• ONSET OF SURFACE TENSION DRIVEN CONVECTION IN A FLUID LAYER WITH A BOUNDARY SLAB OF FINITE CONDUCTIVITY AND DEFORMABLE FREE SURFACE

Abstract

In the present study, the effect of a non-uniform basic temperature gradient on the linear stability of the Marangoni convection in a horizontal fluid layer. The upper surface of a fluid layer is deformably free and lower boundary is a considered to be a thin slab of finite conductivity instead of a regular rigid surface. At the contact surface between the thin slab and the fluid layer the thermal boundary conditions are used. The depth ratio, thermal conductivity ratio of solid plate play a decisive role on the stability characteristics of the system. In addition, the influence of the Biot number , the Bond number and Crispation number arising due to of upper deformable free surface is also emphasized on the stability of the system.