The geoflow-experiment on ISS (Part II): Numerical simulation

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

6

Scientific paper

Convection in spherical shells under the influence of a radial force field is an important problem in classical convection theory. It is difficult to reproduce in a terrestrial laboratory though, because there gravity is everywhere downwards rather than radially inwards. It turns out that one can produce a radial force field, by applying a high voltage difference between the inner and outer spheres. The combination of the electric field and the temperature-dependence of the fluid's dielectric coefficient then produces an r-5 central force field. Of course, in a terrestrial laboratory one still has the external gravity as well. In order to eliminate this effect and produce a purely radial force field, an experiment is planned on the International Space Station. In this paper we will present the results of numerical simulations intended to assist in the design of this experiment, for example in choosing the optimal radius ratios. We solve for the onset of convection in such an r-5 force field, as a function of the radius ratio (varying between 0.3 and 0.6), the Prandtl number (varying between 1 and 100), and the Taylor number (measuring an overall rotation of the whole shell, which will also be possible in the experiment).

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

The geoflow-experiment on ISS (Part II): Numerical simulation does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The geoflow-experiment on ISS (Part II): Numerical simulation, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The geoflow-experiment on ISS (Part II): Numerical simulation will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1462502

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.