and the propagation length can reach approximately 42 and 16 mu m and at the wavelengths of 0.63 and 1.33 mu m, respectively. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Polarization-dependent one-way surface wave propagation

We numerically study nonreciprocal regimes of surface plasmon-polariton at the interface between two gyrotropic media. We predict existence of isolated unidirectional TE and TM surface modes guided by the interface between gyroelectric and gyromagnetic media.

Surface wave processes in air-sea interaction

We review briefly recent progress on understanding the role of surface waves on the marine atmospheric boundary layer and the ocean mixed layer and give a global perspective on these processes by analysing ERA-40 data. Ocean surface waves interact with the marine atmospheric boundary layer in two broad regimes: (i) the conventional wind-driven wave regime, when fast winds blow over slower moving waves, and (ii) a wave-driven wind regime when long wavelength swell propagates under low winds, and generates a wave-driven jet in the lower part of the marine boundary layer. Analysis of ERA-40 data indicates that the wave-driven wind regime is as prevalent as the conventional wind-driven regime. Ocean surface waves also change profoundly mixing in the ocean mixed layer through generation of Langmuir circulation. Results from large-eddy simulation are used here to develop a scaling for the resulting Langmuir turbulence, which is a necessary step in developing a parametrization of the process. ERA-40 data is then used to show that the Langmuir regime is the predominant regime over much of the global ocean, providing a compelling motivation for parameterising this process in ocean general circulation models.