Microgravity Fluid Mechanics 1992

Microgravity
Fluid Mechanics
International Union of Theoretical
and Applied Mechanics
H. J. Rath (Editor)
Microgravity
Fluid Mechanics
IUTAM Symposium Bremen 1991
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York
London Paris Tokyo
Hong Kong Barcelona Budapest
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans Josef Rath
Zentrum fUr angewandte Raumfahrttechnologie
und Mikrogravitation, ZARM
Universitat Bremen
Hochschulring/Am Fallturm
2800 Bremen 33
Germany
ISBN 978-3-642-50093-0 ISBN 978-3-642-50091-6 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-50091-6
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© Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg 1992
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Scientific Committee
H.F. Bauer, Universitat der Bundeswehr Miinchen
R. Collins, Biodynamics International, Halifax
M. Kono, University of Tokyo
L.G. Napolitano, University of Naples t
S. Ostrach, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland
V.I. Polezhaev, Institute for Problems in Mechanics, Moscow
H.J. Rath (Chairman), ZARM, Universitiit Bremen
N. Riley, University of East Anglia, Norwich
I. Da Riva, Laboratorio de Aerodinamica, E.T.S.I. Aeronauticos, Madrid t
J. Siekmann, Universitiit Essen
L. van Wijngaarden, Technische Hogeschool Twente
Local Organizing Committee

A. Delgado
B. Hiller
R. Kroger
A. Nordmann
B. Schuldt
Preface
The decision of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (JUTAM) to
organize a Symposium on Microgravity Fluid Mechanics represents a milestone for this
young and promising field of science. This Symposium was proposed to the General
Assembly of IUTAM by the "Gesellschaft fur Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik"
(GAMM). With this decision JUTAM has recognized the rapid development of
Microgravity Fluid Mechanics towards becoming a full member within the community of
Mechanical Sciences and Fluid Mechanics.
The intention of the Symposium was to review recent scientific research results in the field
of Fluid Mechanics under strongly reduced gravity conditions and to discuss the "state-of-
the-art" in this discipline. A thematical structure was provided to the large topic of the
IUTAM-Symposium by six invited lectures which reviewed the various aspects of interface
phenomena of fluids under isothermal conditions and Marangoni-effects, combustion
phenomena, physico-chemical processes and multiphase phenomena, fluid handling,
dynamics of convectional driven drops and bubbles, residual acceleration effects, non-
Newtonian fluid flow and aspects of solidification. These invited papers were supplemented
by 22 orally presented contributions and 29 papers presented as posters. In accordance with
the IUTAM-regulations, there was no general call for papers. The contributed papers were
selected by the Scientific Committee from extended abstracts. Unfortunately, it was not
possible to include all papers in the Symposium. Practically all considered contributions
could be accepted for publication in the proceedings. This is the merit of the members of
the Scientific Committee who preselected the contributions from about ninety based on the
submitted abstracts.
The Symposium brought together many scientists from allover the world who are active in
the field of Fluid Mechanics under strongly reduced gravity conditions. The conference had
quite an interdisciplinary character as scientits from various research fields as Fluid
Mechanics, Physico-Chemistry, Combustion, Rheology, Mathematics and Physics took
part. The papers submitted showed in general that there is a progress and an increasing
interest in the field of Microgravity Fluid Mechanics. Furthermore the Symposium has
shown that beside using short-term facilities (drop tower, parabolic flights), Microgravity
long-term experiments could only be the tip of an iceberg of Microgravity Science. It is
necessary to stimulate the use of mathematical and numerical methods, to use more short-
term flight possiblities for Microgravity experiments and to use "small-scale" experiments
under terrestrial conditions to get a wider basis and a precise comprehension of the
different and interesting Microgravity Fluid Mechanics phenomena.
VII
Always many people were involved in the preparation and running of the symposium. I
would like to thank the members of the Scientific Committee who at all stages during the
preparation of the conference, maintained a very close rapport. In addition to the members
of the Scientific committee I would like to thank especially Dr. A. Delgado (ZARM) and
Dipl.-Ing. R. Kroger (ZARM) for their large effort and help. Thanks is also given to Mrs.
B. Schuldt, Mrs. B. Hiller and Mr. A. Nordmann and other co-workers of ZARM. We are
much indebted for the financial support provided by the sponsors which made this
Symposium possible.
The ready and efficient cooperation of Herro von Hagen and the editorial staff of the
Springer-Verlag during the preparation for the printing of the Proceedings is especially
appreciated.
It is our hope that this book will stimulate further research efforts in this exciting field of
Fluid Mechanics.
Bremen, September 1991 Hans I. Rath

Introduction
I have accepted the invitation of Prof. Rath, Chairman of the Scientific of Committee of
this Symposium, to address some introductory words on this Symposium with great
personal pleasure. This is due to his high dedication and hard work in establishing the
Microgravity Fluid Mechanics within the community of mechanical sciences, and due to
the particular evolution which this young but very promising discipline has had.
In the first phase the evolution was strongly related to the activities in other microgravity
sciences. For a wide spectrum of experiments under compensated gravity fluid mechanics
plays a very important role as at least one fluid phase is present in each experiment. This is
the case for example in the material sciences, where molten materials must be treated
adequately, in biology and biotechnology, in combustion sciences, in chemical engineering
and even in some medical experiments.
Through the emphasis of the past activities another microgravity discipline especially on
material science research, the microgravity fluid mechanics focuses on capillary mechanics
and on interface transport phenomena. But at the present Fluid Mechanics has recognized
that there is a wide spectrum of unsolved problems, which can be studied advantageously
in a microgravity environment. This is especially true for the investigation of many basic
fluid phenomena, which have been so far otherwise intractable because of gravity effects in
earth-bound research.
The evolution of Microgravity Fluid Mechanics cannot be better emphasized than by the
scientific programme of this Symposium. Fluid mechanical problems in the broadest sense
are treated: statics and dynamics of fluids with large free boundaries, Marangoni
phenomena, bubbles and drops, multiphase flows, mass and heat transfer in flow fields,
combustion, solidification and even non-newtonian flows.
In spite of this wide range of problems I feel that the topics discussed represent the bases
for the forthcoming of Fluid Mechanics in general. In this sense I would like to thank all
participants for the hard work in ensuring the success of this Symposium.
Professor O. Mahrenholtz
President of the GAMM
Participants
Prof. J.I.D. Alexander Prof. R. Ansorge
center for Microgravity Institut fUr angewandte
and Material Research Mathematik
University of Alabama Universitat Hamburg
M-65,R.I. Bldg. Bundesstr. 55
Huntsville, AL 35899 2000 Hamburg 13
USA Germany
Dr. H. Azuma Dr. L.G. Badratinova

National Aerospace Laboratory Lavrentyev Institute of
7-44-1 Jindaiji-higashimachi Hydrodynamics
Chofu, Tokyo USSR Academy of Science
Japan Lavrentyev Prospect 15
Novosibirsk 630090
USSR
Dr. R. Balasubramaniam Dr. I.V. Barmin

NASA SPLAV
Lewis Research Center Glavcosmos USSR
Microgravity Fluids Branch Technical Center
21000 Brookpark Road 9 Baikalskaya Str.
Cleveland, OH 44135 Moscow 109497
USA USSR
Prof. H.F. Bauer Dr. M.S. Bello

Institut fUr Raumfahrttechnik Institute of
Universitat der Bundeswehr High Molecular Compounds
MUnchen USSR Academy of Science
Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39 Bolshoi avo V.O. 31
8014 Neubiberg 199004 Leningrad
Germany USSR
Dr. V.A. Briskman Prof. R. Collins

Institute of continuous Media President
Mechanics, Ural Dept. of Biodynamics International
USSR Academy of Science 5170 Bishop st.
Acad. Korolev str. 1 Halifax, N.S.
614061 Perm Canada B3J 1C9
USSR
Dr. P. Concus Prof. A. Crespo Martinez

Lawrence Berkley Laboratory E.T.S.I.
university of California Industriales Departamento
Berkley, CA de Mechanica de Fluidos
USA Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2
28006 Madrid
Spain
x
Prof. Da Dao-an Dr. P. Dauby

Division of Microgravity and Inst. of Physics
Superconductor Liege University
Lanzhou Institute of Physics Sart Tilman B5
P.o. Box 94 4000 Liege
Lanzhou Gansu 730000 Belgium
P.R. of China
Dr. A. Delgado Dr. A.A.M. Delil

ZARM National Aerospace
Universitat Bremen Laboratory NLR
Am Fallturm P.O. Box 153
2800 Bremen 33 8300 AD Emmeloord
Germany Netherlands
Dipl.-Ing. M. Dreyer Prof. F.L. Dryer

ZARM Dep. of Mechanics and
Universitat Bremen Aerospace Engineering
Am Fallturm Princeton university
2800 Bremen 33 Engineering Quadrangle
Germany Princeton, NJ 08544-5263
USA
Dipl.-Phys. U. Duda Dipl.-Ing. C. Egbers

Institut fUr Mechanik ZARM
FB 12 Universitaet Bremen
Universitat Essen Hochschulring/Am Fallturm
SchUtzenbahn 70 2800 Bremen 33
4300 Essen 1 Germany
Germany
Dr. W. Eidel Dr. M.K. Ermakov

Institut fUr Raumfahrttechnik Inst. for Problems
Universitat der Bundeswehr in Mechanics
MUnchen USSR Academy of Science
Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39 Prospect Vernadskogo 101
8014 Neubiberg 117526 Moscow
Germany USSR
Dr. A.M. Gafian-Calvo Dr. G. Gerbeth

Universidad Sevilla Zentralinstitut fUr
E.T.S.I. Industriales Kernforschung Rossendorf
Avda. Reina Mercedes, SIN Bereich Reaktorphysik
41005 Sevilla PostschlieBfach 19
Spain 0-8051 Dresden
Germany
XI
Dr. Gillon Dipl.-Phys. R. Greger

Madylam Inst. Nat. ZARM
Poly technique de Grenoble Universitat Bremen
ENSHMG Am Fallturm
BP 95 2800 Bremen 33
38402 st. Martin d'Heres Cedex Germany
France
Prof. G. Greger Dr. Shuling Guo

BMFT Beijing Institut of
5300 Bonn 2 Control Engineering
Germany P.O. Box 2729
Beijing 100080
P.R. of China
Mr. H. Hashimoto Prof. L. Hocking

Japan Space utilization University College London
Promotion Center (JSZPC) Dept of Mathematics
2-2/-16 Nishi-Waseda, Gowen Sl
Shinjuku-Ku London WC1E 6BT
Tokyo 169 UK
Japan
Dr. M. Ishikawa Prof. K. Ito

Mitshubishi Department of Mechanical
Research Inst. Inc. Engineering
2-3-6 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku Hokkaido University
Tokyo 100 Kita 13, Nishi 8
Japan Sapporo 060
Japan
Prof. P. Joulain Dr. Y. Kamotani

Laboratoire Chimie Physique de Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace
la Combustion-CNRS- Universite Enigneering
de Poitiers-Domaines du Deffend 10900 Euclid Avenue
40 Avenue Recteur Pireau Cleveland ,OH 44106-7222
86800 Mignaloux-Beauvoir USA
France
Prof. M. Kono Mr. A. Kono

Dept. of Aeronautics Lehrstuhl A fUr Thermodynamik
University of Tokyo Technische Universitat MUnchen
Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku Arcisstr. 21
Tokyo 113 8000 MUnchen 2
Japan Germany
XII
Dipl.-Ing. R. Kroger Mr. Kroh

ZARM DARA
Hochschulring/Am Fallturm Haptabteilung GN-WS
2800 Bremen 33 Plittersdorfer Str. 93
Germany 5300 Bonn 2
Germany
Dr. H.C. Kuhlmann Prof. D. Langbein

ZARM Battelle Institut e.V.
Hochschulring/Am Fallturm Am Romerhof 35
2800 Bremen 33 6000 Frankfurt
Germany Germany
Prof. O.M. Lavrentyeva Dr. Benru Li

Lavrentyev Inst Hydrodynamics Beijing Institute of
Siberian Division of the Control Engineering
USSR Academy of Science P.O. Box 27 29
Novosibirsk 630090 Beijing 100080
USSR P.R. of China
Dipl.-Ing. M. Liu Dr. T.P. Lyubimova

ZARM Institute of continuous Media
Universitat Bremen Mechanics of UB
Am Fallturm USSR Acad. of Science
2800 Bremen 33 1, Akad. Korolyov Street
Germany 614061 Perm
USSR
Prof. T. Maekawa Dr. R. Marek

Toyo University Lehrstuhl A Thermodynamic
2100 Nakanodai, Kujirai Technische Universitat Mtinchen
Kawagoe, Saitama 350 Arcisstr. 21
Japan 8000 Mtinchen 2
Germany
Dipl.-Ing. G. Marks Dr. J. Meseguer Ruiz

ZARM E.T.S.I.
Universitaet Bremen Aeronauticos
Hochschulring/Am Fallturm Laboratorio de Aerodinamica
2800 Bremen 33 Pza. Cardenal Cisneros sin
Germany 28040 Madrid
spain
XIII
Dr. H. Nagata Dipl.-Ing. G. Netter

The Graduate School of ERNO
the university of Tokyo Raumfahrttechnik GmbH
Dept. of Aeronautical Engr. Postf.105909, HUnefeldstr. 1-5
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku 2800 Bremen 1
Tokyo 113 Germany
Japan
Mrs. K. Nitschke Dr. H. Nomura

Zentralinstitut fUr ZARM
Kernforschung Rossendorf Universitat Bremen
Bereich Reaktorphysik Am Fallturm
postschlieBfach 19 2800 Bremen 33
0-8051 Dresden Germany
Germany
Mr. U. Nordbrock Prof. S. Ostrach

ZARM Case western Reserve University
Hochschulring / Am Fallturm Dep. of Mechanical and
Aerospace
2800 Bremen 33 Engineering
Germany Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7222
USA
Prof. A. Palanques-Mestre Dr. J.M. Perales

Dep. Applied Mathematics Universidad Politecnica de
& Analysis Madrid, Lab. Aerodinamica
Universidad Barcelona E.T.S.I. Aeronauticos
Gran Via 585 28040 Madrid
08071 Barcelona Spain
Spain
Prof. V.I. Polezhaev Prof. A. R. Rao

Inst. for Problems ZARM
in Mechanics Hochschulring / Am Fallturm
USSR Academy of Science 2800 Bremen 33
Prospect Vernadskogo 101 Germany
117526 Moscow
USSR
Prof. H.J. Rath Prof. N. Riley

ZARM School of Math. and Phys.
Universitaet Bremen University of East Anglia
Hochschulring/Am Fallturm Norwich NR4 7TJ
2800 Bremen 33 UK
Germany
XIV
Mrs. T. Sancho Dr. A. Sanz Andres

E.U.E.T.T. E.T.S.I.
Telecommunications Eng. School Aeronauticos Laboratorio
La Salle de Aerodinamica
Passeig Bonanova, 8 Pza. Cardenal Cisneros sin
08022 Barcelona 28040 Madrid
spain Spain
Dr. J. Schneider Dr. R.M.S.M. Schulkes

1. Physikalisches Institut Dep. of Applied Mathematics
JUstus-Liebig-Universitat and Theoretical Physics
Giessen University of Cambridge
Heinrich-Buff-Ring 16 Silver Street
6300 Giessen Cambridge
Germany England CB3 9EW
Prof. D. Schwabe Prof. J. Siekmann

1. Physikalisches Institut Institut fur Mechanik
der Universitat Giessen FB 12
H.-Buff-Ring 16 Universitat Essen
6300 Giessen Schutzenbahn 70
Germany 4300 Essen 1
Germany
Prof. M. Singh Dr. S.G. Slavtchev

Biomedical Engineering Division Inst. of Mech. & Biomech.
Indian Institute of Technology Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Madras 600036 Akad. G.Bonchev Str, Block 4
India Sofia 1113
Bulgaria
Dr. M.Z. Sorkin Dr. J. Srulijes

Institute of Physics Deutsch-Franzosisches
Latvian Academy of Science Forschungsinstitut, ISL
Salaspils 1 5, rue de l'Industrie
Latvia 229021 Riga 68301 Saint-Louis Cedex
USSR Francey
Dipl.-Ing. F. Stengele Prof. J. Straub

ZARM Lehrstuhl A fur
Universitat Bremen Thermodynamik
Am Fallturm TU Munchen
2800 Bremen 33 Arcistr. 21
Germany 8000 Munchen 2
Germany
xv
Dr. D. Strube Prof. R.S. Subramanian

Inst. fUr Raumfahrttechnik Dept. of Chemical
Universitat der Bundeswehr Engineering
MUnchen Clarkson University
Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39 Peyton Hall
8014 Neubiberg Potsdam, N.Y. 13699-5705
Germany USA
Dr. J.A. szymczyk Dipl.-Ing. M. Treuner

Institut fUr Mechanik ZARM
FB 12 Universitat Bremen
Universitat Essen Am Fallturm
SchUtzenbahn 70 2800 Bremen 33
4300 Essen 1 Germany
Germany
Dr. J. Vreeburg Prof. Ch.A. Ward

NLR University of Toronto
National Aerospace Laboratory Thermodynamics & Kinetics Lab.
P.O. Box 90502 Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
1006 BM Amsterdam 5 Kings College Road
Netherlands Toronto M5S 1A4
Canada
Dr. S.K. Wilson Dr. G. Wozniak

School of Mathematics Institut fUr Mechanik
University of East Anglia FB 12
Norwich, NR4 7TJ Universitat Essen
UK SchUtzenbahn 70
4300 Essen 1
Germany
Dr. J. WU Dr. Shuochang Xu

ZARM Institute of Mechanics
Hochschulring/ Am Fallturm Academia Sinica
2800 Bremen 33 Beijing 100080
Germany P.R. of China
Dr. A.L. Zuev

Institute of Continuous Media
Mechanics, Ural Dept. of
USSR Academy of Science
Acad. Korolev Str. 1
614061 Perm
USSR
Table of Contents
1st Session
Interface Phenomena of Pure Fluids under Isothermal Conditions
Chairman: I.I.D. Alexander (USA)
A. Sanz Andres (invited lecture) 3

Static and dynamic response of liquid bridges
P. Concus, R. Finn 19
On accurate determination of contact angle
R.M.S.M. Schulkes 29
Liquid bridge ocsillations: analytical and numerical results
1. Meseguer, I.M. Perales 37

Viscosity effects on the dynamics of long axisymmetric liquid bridges
H.F. Bauer, W. Eidel 47

Vibrational behavior of amphora liquid columns in microgravity fields
1st Poster Session

Interface Phenomena I
Chairman: C.A. Ward (Canada)
W. Eidel 61
Marangoni-convection in a non-spherical liquid drop
G. Lebon, A. Cloot 71
Some problems raised by Marangoni instability in spherical geometry
B. Petri, A. Delgado, H.I. Rath 81

Marangoni convection in drops under microgravity conditions
S. Slavtchev, V. Naidenov, Zh. Kozhoukharova 91

Stationary Marangoni instability in a liquid layer due to non-isothermal
gas absorption
XVII
R. Marek, J. Straub 99
Three-dimensional transient simulation of Marangoni flow in a cylindrical
enclosure under various gravity levels
J.A. Szymczyk 111

Influence of the temperature gradient on the oscillatory instabilities of
thermocapillary flow at a rotating interface
G. Wozniak, K. Wozniak 119

Simultaneous measurement of the temperature and velocity field in
thermocapillary convections of bubbles
A. Yu. Gelfgat, B. J. Martuzans 129

Influence of the electromagnetic, g-jitter or thermocapillary forces on the
stability of the stationary buoyancy convection
N.A. Bezdenezhnykh, V.A. Briskman, A.Yu. Lapin, D.V. Lyubimov,

T.P Lyubimova, A.A. Tcherepanov, LV. Zakharov 137
The influence of high frequency tangential vibrations on the stability of
the fluid interfaces in microgravity
V.A. Briskman, A.L. Zuev, T.P. Lyubimova, A.A. Nepomnyashchy 145

Thermocapillary flows and deformations of the surface in the systems of
fluid layers with the longitudinal temperature gradient in microgravity
2nd Session
Residual Acceleration Effects, Fluid Handling
Chairman: J. Vreeburg (The Netherlands)
G.Netter, J. Weifi (invited lecture) 155

Fluid management under micro-gravity conditions in technical
applications
J.I.D. Alexander, Y. Zhang 167

The sensitivity of a non-isothermal liquid bridge to residual acceleration
Y. Kamotani, S. Ostrach 175

Effect of g-jitter on liquid free surfaces in microgravity
XVIII
A. Delgado, H.J. Rath 185

Theoretical investigation of the rotating disks flow of one and two-phase
fluids in microgravity
** S. Schneider, J. Straub 195

Transient convection caused by acceleration disturbances
3rd Session
Convection Induced by Interface-Tension-Gradients: Marangoni-Effects
Chairman: S. Ostrach (USA)
D. Schwabe (invited lecture) 201

Experimental studies of thermal Marangoni-effects
H. Azuma, S. Yoshihara, M. Ohnishi, T. Doi 205

Upper layer flow phenomena in two immiscible liquid layers subject to a
horizontal temperature gradient
D. Schwabe, U. Moeller, J. Schneider, A. Scharmann 213

Surface waves in a free liquid-gas interface by oscillatory Marangoni
convection
LV. Barmin, A.S. Senchenkov, Yu.M. Gelfgat, M.Z. Sorkin 217

Thermocapillary convection in a magnetic field
M. Treuner, A. Delgado, H.J. Rath, U. Duda, J. Szymczyk, J.Siekmann 227

Experimental investigation of the management of large-sized drops and
the onset of Marangoni-convection
2nd Poster Session

Interface Phenomena II, Convective Processes, Solidification
Chairman: LV. Barmin (USSR)
R.M. Merritt, R.S. Subramanian 237

Bubble migration under the combined action of buoyancy and
thermocapillarity
XIX
H. Nomura, M. Kono, J. Sato, G. Marks, H. Iglseder, H.J. Rath 245

Effects of the natural convection on fuel droplet evaporation
V.1. Polezhaev, M.K. Ermakov 253

Thermal convection in microgravity during a slow rotation
D. Strube 263
Stability of a spherical and a catenoidal liquid bridge between two parallel
plates in the absence of gravitiy
A. Gafian, I.G. Loscertales, A. Barrero, H. Gonzalez, A. Ramos,

F.M.J. McCluskey, A. Castellanos 271
Equilibrium shapes, stability and dynamical behaviour of liquid captive
menisci under gravitational, centrifugal and electrical fields
K. Nitschke, A. Thess, G. Gerbeth 285

Linear stability of Marangoni-Hartmann-convection
J.I.D. Alexander, J. Ouazzani, S. Amiroudine, F. Rosenberger 297

Numerical analysis of the sensitivity of crystal growth experiments to
spacecraft residual acceleration
R. Balasubramaniam, L.H. Dill 307

Thermocapillary bubble migration - an Oseen-like analysis of the energy
equation
S. Xu 315
Applications of bifurcation theory to the problem of rotating liquid drops
in space
* C.F. Chen 325

Surface tension effects on the onset of double-diffusive convection
xx
4th Session
Combustion, Physico-Chemical Processes, Multiphase Phenomena
Chairman: P. Joulain (France)
M.Y. Choi, S.Y. Cho, F.L. Dryer, J.B. Haggard, Jr. (invited lecture) 337
Computational/experimental basis for conducting alkane droplet
combustion experiments on space-based-platforms
H. Nagata, K. Ishii, S. Tomioka, M. Kono, J. Sato 355

Ignition delay of premixed gases under microgravity conditions
A. Sanz Andres, J.L. Espino Granado 363

Velocity measurement by PIV in flames
D. Yee, J.A. Wade, C.A. Ward 373

Stability of the vapour phase in a rotating two-phase fluid system
subjected to different gravitational intensities
O.M. Lavrentyeva, L.K. Antanovskii, G.B. Volkova, V.V. Pukhnachov,

O.N. Goncharova 381
Mathematical modelling of microsphere formation under short-time
weightlessness
5th Session
Convection Induced by Interface-Tension-Gradients: Bubbles and Drops
Chairman: J. Siekmann (Germany)
R.S. Subramanian (invited lecture) 393

Thermocapillary motion of bubbles and drops
A. Crespo, J. Jimenez-Fernandez 405

Thermocapillary migration of bubbles at moderately large Reynolds
numbers
D. Langbein 413
Drop and bubble migration at moderate Reynolds and Marangoni numbers
XXI
* Yu. S. Ryazantsev, A.Ye. Rednikov 427

Capillary effects associated with the motion of a droplet in a
homogeneous medium
D. Raake, J. Siekmann, Ch.-H. Chun 435

Steady and oscillating convection phenomena caused by an air bubble
beneath a heated wall
3rd Poster Session

Applications
Chairman: H. Azuma (Japan)
M.S. Bello, V.I. Polezhaev 445

Distortions of parallel flow in continuous flow electrophoresis
B. Li, S. Guo 453

Propellent management for satellite propulsion system under microgravity
A. Crespo, J. Hernandez 459

Fire modelling under microgravity conditions
A.A.M. Delil 469

Thermal scaling of two-phase heat transport systems for space:
predictions versus results of experiments
M. Dreyer, A. Delgado, H.J. Rath 479

Experimental study of capillary effects for fluid management under
microgravity conditions
* X. Zhang 489
Microgravity liquid-gas interface configuration and surface-tension device
design
Yu.M. Gelfgat, M.Z. Sorkin 503

Modelling of binary systems with a miscibility gap behaviour under
weightlessness and quasi-weightlessness
XXII
R. Greger, A. Delgado, H.I. Rath 511

Measurement of the thermal conductivity of fluids with low viscosity
under microgravity
I.P.B. Vreeburg 519

Free motion of an unsupported tank that is partially filled with liquid
F.R. Stengele, A. Delgado, H.I. Rath 529

Calibration of thermal anemometer at very low Reynolds numbers under
microgravity
6th Session
Non-Newtonian Fluid Flows, Solidification, Applications
Chairman: V.L Polezhaev (USSR)
D. Langbein (invited lecture) 541

Particle migration at melting and solidification fronts
T.P. Lyubimova 555

Thermal convection of non-newtonian fluids under low gravity conditions
L.G. Badratinova, LV. Belova, N.A. Leontiev 563

Solidification of a liquid sphere in weightlessness
M. Liu, C. Egbers, A. Delgado, H.I. Rath 573

Investigation of density driven large-scale ocean motion under
microgravity
Panel Discussion (Synthesis) 583
Contributors 599
* no oral presentation
** originally published in Microgravity Science and Technology, IV/2 (1991) 156-157,
Carl Hanser Verlag
Interface Phenomena of Pure Fluids
under Isothermal Conditions
Static and Dynamic Response of Liquid Bridges
Angel Sanz Andres
Lamf-l..Lg, Laboratorio de Aerodimimica, E.T.S.I. Aeromiuticos

Universidad Politecnica, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Abstract
In this paper a summary review of the latest theoretical studies on the liquid bridge behaviour
is presented. The liquid bridge can be considered as an isothermal model of a crystal growth
technique (floating zone) and in addition has its own fluid mechanical (complex
flow-interface interaction) and technological (semiconfined liquid positioner) interest, which
needs the reduced gravity conditions for fully exploiting its capabilities.
Models for the static equilibrium shapes and stability limits and the dynamical behaviour
(oscillation and breakage) accounting for most usual perturbations are presented.
l. INTRODUCTION
The aim of this paper is to make a summary review of the theoretical and
experimental studies performed during the last years concerning the behaviour of liquid
bridges (LB) under isothermal conditions.
The interest and applications of the LB configuration reside in its ability to position of
liquid masses, due to the action of surface tension forces, which are dominant under reduced
gravity conditions. Under these conditions, interfaces can be much larger than on Earth and
buoyancy and sedimentation effects are largely reduced.
Generally speaking, positioning of liquid masses can be achieved by complete
confinement (ampoules, skins, tubes, etc ... ), semiconfinement (supported menisci) and no
confinement (drops mantained in radiative fields). Each type of positioning technique has its
own advantages and drawbacks, and its applications. In many cases (e.g. crystal growth of
monocrystals or processing of high melting point materials) minimum contact of the liquid
with crucibles, absence of perturbations (occurring due to positioning by radiative fields) and
some means of directionally extracting heat from the liquid are required. This is the case of
the floating zone technique (Fig. I a). Of course, the real configuration involved in crystal
* Dedicated to the memory of Prof. I. Da Riva.
II J Rath (Editor)
MLcrogravity Fluid MechaniCS
IUTAM Sympo~lUm Bremen 1991
((l Springer-Verlag Berlm Heidelberg N92
4
Fig. 1. a) Floating zone technique for the crucibleless growth of high melting point
crystals. The resolidified material (1) grows from the melt (2) which is produced from the
feed material (3) by heating up with a thermal source (4).
b) Geometry and coordinate system for the liquid bridge.
growth is very complicated, in such configuration one should consider a melting and a
solidification front, material properties depending on the temperature, energy deposition at
the melt-gas interface, different kind of disturbances, all this effects being mixed with the
capillary effect associated to the existence of a liquid-gas interface. In order to make the
complete problem understandable, it should be splitted in simpler problems. One of those is
the mechanical (for isothermal) model of the supported meniscus, in which solid boundaries
of general shape are substituted by two, more often circular and flat, disks.
The LB configuration has received a large attention over the last years not only due to
its application as a mechanical model of the floating zone technique but also due to the
interest in itself as a fluid dynamical problem. Actually, due to the LB sensitivity to body
forces fields, interest is increasing concerning the LB behaviour under spacecraft
accelerations. The characteristics of main interest are: the geometry of interface, its stability
and the behavior under several perturbations (e.g. displacement, vibrations and rotation of
their supports).
In the following, the general equations (* 2), the worked solutions for the static
problem (§ 3) and the dynamic one (* 4) are presented.
5
2. GENERAL EQUATIONS
Consider a liquid bridge held by surface-tension forces between two parallel, coaxial
solid disks, as shown in Fig. I b, where main notation is introduced.
The behaviour of such isothermal liquid mass is described by the Navier-Stokes
equations and the appropriate initial and boundary conditions (solid supports and interface):
i) Continuity equation:
(1)
ii) Momentum equation:
DV = _L vp + (2)
Dt p
where V(r,e,z,t) represents the velocity field, P(r,e,z,t) the pressure field, t the time, p and)1
the density and viscosity of the fluid, and G(r,e,z,t) any body forces acting on the fluid.
iii) Boundary conditions at the interface:
A kinematic condition results from the fact that there is no flux of mass through the
free surface, whose equation is given by!(r,e,z,t) = F(e,z,t)-r = 0, namely,
fr + V·V! o (3)
Let T be the stress tensor, and n the unit normal to the interface, assumed to be
positive when pointing outwards from the liquid bridge. The normal equilibrium condition at
the interface is
(4)
where f· Ii is the force acting on an element of surface, Ii· T· Ii is the force normal to the
surface and :R.J and :R.2 are the main radii of curvature of the interface at each point. The
right-hand side of the previous equation is the so-called capillary pressure, where (J is the
interface tension. The equilibrium in the tangential plane at each point of the interface reads:
T' Ii - ( n· T' 1i)1i = 0 (5)
where T' Ii - (Ii. T' Ii )n is the component of the stress tensor tangential to the free surface.
Additional conditions for the interface are
a) Volume preservation
6
(6)
where V is the physical volume of the LB.

b) Anchoring of the contact line. A fixed contact line seems to be closer to the real
crystal growth process and, in addition, it can be experimentally achieved
(7)
iv) Boundary conditions at the solid supports
(8)
v) Initial conditions. Depending on each particular situation suitable initial conditions

should be added.
The characteristic time of the capillary problems is tc = (pR o316)112, where
Ro = (R1+R2)12 is the mean disk radius, which is used as characteristic length. There are
several dimensionless parameters that identifies a LB configuration, namely, the slenderness
A = L/(2Ro)' the ratio of the radius of the smaller disk to the radius of the larger one K =
R11R2, and the dimensionless volume V = V/R~. In the case of the existence of a gravity field
acting on the LB a further parameter appears that is the Bond number B = pgR~1 6, which
compares the hydrostatic pressure to the capillary pressure. By using the above mentioned
characteristic time and length the formulation of the problem can be rewritten in
dimensionless form (using the same notation for the dimensionless magnitudes and in the
case of a gravity field):
Continuity equation:
V·V= 0 (9)
Momentum equation:
DV
Dt
= _ VP + OhV 2V + BUg (10)
where Oh = v( p/( 6R o )Jl12 is the Ohnesorge number and ug is a unit vector of the direction of
the gravity field.
Normal equilibrium equation:
- T=' -) =1- +1-

P - Oh( n··n (11)
:R..1 :R..2
7
where T' is the dimensionless deformation rate tensor.

Volume preservation and anchoring of contact line:
F(O,A,t) = 11K (12)
The other equations ((3) and (5)) remain the same.

The problem thus formulated, highly non-linear with free boundaries, remains very
complex and further simplifications should be added. Simplifications are based in reduction
of degrees of freedom (symmetry or velocity field restrictions) reduction of terms (inertial,
viscous stresses or of force fields terms in Eq. (10)) or of the order of the equations
(linearization).
3. STATIC RESPONSE
The static problem formulation is obtained from § 2 by substituting V= 0 in Eqs.
(10) and (11). Equations (3), (5) and (9) are identically satisfied. Even with this large
simplification the problem remains untractable and, additionally, axial simmetry should be
often assumed. In this case, by substituting the solution for P from (10) in (11) one obtains
the Laplace-Young equation
F 1
C(z)-Bz+P=O ; C(Z)=( z~)312 (13)
1+Fz
where P here is an internal parameter (a reference pressure). This is a second order ordinary
differential equation whose solution should fulfill conditions (12). Therefore a solution of
(l3) can be denoted as F(z;K,A,v,B).
Finding the shape corresponding to a given set (K,A,v,B) is not so easy (Perales, [1]);
with a shooting (Runge-Kutta) routine one finds the solution for the set (T,A,P,B), where Tis
the slope at z = -A of the meridian curve, and P is the internal parameter that appears in Eq.
(13). A pair of corresponding values K,v is obtained, but not the desired one. With an
iterative loop (Newton-Raphson algorithm) the system of equations K(T,P )=K and V(T,P)= V
can be solved. The problem with this algorithm is that it only works if the initial guess for T
and P is close enough to the solution. Fortunately, if the shape to be found is very stable, the
procedure converges quickly. How close a calculated meridian curve F = F(z;K,A,v,B) is to
an equilibrium shape, can be measured by the deviation E, defined as:
A
E= f[C(Z)-Bz+Pfdz (14)
-A
8
A typical value of E used in calculations could be E = JO-5. Not a continuum solution

exist for every set (K,A, V,B) and the actually possible shapes are enclosed inside stability
regions. The stability limit of minimum volume can be detected by monitoring the value of
the Jacobian of the transformation (K,v)H (T,P) that vanishes at the stability limit.
Several theoretical results concerning the equilibrium shapes and stability limits of an
axisymmetric liquid bridge held between two circular, coaxial disks in the absence of gravity
are shown in Fig. 2a. There is a simple class of shapes, the cylinder (segment OC) above
which barrel-like shapes appear. If their volume is increased, spreading over the disks can be
attained; the OD limit corresponds to an angle 7r between the tangent to the interface and the
disk surface. On the other hand, if the volume of a cylindrical liquid bridge is reduced, the
so-called spindle shapes appear until either a minimum volume limit (AS) or capillary
instability limit (BC) are attained (Da Riva & Martfnez [21). The interface shapes are
symmetrical with respect to the plane z = 0, except in the breaking process starting at the
capillary instability limit.
16 2S
V
V I
8 15
001 1
Fig. 2. a) Stability limits of an axisymmetric liquid bridge held between equal, coaxial,
circular disks (Da Riva & Martfnez [2]). Line OC: cylindrical configurations; OD, limit of
spreading with 180 0 angle; OA, limit of edge detachment; AB, absolute minimum volume
limit; BC, limit of capillary instability. V: bridge dimensionless volume; A: slenderness.
b) Typical stability diagrams (minimum volume, V, versus slenderness, A) of liquid
bridges between unequal disks subjected to an axial microgravity field whose direction is
indicated by arrows on the curves. The different sketches show the liquid bridge interface at
selected points of stability limits (Bezdenezhnykh & Meseguer 131).
The dependence of the stability limit of minimum volume on non-symmetric effects

like unequal disks, K ;c I, or axial microgravity, B ;c 0, has been studied (Perales, Meseguer
& Martfnez [4]) for the case of axisymmetric configurations. Available results show that each
9
one of these effects separately decrease the stability of the liquid bridge (the volume of liquid
must be increased or the slenderness decreased to keep a stable configuration), but both
effects together can cancel or, in other words, either one of these effects can be stabilizer by
the remaining one. In the particular case of cylindrical long liquid bridges (A - rr, V = 2rrA,
K -1, B - 0) it was demonstrated in Meseguer [5], that the maximum stable slenderness
varies as
A -_ rr[1- (3)413(
- B -1 -1_K)213]
-- (15)
2 2rr l+K
so that, for a given value of K the critical slenderness increases if B > 0 (gravity points to the
smaller disk) whereas the contrary occurs if B < 0 (gravity pointing to the larger disk). This
behaviour is qualitatively the same regardless the values of K and B. These results are
summarized in Fig. 2b, where the stability limits of minimum volume of liquid bridges
between unequal disks (K = 0.6) have been plotted for two different values of the Bond
number. In the B < 0 case the slope of the stability limit curve is continuous in the range of
values of A of interest, whereas in the case of B > 0 there is a discontinuity in the slope at
point A. Numerical results published in Meseguer [6], show that, in the latter case, when the
stability limit is reached and breakage of the long liquid bridge takes place, there is a sudded
jump in the values of the volume of the drops resulting after breaking, in such a way that if A
< AA, the final configuration consists of a large drop at the top disk and a small one at the
bottom disk, but when A > AA the large drop appears at the bottom disk whereas the small
one is formed at the top.
A summary review of the cases studied is presented in Table 1, which covers also the
electric stabilization and rotation perturbation of the LB.
4. DYNAMIC RESPONSE
Concerning the dynamic behaviour, complexity increases as a new factor, the fluid
flow is added to the previous analysis. Some of the most important features are the breakage
dynamics (the evolution to breakage when a configuration reaches the stability limit) and the
transfer function (resonant frequencies, eigen modes, damping, etc ... ) which are commented
here, although others, as injection inside the LB and rotation (steady and impulsive), are just
acknowledged. A summary description of the studies performed can be found in Tabl~ 2.
Several ways of simplification of the general formulation have been attempted.
1) Except in a few cases most models refers to axisymmetric evolutions. This r-nders
Eq. (10) and mostly Eq. (11) more tractable.
10
Table 1. LIQUID BRIDGE HYDROSTATICS. STABILITY LIMITS
REFERENCE GEOMETRY VOLUME SUPPORTS STIMULI

[7] Haynes 1970 A CL ED None
[8] DaRiva 1981 A CL ED R
[9] Gonzalez, McCluskey, 1989 A CL ED E
Castellanos & Barrero
[10] Vega & Perales 1983 A CL ED G axial (small), R
[5] Meseguer 1984 A CL UD G axial (small)
[ll] Ungar & Brown 1982 A AlmostCL ED G axial (small), R
[12] Gillette & Dyson 1971 A Any ED None

[13] Martinez 1978 A Any ED None
[14] Martinez 1978 A Any ED None
[IS] Boucher & Evans 1980 A Any ED None
[16] Slobozhanin 1982 A Any ED None
[17] Russo & Steen 1986 A Any ED None
[18] Boucher & Jones 1988 A Any ED None
[19] Brown & Scriven 1980 A Any ED R
[20] Coriell & Cordes 1977 A Any ED Gaxial
[2] Da Riva & Martinez 1979 A Any UD None

[21] Martinez & Perales, 1986 A Any UD None
[22] Coriell, Hardy & Cordes 1977 A Any UD G any
[23] Meseguer 1984 A Any UD G axial (small)
[24] Meseguer, Sanz & Perales 1990 A Any UD G axial
[1] Perales 1990 A Any UO G
[25] Gafian 1989 A Any UO G axial, R
[26] Langbein 1990 A Any UD G axial, R
[27] Martinez 1976 A Any Free edges None

[28] Martinez 1983 A Any Non-planar None
[29] Erie, Gillette & Dyson 1970 A Cathcnoidal ED None
[10] Vega & Perales 1983 NA CL ED G axial (small)

[30] Perales 1987 NA CL ED G lateral (small)
[31] Perales, Sanz & .~ivas 1990 NA CL ED R eccentric
[30] Perales 1987 NA CL Non coaxial ED None
A: Axisymmetri' CL: Cylindrical ED: Equal disks G: Gravity

NA: Non-AxisYlIlnetric UD: Unequal disks R: Rotation (coaxial unless otherwise stated)
E: Electric
11
Table 2. DYNAMICS OF LIQUID BRIDGES

REFERENCE CONFIO. VOLUME SUPPORTS ORA VITY MODEL ANALYSIS
[32] Meseguer 1983 A,BR CL ED Any Slices Non·linear
(numerical)
[33] Meseguer, Sanz 1983 A,BR Any ED None Slices Non·linear
& Rivas (numerical)
[34] Meseguer & Sanz 1985 A,BR Any ED Any Slices Non·linear
(numerical)
[3] Bezdenezhnykh 1991 A,BR Any UD Any Slices Non-linear
& Meseguer (numerical)
[6] Meseguer 1985 A,BR Any UD Any Slices Non-linear
(numerical)
[35] Sanz 1985 A,BR, OB CL ED None Slices Non-linear
(numerical)
[36] Bauer 1989 A, as CL Free edges None TD viscous Linear

[37] Meseguer 1988 A,OS Any UD Any Slices Linear
[1] Perales 1990 A,OS Any UD Any Cosserat Linear
[38] Meseguer, Perales 1991 A,OS Any UD OJ Cosserat Linear
& Bezdenezhnykh
[35] Sanz 1985 A,OS,OB CL ED None TD inviscid Linear
[39] Oaiian & Barrero 1990 NonA, as, OB Any UD Any TD inviscid Linear
[40] Sanz & L6pez·Dfez 1989 NonA, OS,OB CL ED None TD inviscid Linear
[41] Meseguer 1983 A, BR, as CL ED None Slices Linear and

Non-linear
(numerical)
[41] Meseguer 1983 A, BR, as CL ED None Cosserat Linear
[42] Zhang & 1990 A, BR, as CL ED Any Slices, viscous Non-linear
Alexander (numerical)
[43] Rivas &Meseguer 1984 A,BR,OS AlmostCL ED Any Cosserat Non·linear
[24] Meseguer, Sanz 1990 A,BR,OS Any UD Small Slices Linear
& Perales
[24] Meseguer, Sanz 1990 A, BR, as Any UD Small Cosserat Non·linear
& Perales
[44] Da Riva & 1978 A, RI CL ED None TO viscous Non-linear

Meseguer
[45] Da Riva & 1981 A, RA CL ED None TO viscous Linear
Manzano
[46] Harriot & Brown 1983 A,R CL ED None TD viscous Linear
[47] Harriot & Brown 1984 A, RA CL ED None TD viscous Non-linear
(numerical)
[48] Meseguer & Sanz 1987 A,I Close to CL ED None Slices Linear
A: Axisymmetric BR: Breakage CL: Cylindrical ED: Equal disks

01: impulsive acceleration I: Disk injection OB: Outer bath as: Oscillation
R: Rotation RA: Almost equal rotation RI: Impulsive rotation TD: Threedimensional
UD: Unequal disks
12
2) In cases where deformations of the interface around a given equilibrium shape are
small (linear oscillations, impulsive motions of small amplitude) some kind of linearization
of the formulation can be attempted. The solution of this linear problem has to be
numerically obtained (as the interface shape has not an analytical expression) except in a few
cases (cylinder, catenoid, sphere) in which cases some more algebraic work can be
performed, although at the end some computations should be carried out to solve the
resulting secular equations.
3) Other obvious simplification is to neglect the effect of viscosity which is valid in
the case of liquids with small viscosity fulfilling the condition ,V.Q/v > > 1 (where A is the
wavelength and .Q the pulsation of the oscillatory motion) or Oh < < 1 (in general), as
explained in Sanz & Lopez Dfez [40].
4) Finally, other simplification is to make some assumption on the velocity field.
Most often used is to suppose that the axial velocity component, w, is a function of z and t,
but does not vary with r. There are two models based on this assumption: one is the slice
model (Lee [49], Meseguer [41], Zhang & Alexander [42]) which directly uses this
simplification of the Navier-Stokes equations; and the other one is based on the Cosserat
model (Meseguer [41], Rivas & Meseguer 143 J, Perales [1 j) which have been widely used in
the theory of capillary jets (Green [50], Bogy [51]). Both models allow to calculate finite
deformations of the LB interface and therefore can be used for analysis of the breakage
process or non-linear oscillations. Studies performed show that the accuracy of the results
increases as A increases, A = 2 and A = 1 being the lower limits of validity of the slice and
the Cosserat models, respectively.
Most of the reviewed methods based primarily in linearization add the assumption of
inviscid flow in order to obtain a potential flow formulation, which can be solved in several
ways (separation of variables (Gaiiin & Barrero [39], Sanz [35]) or a more general boundary
element method (Gaiiin [25])). In these cases there is no need for axisymmetric limitations.
On the other hand, slices and Cosserat models include viscosity effects and can be
applied to study linear and non-linear phenomena. Their intrinsic limitations are the length of
the LB and the axisymmetry of the flow.
Concerning LB oscillations, some results obtained with a linear, potential flow model
are shown in Fig. 3. The influence of the volume in the resonant frequency is shown in
Fig. 4, as obtained from three linearized models, namely, Cosserat, slice (Perales [1]) and
potential flow (Gaiiin & Barrero [39]).
Realistic calculations of the LB transfer function need models which include the
viscous effects, that is, slices (Zhang & Alexander [42]) or Cosserat models. Results obtained
by Perales [l] concerning the excitation through one of the disks or the gravity level acting
on the LB are shown in Fig. 5. In the first case both odd and even modes are excited so that
13
Fig. 3. a) Dimensionless pulsation, (0, versus slenderness, A, of the oscillation motion of

a liquid bridge, for several azimuthal (m) and axial (N) modes. Figures indicate the value
of N (the number of half-waves of the axial interface deformation). Solid (dashed) lines:
finite, Sanz & L6pez-Dfez [40] (infinite, Bauer [52]) column model.
b) Oscillation modes of the liquid bridge. Figures indicate the azimuthal (m) and
axial (N) modes (Sanz & L6pez-Dfez [40]) .
---- ---- i--_

- -
...- -- .-- -"- -" ......., --
/'"
~ ~
w
~ ---
1.0
06
t
6 12
v 18 24
Fig. 4. Variation with the volume, V, of the first pulsation of resonance, (0, of an inviscid
liquid bridge with A = 1.6, K = 1 and B = O. Line type indicates results obtained from the
Cosserat model (continuous line) or the slice model (dashed line). The black symbols
indicate results from the three-dimensional inviscid model developed by Gaihln & Barrero
[39].
14
the full spectra is excited whereas in the second case, as it is an antisymmetric perturbation,
only even modes are excited. Details concerning the damping of the LB motion after an
impulsive acceleration can be found in Meseguer, Perales & Bezdenezhnykh [38].
..
'If
,
II
III"
' '"
llF
oj
l!F
B
bJ
)a,
I
o IS
I
Ij
llH
, V~\\ i
11
---f",,\ 1
10
I '~
I i 1
~,
1\
0
L1
10
0
,
I
,
/{V}!y--~
j
"".~I
{\
'
~\~\ I 1i
\ ~. I
--- '\ \ \
,
Ll"~ l
\
./ "-
/~
~,.
\ '"
I
Y 1.0 ..... ,... ............
\~ .
--------_......... ",'"
\
\
\
\.
\
\
..
\
\
1 , , , , , " "
• • I I " I,,,
w w
Fig. 5. Transfer functions of a liquid bridge between equal disks, K = 1, slenderness A = 2.6
and cylindrical volume, V = 21tA (Perales [1 D. a) in gravitationless conditions, B = 0, when
subjected to a vibration of amplitude L'iH of one of the supporting disks. Numbers on the
curves indicate the value of the Ohnesorge number, Oh; b) subjected to an oscillatory
microgravitational field, B(t) = Re(Be iffit) . The line S indicates results from the inviscid
one-dimensional slice model. L'iF is the dimensionless amplitude of the deformation of the LB
interface. (0 is the dimensionless pulsation.
The study of the breaking process, as above mentioned, requires the use of the slice or
Cosserat models. A first point is to analyze the influence of the several parameters involved
(B,K,A) and the type of perturbation that initiates the process. The difficulty of
experimentally producing a controlled perturbation which starts the process led to a search
for a measurable parameter of the evolution which does not depend on the initial
perturbation. Such a parameter is the ratio of the volume of one of the drops (resulting after
the breakage) to the whole LB volume, so called partial volume, V" (Meseguer & Sanz, [34]).
Some theoretical results, together with experimental measurements can be shown in Fig. 6
(Bezdenezhnykh & Meseguer [3]). In this case (K = 0.60, B = 0.080) both anti symmetric
stimuli (unequal disks and gravity) are in opposition, and the relative importance of each one
of them depends on the value of the slenderness, A. Bond number becomes more and more
important as the slenderness increases, in such a way that this effect is dominant if A> 3.1;
15
0 0 0 00 0 0 ron! r:rIffi....! ,«'F
--- --- --- - I-

0085
I~
0.5
0080
I~
------ - 1-
K =0.50
0075
--......
~
0.2 ---
o
1.9 2.1 23 2.5 2.7 29 1\ 3.1 33
Fig. 6. Variation with the slenderness, A, of the partial volume at minimum volume
stability limit, Vp, of liquid bridges between unequal disks (K = 0.60). The symbols
indicate experimental results (Bezdeneznykh & Meseguer, [3)) whereas the curves
correspond to theoretical ones (slices model, Meseguer [41)). Figures on the curves
indicate the value of the Bond number, B .
in that case equilibrium shapes show a neck close to the larger disk, and when the liquid
bridge disruption takes place the final configuration consists of a large drop of liquid attached
to the bottom disk and a small drop attached to the top one. The contrary occurs when A <
3.J: the interface shape is mainly driven by the fact that the disks are unequal in diameter,
liquid bridge interfaces have a neck close to the smaller disk and this position of the neck
determines the volume of the drops resulting after the breaking of the liquid column.
5. CONCLUSIONS
A summary review of the theoretical work performed on liquid bridge behaviour has
been presented; the main features of its stability limits and dynamics (concerning oscillation
and breakage), have been described. Future activities concerning the LB behaviour can be
summarized as follows: development of more complex theoretical models, validation the
these and presently available models by experimentation on earth (refining of the Plateau
tank and millimetric scaling techniques), continuation of the reduced-gravity experiments
(aboard Spacelab and Texus sounding rockets) based on a more frequent access to flight
opportunities thanks to the increased rate of Texus/Maxus campaigns. It should be mentioned
that, as a colateral activity, the LB is being used on earth with the Plateau tank technique for
the study of experimenter support operations of Columbus (telescience).
Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by the Spanish Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y
Tecnologia (CICYT) and is part of a more general endeavour for the study of fluid physics
and materials processing under microgravity (Project No. ESP88-0359).
The author wants to thank ESA for the flight opportunities made available.
16
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142 (1979), 67-73.
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liquid bridges between equal disks, Microgravity Sci. Teehno!. (1991), in press.
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bridges subjeet to steady axial acceleration, 1. Crystal Growth 110 (1991), 855-86J.
5. Meseguer, I., Stability of slender, axisymmetric liquid bridges between unequal disks, 1. Crystal Growth 67
(1984),141-143.
6. Meseguer, I., The dynamics of axisymmetric slender liquid bridges between unequal discs, 1. Crystal
Growth (1985), 73, 599-608.
7. Haynes, I.M. Stability of a fluid cylinder, 1. Colloid Interface Sci. 32 (1970), 652-654.
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9. Gonzalez, H., Mc Cluskey, F.M.1., Castellanos, A. & Barrero, A., Stabilization of dielectric Liquid
Bridges by electric fields in the absence of gravity, 1. Fluid Mech. 206 (1989), 545-56J.
10. Vega, I.M. & Perales, 1.M., Almost cylindrical isorotating liquid bridges for small Bond numbers, in
Material Sciences under Microgravity, ESA SP-191 (1983),247-252.
11. Ungar, L.H. & Brown, R.A., The dependence of the shape and stability of captive rotating drops on
multiple parameters, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 306 (1982), 347-370.
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theory, 1. Colloid Interface Sci. 113 (1986), 154-163.
18. Boucher, E.A. & 10nes T.G., Equilibrium and stability characteristics of zero-gravity Iluid bridges
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19. Brown, RA. & Scriven, L.E., The shapes and stability of captive rotating drops, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond.
A 297 (1980),51-79.
20. Coriell, S.R. & Cordes, M.R., Theory of molten zone shape and stability, 1. Crystal Growth 42 (1977),466-
472.
21. Martinez, I. & Perales, I.M., Liquid bridge stability data, 1. Crystal Growth 78 (1986), 369-378.
22. Coriell, S.R, Hardy, S.C. & Cordes, M.R., Stability of liquid zones, 1. Colloid Interface Sci. 60 (1977),
126-136.
23. Me~guer, I., Stability of long liquid columns, in Material Sciences under Microgravity, ESA SP-222
(l91M),297-300.
24. Meseguer, I., Sanz, A., & Perales, I.M., Axisymmetric Long Liquid Bridges Stability and Resonances,
Appl. Microgravity Tech 2 (1990), 186-192.
25. Gaillin, Amilisis modal de zonas liquidas axilsimctricas confinadas por tension superficial, Tesis Doctoral
(1989), Universidad de Sevilla.
26. Langbein, D. Crystal growth from liquid columns, 1. Crystal Growth 104 (1990),47-59.
17
27. Martinez, I., Floating zone under reduced gravity. Axisymmetric equilibrium shapes, in Material Sciences
in Space, ESA SP-II4 (1976),277-282.
28. Martinez, I., Stability of axisymmetric liquid bridges, in Material Sciences under Microgravity, ESA SP-
191 (1983),267-273.
29. Erie, M.A., Gillette, R.D. & Dyson, D.C., Stability of interfaces of revolution with constant surface
tension. The case of the catenoid, Chem. Eng. J. 1 (1970),97-109.
30. Perales, J.M., Non-axisymmetric effects on long liquid bridges, Acta Astronautica 8 (1987),561-565.
31. Perales, J.M., Sanz, A. & Rivas, D., Eccentric rotation of a liquid bridge, Appl. Microgravity Tech. 2
(1990),193-197.
32. Meseguer, J., The influence of axial microgravity on the breakage of axisymmetric slender liquid bridges,
J. Crystal Growth 62 (1983), 577-586.
33. Meseguer, J., Sanz, A. & Rivas, D., The breaking of axisymmetric non-cylindrical liquid bridges, in
Matenals Sciences under Microgravity, ESA SP-191 (1983),261-265.
34. Meseguer, J & Sanz, A., Numerical and experimental study of the dynamics of axisymmetric liquid
bridges, J. Fluid Mech. 153 (1985), 83-101.
35. Sanz, A., 1985 The influence of the outer bath on the dynamics of axisymmetric liquid bridges, J. Fluid
Mech. 156 (1985),101-140.
36. Bauer, H.F., Natural frequencies and stability of circular cylindrical immiscible liquid systems, Appl.
Microgravity Tech. 2 (1989), 27-44.
37. Meseguer, J., Axisymmetric long liquid bridges in a time-dependent microgravity field, Appl. Microgravity
Tech. 1 (1988),136-141.
38. Meseguer, J., Perales, J.M. & Bezdenezhnykh, N.A., Impulsive motion of viscous axisymmetric liquid
bridges. Presented at the International Symposium on Hydromechanics and Heat/Mass Transfer in
Microgravity (1991), Perm.
39. Gailan, A. & Barrero, A., Free oscillations of liquid captive drops, Microgravity Sci. Techno!. III 2 (1990),
70-86.
40. Sanz, A. & L6pez-Diez, J., Non-axisymmetric oscillations of liquid bridges, J. Fluid Mech. 205 (1989),
503-521.
41. Meseguer, J., The breaking of axisymmetric slender liquid bridges, J. Fluid Mech. 130 (1983), 123-151.
42. Zhang, Y. & Alexander, J .I.D., Sensitivity of liquid bridges subject to axial residual acceleration, Phys.
Fluids A 2 (1990), 1966-1974.
43. Rivas, D. & Meseguer, J., One-dimensional, self-similar solution of the dynamics of axisymmetric slender
liquid bridges, J. Fluid Meeh. 138 (1984),417-429.
44. Da Riva, I. & Meseguer, 1., On the structure of the floating zone in melting, Acta Astronautica 5 (1978),
637-653.
45. Da Riva, I. & Manzano, D.R., Impulsive motions of the floating zone, PCH Physico Chemical
Hydrodynamics 2 (1981), 165-176.
46. Harriot, G.M. & Brown, R.A., Flow in a differentially rotated cylindrical drop at low Reynolds number, J.
Fluid Mech. 126 (1983), 269-285.
47. Harriot, G.M. & Brown, R.A., Flow in a differentially rotated cylindrical drop at moderate Reynolds
number, J. Fluid Mech. 144 (1984), 403-418.
48. Meseguer, J. & Sanz, A., One-dimensional linear analysis of the liquid injection or removal in a liquid
bridge, Acta Astronautica 15 (1987), 573-576.
49. Lee, H.C., Drop formation in a liquid jet, IBM J. Rcs. Develop. 18, (1974), 364-369.
50. Green, A.E., On the non-linear behaviour of fluid jets, Int. J. Engng. Sci. 14 (1976),49-63.
51. Bogy, D.B., Steady draw-down of a liquid jet under surface tension and gravity, J. Fluid Mech. 105 (1981),
157-176.
52. Bauer, H.F., Coupled oscillations of a solidly rotating liquid bridge, Acta Astronautica 9 (1982), 547-563.
On Accurate Determination of Contact Angle
P. CONCUS
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and

Department of Mathematics
University of California, Berkeley
R. FINN
Stanford University
Summary
Methods are proposed that exploit a microgravity environment to obtain highly accurate
measurement of contact angle. These methods, which are based on our earlier math-
ematical results, do not require detailed measurement of a liquid free-surface, as they
incorporate discontinuous or nearly-discontinuous behavior of the liquid bulk in certain
container geometries. Physical testing is planned in the forthcoming IML-2 space flight
and in related preparatory ground-based experiments.
1. Introduction
Methods for accurate determination of the contact angle formed between a liquid and a
solid at a triple interface are developed, as an application of our general mathematical
comparison principles for the equations describing capillary surfaces. Contact angles are
notoriously difficult to measure, and differing methods often lead to disparate results
that are not easily reproducible. As a consequence of these difficulties, the intrinsic
physical significance of an equilibrium contact angle has come into some question. Two
microgravity experiments are under development for methods that should lead to sub-
stantially improved accuracy in the respective ranges of applicability, and which we
believe will shed some light on the question as to whether contact angle can properly be
regarded as an intrinsic property of materials, as suggested by the classical Young-Gauss
theory. Both methods have the advantage of not requiring sophisticated instrumenta-
tion for measurements, as they depend on global instabilities (or near instabilities)
that occur at values of experimental parameters corresponding to the contact angle to
be measured. Because they rely on such instabilities involving bulk fluid motion, the
H J Rath (EdllOr)
Mlcrogravlty FlUid MechaniCS
IUTAM SymposIUm Bremen 1991
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1992
20
methods hold promise of being much less sensitive than previous ones to surface friction
(resistance at the contact line) and other effects not included in the classical theory.
The first method is based on a discontinuous behavior that occurs in a capillary tube
whose section contains a corner. It is especially well adapted for contact angles,
between about 40° and 140°. The method can be applied whether or not gravity is
present; however, observation of the discontinuity becomes more feasible, and accuracy
improved correspondingly, by letting 9 -> o.
For values of, closer to 0° or 180° another method is proposed. It is based on behavior
that can change very rapidly with contact angle, when 9 is small, although not discon-
tinuously as above. Preliminary calculations indicate that very good accuracy should
be expected; detailed confirmation will require more extensive computer calculations,
which are currently being carried out for particular geometries.
2. First Method
2.1. Background. We suppose first that 9 > 0 (as in a capillary tube on the earth's
surface), and 0 :s: , < ~ (wetting liquid). We consider a vertical capillary tube, in
an infinite reservoir, whose section n contains a wedge with opening angle 2a. We
introduce a disk Bo such that the shaded region shown in Fig. 1 lies in n. Let /lp =
density change across interface, cr = surface tension, '" = g/lplcr. It is shown in [1] (see
also [4] Chapter 5) that if a +, 2: ~ then the height u(x, y) of the free surface interface
relative to the reservoir satisfies
(1)
throughout the shaded region.
However, if a +, < ~ then we set k = sinal cos, and find the asymptotic relation
cos 9 - Jk2 - sin2 9

u~ (2)
k",r
(see Fig. 1) as r -> O.
Note that (1) gives a bound that holds for all a 2: ~ - ,. It does not depend on a in
this range. Thus, if we let a decrease to ~ - , from larger values, the fluid height stays
uniformly bounded throughout the shaded region and does not tend to infinity, even at
21
,.,-------
"
.........
/' /" "

/
/
/
/
I
I
pi
\
\
\
\" Bo
'""-........ -----
Figure 1. Wedge domain; coordinates.
/'
the vertex. But according to (2), as soon as a < ~ - , then u -+ 00 at P. Thus, the
behavior changes discontinuously as a moves across the critical value ~ - ,.
2.2. An Example. Consider n as above, water in the earth's gravity field (I\: :::::: ~O~) ,
and 8 = 0,5 cm. Then
4 ·13 1
u < 400 + 2" : : : 0,6 cm
holds if a +, ~ ~; but u -+ 00 if a < ~ - ,. Thus, according to the theory, by changing
a a fraction of a degree, the rise height can be made to jump from less than about 0,6
cm to infinity. Presumably, the jump could be observed optically or with laser beams,
or by placing an electrode into the corner above the critical height. The difficulty with
such an approach is that unless, is reasonably close to 7r /2, the jump will be restricted
to an extremely small neighborhood of P, and correspondingly measurements will be
significantly affected by hysteresis, evaporation from the interface, imprecision of the
corner, and irregularities in the solid surface. We thus consider a modified approach.
2.3. Planned Experiment. Consider a capillary tube whose section n is that of a "near
rhombus", with opposite half-angles al < a2 < 7r / 4 and boundary E, as indicated in
22
Fig. 2. Let Z denote the vertical cylinder over n, closed at the base. For gravity 9 > 0,
consider the capillary surface u(x, y; g), with contact angle ,,!, obtained by introducing
a volume V of fluid into Z. It can be shown that if V is large enough so that the left
side of (3) is positive, and if al + "! ~ 7r /2, then
1m
V
- cos,,!
{) (
1-
~)
kl < u(x.y;"!) < 1m
V {) (
+ cos,,! 1-
~)
kl (3)
throughout O. Here kl = sinaI! cos,,!, {) = radius of inscribed circle, and 101 denotes
the area of O. This estimate holds regardless of g. Further, there holds
limu(x,y;g) = v(x,y), (4)

9- 0
where v( x, y) is the lower hemisphere of radius {) / cos,,! concentric with the inscribed
circle and at a height such that the volume bounded over n is V.
Figure 2. Near-rhombus. Case 1: al < a2 < 7r /4.
Thus, if al + "! ~ 7r /2 the fluid stays bounded above and below and tends to a known
spherical cap as 9 -+ O. But if al + "! < 7r /2, and a2 + "! ~ 7r /2, then the fluid moves
into the smaller corner and forms, in an asymptotic sense, a section as shown in Fig. 3,
with R = ,d~ls 'Y . The area of any such section with opening half-angle a is
and thus if the height of Z is large enough, the base 0 will become partly uncovered with
decreasing gravity, the fluid moving into the smaller corner. Thus, instead of looking
23
for the highest fluid point at the vertex P, it is better to look for the lowest point,
which occurs at a known height over the center 0 of the inscribed circle when 9 =0
and al + l' 2: 7r /2, and is thus easily accessible. The discontinuous change when al + l'
decreases past 7r /2, in conjunction with an observation of the direction of motion of
the fluid (away from the larger corner and toward the smaller one), should lead to an
extremely sensitive contact angle measurement without detailed measurements of the
fluid free-surface in the range l' > 45° that is admissible in the construction.
Figure 3. Fluid filling corner, a + l' < 7r /2.
If l' ~ 45° the above construction is not feasible, as the existence criterion will fail
for the upper and lower corners. We may however replace it by the configuration of
Fig. 4, in which two of the angles are replaced by arcs of the inscribed circle. The
discussion remains unchanged and the relation (3) continues to apply, with nand :E
now taken from Fig. 4. Thus, at least in principle, contact angles in the entire range
o< l' < 7r /2 can be measured by this procedure. A practical difficulty may appear,
however, in that the sectional area (5) filled out with fluid in the corner tends to zero
as a --+ 7r /2, and thus the cylinder would have to be of large height in order to absorb
a significant amount of the fluid into the corner at P. Correspondingly, it must be
expected that the discontinuity as al +1' crosses 7r /2 becomes physically less pronounced.
These considerations are to some extent heuristic; the configuration is known exactly
only when al + l' 2: 7r /2, 9 = 0, and does not lend itself easily to computation when
al + l' < 7r /2. It is proposed to determine experimentally the actual range for which
24
precise answers can be anticipated. It does however seem clear that for small values of
, (say, < 40 0 ) another approach should be sought, and accordingly we consider such
an approach below.
Figure 4. Near-rhombus. Case 2: Ql < Q2, Q2 > 7r / 4.
3. Second Method
We consider a section n bounded by two circular arcs, as shown in Fig. 5. We normalize

the smaller radius to be unity, and consider the problem of finding a capillary surface
over n in zero gravity, with contact angle, on the walls over~. We introduce a circular
arc of radius R = Id~~s 'Y as shown. Again, we discuss the case of a wetting liquid. Using
methods introduced in [3] (see also [4] Chapter 6), it can be proved that for all (large
enough) p, there is a critical ,0 with 0 < ,0 < 7r/2, such that the problem has (under
suitable ·normalization) a bounded solution over n when, > ,0, but such that the fluid
disappears to infinity in the shaded region when, :::: "rD. In this case the change is not
discontinuous as before, but indications are that it will be "nearly discontinuous" , in the
sense that for decreasing, the height will stay bounded until, is very close to ,0, and
then increase rapidly in the shaded region. Accurate indications of the nature of the
change are being obtained by numerical solution of the capillary free-surface equation.
Figs. 6-8 depict the dependence of ,0 and of d on p for varying values of Q, and of ,0
25
Figure 5. Two circle domain.
on 0: for varying p. It is seen that even for very small 1'0, the rates of change of 1'0 with
respect to p and 0: can be made small, so that errors in construction of the apparatus
will not lead to large errors in the measured contact angle 1'0'
4. Experimental Considerations
4.1. First Method. Preliminary experiments, using glycerol and fluorinert in rhombic
containers of acrylic plastic, were carried out by D. Langbein in parabolic flight, and
are described in [5]. One sees in all cases the marked effect of the discontinuity as the
critical angle is crossed; however for fluorinert the effects of residual accelerations are
significant, while glycerol, in view of its larger viscosity, did not have sufficient time
during the 20 seconds at zero 9 to achieve its equilibrium configuration. The proposed
experiments to be carried out in space flight will permit a much longer time duration.
Residual accelerations will also then be much smaller, and equilibrium configurations
should be achievable with liquids of widely varying viscosity and density. If contact
angle is indeed an intrinsic property of materials (as we expect it to be) then it should
be feasible by the proposed procedures to obtain reproducible measurements to consid-
erably greater accuracy than has heretofore been possible. In this connection, we note
an earlier "kitchen sink" experiment conducted by T. Coburn in the medical school of
26
50 a = 90°
40
a = 60°
30
20
a = 30°
10
30
p
Figure 6. 'Yo VS. p.
0.6
a = 60 0
0.4
d
a = 45 0
0.2
a = 30 0
Figure 7. d VS. p.
27
50
p = 20
p = 10
40
p= 5
30
p= 3
20
10
°0~~~-----ro
~--~~~---4~0-----~
~--~
ro~---7~0-----OO
~--~OO
------"
ex
Figure B. 'Yo vs. Q.
Stanford University, which used the discontinuous dependence property in a terrestrial

gravity environment essentially along the lines of the example in Sec. 2.2 to establish
the contact angle of water with acrylic plastic as about 7Bo, see [1) or Chapter 5 of [4).
The experiment was repeated recently by M. Weislogel under more controlled terrestrial
conditions, who obtained BO° to a repeatable accuracy of 2°, see [2). Our estimate that
'Y should exceed 40° for accurate results is based on past experience and is tentative;
neither exact nor calculated solutions are presently available. We believe that the es-
timate errs on the side of caution. Nevertheless, for significantly smaller angles, we
consider the second method, as described above and below, to have in the long range
more promise.
4.2. Second Method. The configuration is directly amenable to computer calculation

for 'Y > ,0; it poses some difficulties but is within range of modern methods. The
main emphasis in our current calculations is on determining the dependence on , of rise
height in the shaded region of Fig. 5, as 'Y '-,. 'Yo. It is anticipated that for the geometries
of principal interest, the height will change very slowly until 'Y enters a small interval
around 'Yo, and then shoot rapidly upward toward infinity. If this occurs as expected, an
extremely effective method for getting contact angle measurements for most angles that
occur physically will have been found. The final details of design will depend strongly
28
on the results of the calculations. Similar information could in principle be obtained

by preliminary experiments, as has been done for the first method above, and could be
used to corroborate the computer calculations.
5. Space Flight
The experiments discussed here are scheduled for the International Microgravity Lab-
oratory IML-2 space flight in 1994 as part of a joint investigation with D. Langbein,
T. M. Haynes, and U. Hornung. Preparatory ground-based experiments are planned,
in part along the lines of those described in [2], to aid in estimating the times required
for equilibrium and assessing the role that such factors as contact-line surface friction
and hysteresis, perturbing accelerations, and container surface preparation should play
in design of the space experiments.
6. Acknowlegments
This work was supported in part by the Mathematical Sciences Subprogram of the
Office of Energy Research, U. S. Department of Energy, under Contract Number DE-
AC03-76SF00098, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant
NAG3-1143, and by the National Science Foundation under Grant DMS89-02831.
References
1. Concus, P.; Finn, R.: On capillary free surfaces in a gravitational field. Acta Math.
132 (1974) 207-224.
2. Concus, P.; Finn, R.; Weislogel, M.: Drop-tower experiments for capillary surfaces in
an exotic container. Paper AIAA 91-0107, 29th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno,
NV, USA, Jan. 1991, to appear in AIAA J ..
3. Finn, R.: A subsidiary variational problem and existence criteria for capillary sur-
faces. J. Reine Angew. Math. 353 (1984) 196-214.
4. Finn, R.: Equilibrium Capillary Surfaces. Grundlehren 284, Springer-Verlag, New
York,1986.
5. Langbein, D.; Grossbach, R.; Heide, W.: Parabolic flight experiments on fluid sur-
faces and wetting. Appl. Microgravity Tech. 2 (1990) 198-211.
Liquid Bridge Ocsillations:
Analytical and Numerical Results
R.M.S.M. Schulkes
Delft University of Technology
P.O. Box 356, 2600 AJ Delft, The Netherlands
1 Introduction
Liquid bridges are employed in various industrial processes. The fact that the stability of the
liquid bridge is determined by the balance between gravitational and surface tension forces means
that liquid bridges have limited stability on earth. This has lead to interest in the application
of processes involving liquid bridge in a micro-gravity environment such as can be achieved
in space, see Walter [1]. However, processes in spacecraft are prone to vibrations induced by
operating equipment or action of the crew. This means that large, unwanted, vibrations may
be excited which can lead to the break up of the bridge. It follows that a detailed knowledge
of the dynamic behaviour, and in particular eigenfrequencies of liquid bridges is important.
The dynamic behaviour of liquid bridges has been studied extensively by, for example, Bauer
[2], Meseguer [3], Sanz [4] and Schilling & Siekmann [5] among many others. Even so, good
analytical estimates of eigenfrequencies have not yet been obtained. The underlying reason for
this is the complicated set of boundary conditions which are to be satisfied on the capillary
surface. In particular the so-called stuck-edge conditions pose a problem due to their local
character. In this paper it will be shown how good analytical estimates of eigenfrequencies may
be obtained by rewriting the boundary conditions on the free surface.
Analytical techniques are generally severely restricted by geometric constraints. It is, in
addition, generally hard to incorporate viscous effects into analytical models since the fluid
flow is in general no longer irrotational thus preventing a velocity potential approach. These
problems can be overcome when a numerical solution technique is employed. Here we present a
finite-element approach in conjunction with an inverse-iteration procedure which enables us to
calculate eigenfrequencies of viscous liquid bridges in complex geometries.
2 Inviscid oscillations
Consider a rotationally symmetric liquid bridge placed between two rigid discs with equal radii
R = a. The discs are separated on distance h as shown in figure 1. We assume that the
fluid volume of liquid between the two discs is equal to V = 7rha 2 so that, in the absence
of gravitational forces, the liquid column (in the unperturbed state) is cylindrical. Neglecting
H J Rath (EdItor)
Mlcrogravlty FlUid Mechanics
IUTAM SymposIUm Bremen ]991
© Springer-Verlag Berlm Heidelberg 1992
30
viscous effects and assuming irrotational flows it follows that the fluid velocity may be written
as the gradient of a velocity potential t/J. Assuming rotational symmetry (ie. no azimuthal
dependence) the equations determining the motion of a liquid column are as follows. In the
fluid domain n the velocity potential has to satisfy the Laplace equation
(1)
On the symmetry axis r = 0 and the rigid boundaries z = 0, z = h the impermeability condition
is given, viz.
at/J _ 0 (2)
an - ,
and on the capillary surface at r = a the following conditions are to be satisfied
at/J aTJ
(3)
an = at'
at/J 1 a 2 TJ
(4)
at = a2TJ + az 2 '
'17(0. t) = TJ(h, t) = O. (5)
The quantity TJ(z, t) denotes the dis- z
placement of the capillary surface
from the static configuration. The
equations have been made dimen-
sionless by introducing a time scale
T = ..;pr;rn where L is some capillary surface
length scale and I the coefficient of
~ ______________. .__-+r
surface tension. On the free surface
we have the kinematic condition (3), z=o r=a
the dynamic condition (4) and the Figure 1: Schematic diagram of a liquid bridge.
so-called stuck edge conditions (5).
Without imposing the stuck-edge conditions (5), equation (1) can be solved readily subject to
conditions (2) - (4) by means of separation of variables, see for example Bauer [2]. However, the
local character of the stuck-edge conditions imply that, when taken into account, the complete
set of eigenfunctions has to be used thus preventing an exact analytical expression for the
eigenfrequencies to be obtained. Good analytical estimates of the eigenfrequencies can, however,
be obtained when the boundary conditions on the capillary surface are treated as follows. Regard
TJ(z, t) as an unknown function to be found in terms of the velocity potential t/J(r, z, t) at r = a,
i.e. we aim to solve the differential equation (4) for '17 in terms of t/J subject to conditions (5).
Application of Green's functions yields
J
h
TJ(z, t) = - K(z, 0 :t t/J( a,~, t)d~, (6)

o
31
where the Kernel K(z,O is given by
a {sin(z/a)[tan(a) cos(f./a) - sin(e/a)]

K(z,O= - -
tan(a) sin(~/a)[tan(a) cos(z/a) - sin(z/a)] z > e,
with a = h/ a. Assume next that all time-dependent quantities are of the form eiwt . It follows
that 1](z, t) may be eliminated from (6) by means of (3). The problem of inviscid, axisymmetric
liquid bridge oscillations reduces to finding </> and w such that
a</> =0 on r = 0, z = 0, z = h, (7)
an
J
h
~~ = w 2 J((z,O</>(a,Od~
at r = a.
o
The unique solvability of equations (7) requires the compatibility condition
JJJ((z,O</>(a,Odzd~ =
h h
0, (8)
o 0
to be satisfied.
For the solution of equations (7), (8) we take
00
</>(r,z) = C + 2: An¢n(r,z),
n:::::::l
where Io is the modified Bessel function of the first kind. It can be shown that ¢n (n = 1,2, ... )
are the eigenfunctions of the problem without edge constraints and that, together with the
constant C, they form a complete set on the domain f!. Substituting for </>, eliminating the
constant C (by means of the compatibility condition) and employing the orthogonality relations
of ¢n on S we find that the following expression must be satisfied for all coefficients An
(9)
with
In here, 8nl denotes the usual Kronecker delta symbol. We note that equation (9) is just an
eigenvalue problem of the form
A1 911 0 913 0 915 A1

A2 0 922 0 924 0 A2
1 A3 931 0 933 0 935 A3
w2 A4 0 942 0 944 0 A4
A5 951 0 9S3 0 955 As
32
In order to calculate the eigenvalues the roots of a polynomial defined by an infinite series have
to be found. It can, however, be shown that a good approximation to the nth root may be
obtained by taking only n terms in the series expansion. Good first-order estimates of the first
and second eigenvalue are in fact given by
W~~W~nX[I- 4a
(mr)2 - a 2
[1-(-I)n)Sina+a[(-I)n-Cos a
2(1 - cos a) - a sin a
)]-1 n = 12, (10)
with
2 _ mr [( )2 _ 2] h(mr/a)
Won - h3 mr a Io(mr/a)"
The quantities = 1,2, ... ) are the eigenfrequencies of a liquid bridge without edge con-
Won ( n
straints imposed at the points of intersection of the capillary surface and rigid discs (d. (2)).
Clearly, the term in the large square brackets in (10) is due to edge constraints - we note that
this term is close to unity only when n is large. For the lowest eigenmodes this means that
edge constraints have a marked effect on the eigenfrequencies - stuck edge conditions increase
the eigenfrequencies. It may be shown that w~ given by (10) is strictly positive when a < 27r.
For a > 27r we find w{ < 0 so that WI is imaginary and hence disturbances grow exponentially.
Clearly a = 27r is the stability limit corresponding with the well-known result of Rayleigh (6).
In figure 2 a plot is shown of Wn versus a for n = 1,2,3. The eigenfrequencies are calculated by
taking only the first three terms in the expansion (9).
We conclude our analytical work with a brief discussion of the extension of the results given
above to the case of a Plateau-tank (or neutral buoyancy) situation. We consider the situation
of a cylindrical tank with radius r = b and height z = h. In the tank a liquid column with radius
r = a and density PI is formed. The ambient fluid has density P2. A sharp fluid-fluid interface
will form when the fluids do not mix. This interface will be cylindrical when the gravitational
force is not present or when the two densities PI and P2 are identical. Assuming a cylindrical
fluid-fluid interface, it can be shown that the lowest two eigenfrequencies are estimated by
(11)
where Wn is as given by (10), rp = P2/PI and
G(a b) = I I (n7r/a) [Io(n7r/a)K I (n7r//3) + h(n7r//3)Ko(n7r/a)]

, I o(n7r/a) h(n7r//3)KI (n7r/a) - I I (n7r/a)KI (n7r//3) ,
with /3 = h/b. Note that in the limit rp -> 0 (P2 -> 0) we obtain the expression for the
eigenfrequencies of a freely vibrating liquid bridge as expected. It can be shown that G( a, b) > 0
if b > a so that the presence of the outer liquid lowers the eigenfrequencies as compared with
those of the freely-vibrating bridge. We find that for h/b ::; 1 the effect of the rigid outer
boundary is negligible. Figure 3 shows a plot of the eigenfrequencies as given by (11) versus
a for a = 1, b = 4. The circles in the plot are experimental results by Sanz (4). It should be
pointed out that the agreement between theory and experiment was already established by Sanz
33
[4], however no explicit analytical approximation of the eigenfrequencies was available.
W
12.0
Wn
5.0
9.0
4.0
6.0 3.0
2.0
3.0
1.0
.0
.0 2.0 4.0 6.0
h 2.0 4.0 6.0 h
Figure 2: The curves Wn (n = 1,2,3) ver- Figure 3: Eigenfrequencies of a liquid bridge in a

sus h for a = 1. Plateau tank. Drawn lines are analytical results,
dots are experimental results due to Sanz [4].
3 Viscous oscillations: numerical approach.
Let us next consider oscillations of a liquid bridge in which viscous effects are not neglected. In
addition we consider rotational effects by allowing the liquid column to rotate about its symmetry
axis. Since the fluid flow is, in general, no longer irrotational it follows that the N avier-Stokes
equations have to be considered. In this paper we linearize the N avier-Stokes equations with
respect to the static configuration of the system. This means that first of all we calculate
the shape of the static capillary surface, denoted by S, after which only small perturbations
with respect to this static configuration are considered. Techniques for the computation of
static capillary free-boundary shapes can be found in Cuvelier & Schulkes [7]. The linearized,
dimensionless equations are as follows:
at ~ xu + 'Vp = Oh'V
8u + 2vWek 2u }
in fl, (12)
'V·u=o
u=O on Z = O,z = h, (13)

(TT =0
( Bok·nS 1 1 ) 1 8 f}TJ
(Tn=- - 2 - 2 -We(kxR)·(kxn s TJ+--(r-) (14)
Rl Rl r 8so 8so
8TJ
u· ns = at
Ur =0 }
Uo =0 at r = o. (15)
(TT =0
In the above equations u denotes the fluid velocity, p the pressure (Tn (Tn the normal and tangen-
tial stresses, So some curvilinear coordinate parallel to the free surface Sand ns a unit normal
34
to S. We have introduced the dimensionless numbers Bo == pgL2 I, being the Bond number,
We == pw 2 L3 Ii being the Weber number, and Oh == JlI v'PI L being the Ohnesorge number (w is
the angular velocity and J.l the viscosity of the fluid). The quantities Rl and R2 are the principal
radii of curvature of Sand k is a unit vector in the direction of the z-axis. Note that we do
not assume a cylindrical geometry, the capillary surface S may be deformed under the action of
gravitational forces. For a derivation of equations (12) - (15) the reader is referred to Schulkes
& Cuvelier [8].
In order to apply the finite-element technique the variational form of equations (12)-(15) is
required. Let us assume that all time-dependent quantities are of the form eAt where A is in
general complex. The variational formulation of (12) - (15) is then as follows:
find u and p such that for all suitably smooth functions v and q the following
equations are satisfied
J (Au. v
.
+ 2~k xu· v - pv· v)rdx
1
+ Oha(u, v) + ;:b(u, v) == 0,
o
Jqv·
o
u == O. (16)
The bilinear form b( u, v) is given by
b(u, v) == J
S
1 1
(Bok . ns - 2 - 2 - Week x R) . (k
Rl Rl
X ns))UnVn
GUn GUn
+ -;;:;--;;:;-
uSo uSo
)rds,
and is a measure of the potential energy as a result of free-surface oscillations while the functional
a( u, v) is proportional to the viscous dissipation of energy.
The usual finite-element technique, where continuous quantities are approximated by a finite
sum of basis functions with small support, can be applied directly to equations (16). Application
of the finite-element discretization technique in conjunction with a penalty-function approach in
order to eliminate the pressure from the momentum equations, yields and eigenvalue problem
of the form
(17 )
where M is termed the mass matrix, S the stiffness matrix (representing terms due to viscous
forces) and B is a boundary matrix resulting from the functional b( u, v). The vector ii contains
all the velocity unknowns in the nodal points of the finite-element mesh. For details of the
finite-element approach we, once agajn refer to [8]. There we argue that eigenvalue problem (17)
may be solved using an inverse-iteration procedure.
To illustrate the numerical procedure we show first of all how eigenfrequencies of a cylindri-
cal (Bo, We == 0) liquid bridge depend on the viscosity. In figure 4 plots are shown of the real
(4a) and imaginary (4b) parts of eigenfrequencies versus the length of the liquid bridge. The
dots in figure 4a indicate the points at which Im(A) in 4b just vanishes. We note that for vis-
cous fluids, unlike the inviscid case, the value of h at which Im( A) just vanishes does not mark the
35
Rc(.\.) Imp)
0.0 3.0
-0.2
0.5
-0.4 2.0
-0.6
-0.8 1.0
-1.0
-1.2 0.0 -'---r-----,..J-.---l..--+_

2.-
2.0 4.0 h 2.0 4.0 6.0 h
a. b.
Figure 4: Plots of the real (a) and imaginary (b) parts of the eigenfrequencies versus h for vari-
ous values of Oh.
transition from stable to unstable oscillations. We observe, for example, that event hough
Im(oX) = 0 for h 2: 4.2 when Oh = 0.6 the real part of oX remains negative. This corresponds
to an aperiodic damping process. We note the qualitative change in the dynamics of a liquid
bridge as the stability boundary is approached. The dynamic behaviour changes from damped
periodic to damped aperiodic after which exponential growth results when the stability bound-
ary is crossed. A detailed stability analysis for We = 0 (see [8]) shows that damped oscillations
can only occur when the functional b( u, u) is strictly positive. For the case of a cylindrical liquid
column with Bo = 0 it is easy to show that b(u, u) is positive when h < 211" (see figure 4a). This
implies that viscosity does not effect the stability of the column corresponding to the stability
analysis for slender liquid bridges by Meseguer [3]. He also found that the stability boundary of
liquid bridge oscillations is uneffected by viscous effects.
We conclude this section with examples of oscillation modes of a liquid bridge in a more
complicated geometry. In figures 5a,b we show vector plots of oscillations of a rotating liquid
bridge anchored between two discs with unequal radii (rl = 0.75, r2 = 0.5) and separated a
distance h = 1. We have taken the volume of fluid equal to 0.3511" and Oh = 10- 2 , Bo = 0.5 and
We = 7. Figure 5a shows a vector plot of the first free surface mode and in figure 5b a vector
plot is shown of an inertial oscillation mode characteristic of rotating fluids.
4 Conclusions
It is shown how good analytical estimates of eigenfrequencies of inviscid liquid bridge oscilla-
tions may be obtained by rewriting the boundary conditions at the capillary surface by means of
Green's functions. In particular for the lower eigenmodes simple expressions can be derived. As
yet the analytical approach is restricted to cylindrical geometries. In order to overcome this re-
striction a numerical solution technique for the calculation of eigenfrequencies is presented. The
36
finite-element approach we have taken in this paper is useful due to the fact that complicated
geometries do not pose a problem . We are in addition capable of taking viscous and rotational
effects into account.
. ........ . . .
.......... . .. ..
L b.
Figure 5: Vector plots of (a) the first free surface mode and (b) an inertial, rotation-induced
oscillation mode.
References
1. Walter, H.U. (ed.) 1987 Fluid Sciences and Material Sciences In Space. A European
Perspective. Springer- Verlag.
2. Bauer, H.F. 1982 Coupled oscillations of a solidly rotating liquid bridge. Acta Astron. 9(9),
547-563.
3. Meseguer, J. 1983 The breaking of axisymmetric slender liquid bridges. J. Fluid Mech. 130,
123-151.
4. Sanz, A. 1985 The influence of the outer bath in the dynamics of axisymmetric liquid bridges .
J. Fluid. Mech. 156, 101-140.
5. Schilling, U. & Siekmann , J . 1989 Gleichwichtsformen und Eigenschwingungen von Fliissig-

keitsbriicken unter Restschwere. Z. Flugwiss. Weltraumforsch. 13, 308-314.
6. Rayleigh, Lord 1945 Theory of sound. Dover.
7. Cuvelier, C. & Schulkes, R.M.S .M. 1990 Some numerical methods for the computation of
free-boundary problems governed by the Navier-Stokes equations. SIAM Review 32(3),
355-423.
8. Schulkes, R.M.S.M & Cuvelier, C. 1991 On the computation of normal modes of a rotating,
viscous, incompressible fluid with a capillary free boundary. Compo Meth. Appl. Mech.
Engng., to appear.
Viscosity Effects on the Dynamics of Long
Axisymmetric Liquid Bridges
J. Meseguer and J.M. Perales

Lamf-Ilg, Laboratorio de Aerodinamica, E.T.S.I. Aeronauticos,
Abstract
In this paper the dynamics of axisymmetric liquid columns held by capillary forces between
two circular, concentric, solid disks is considered. The problem has been solved by using an
one-dimensional model known in the literature as the Cosserat model, which includes
viscosity effects, where the axial velocity is considered constant in each section of the
liquid bridge. The dynamic response of the bridge to an excitation consisting of a small
amplitude vibration of the supporting disks has been solved by linearising the Cosserat
model. It has been assumed that such excitation is harmonic so that the analysis has been
performed in the frequency domain and the dependence of the frequency of resonance
corresponding to the first oscillation mode on the parameters defining the liquid bridge
configuration as well as the axial micro gravity level has been calculated for several liquid
bridge configurations.
1. Introduction
This paper deals with the dynamics of axisymmetric viscous liquid bridges. It is known as a
liquid bridge the fluid configuration consisting of a mass of liquid held by surface tension
forces between two parallel, coaxial, solid disks, as sketched in Fig. 1. Such a fluid
configuration can be identified by the following dimensionless parameters: the slenderness,
A = Ll2Ro, where L stands for the distance between the disks and Ro = (R 1+R2)/2 is a mean
radius; the ratio of the radius of the smaller disk, R], to the radius of the larger one, R2 ,
K = R 1/R2; the dimensionless volume of liquid, V = V/R~ V being the physical volume; the
Bond number, B = pgR?;ia, where p is the liquid density, g the axial acceleration and a the
surface tension; and the viscous to capillary forces ratio, C = (Oh)l/2 = v(p/aRo) 1/2, v being
the kinematic viscosity of the liquid, which is the square root of the Ohnesorge number, Oh.
Liquid bridges have focused the attention of numerous scientists during the last decades,
and a large number of papers dealing with different aspects of the liquid bridge problem
have been published. One of these aspects is that concerned with the frequencies of
* Dedicated to the memory of Prof. 1. Da Riva.
H J Rath (Editor)
MLcrogra . . lty FlUId MechaniCS
IUTAM SymposIum Bremen 1991
© Spnnger-Verlag Berlm Heidelberg 1992
38
resonance of liquid bridges, which have been

extensively studied in the case of cylindrical
liquid bridges (K = 1, V = 2n-A) either in
gravitationiess conditions or taking into
L12 account the effect of the gravity acting parallel
to the liquid bridge axis [1-5]. Some attempts
I- have been made also to take into account
I volumes of liquid different from the
I
Ll2 cylindrical one and unequal disks [6-8].
However, most of the published papers deal
y
with the dynamics of inviscid liquid bridges
and, although some attempts to include
viscosity effects in the analysis of liquid bridge
dynamics have been performed [3,4], these
Fig. 1. Geometry and coordinate system
for the liquid bridge problem. studies are mainly devoted to the analysis of
the free oscillations of cylindrical or almost
cylindrical volume liquid bridges (V = 2nA). This paper is an extension of previous studies
related to the forced oscillations of viscous liquid bridges [8]. The frequencies of resonance
of liquid bridges between unequal disks, volume different from the cylindrical one, and in a
small axial gravity field have been analyzed by using a one-dimensional Cosserat model
and mappings of frequencies of resonance on A-V stability diagrams have been calculated.
2. Analytical Background
In the following, all physical quantities have been made dimensionless by using the
characteristic length Ro and the characteristic time (pR~/())1/2. The mathematical model
presented in this section is a simplified version of the one presented in [8]. If the
slenderness of the liquid bridge is large enough, say A > 1, the dynamics of the liquid
column can be described accurately enough by using one-dimensional theories such as the
Cosserat model, which has been used to some extent either in capillary jets [9,10] or in
liquid bridge problems [1,3].
In carrying out the analysis the following assumptions are introduced: it is assumed that the
properties of both the liquid (density and viscosity) and the interface (surface tension) are
uniform and constant, and the effects of the gas surrounding the liquid bridge are negligible.
In addition, since only axisymmetric configurations are considered, the problem is assumed
to be independent of the azimuthal coordinate. Under such assumptions the set of
nondimensional differential equations and boundary conditions for the axisymmetric, non-
rotating viscous flow, according to the Cosserat model, are the following:
39
(2.1)
Q, + (Q2/ S), ~i- H(Q, +(~2/ 1~% s), (Q / S);]t (2.2)
= -S(4(2S + s; - sSzz )(4S + S; )-3/2 + BZ) z -.!.8 C[S2(Q / S)ZZ] zz + 3C[S(Q / S)Z] z
In these expressions S = p2 and Q = F2W, where P(z,t) is the dimensionless equation of the
liquid-gas interface and W(z,t) the axial velocity at each plane parallel to the disks; P(z,t)
accounts for capillary pressure jump across the interface. The subscripts t and z indicate
derivatives with respect to the time and the axial coordinate, respectively. Boundary
conditions are: (1) the interface must remain anchored to the disk edges and (2) the axial
velocity at each one of the disks must be equal to that of the corresponding supporting disks
(which are assumed to be in a known position as a function of the time given by zl = - A +
AA1(t) and z2 = A + AA2(t)), its velocity being z' j (t) = AA' j (t) and z' 2(t) = AA'it)
(2.3)
where prime means time derivative of the function considered. Initial conditions are S(z,O)
= Si(Z) and Q(z,O) = Qi(Z); in addition, one more condition could be introduced imposing the
overall mass conservation during the evolution. Concerning the above formulation it should
be pointed out that boundary conditions must be fulfilled in two points whose position,
although known, varies with time. To avoid the difficulties of these moving boundary
conditions a contraction of the axial coordinate is made and a new variable x is defined so
that the interval of variation of the coordinate z (function of time) is mapped into a fixed
interval. Amongst the different possibilities, a simple linear mapping has been chosen:
A z-g(t) z - g(t)
x X(z, t) (2.5)
A + h(t)
l+~h(t)
where g(t) = (N2)(A2(t)+Aj(t)) and h(t) = (N2)(A2(t)-Al(t)). The function g(t) gives the
variation with time of the position of the center of the liquid bridge (that point of the axis
placed at every moment in the middle of the segment defined by the centres of the disks)
and h(t) is the variation with time of the distance between the disks. In the coordinates x,t
the disk positions are fixed and given by x(-A+AAj(t),t) = -A andx(A+AA2(t),t) = A.
40
If only small perturbations are considered (g(t) « 1 and h(t) « I) the solution of the
problem can be written as a static solution plus a small perturbation i.e.
S(x,t) = So(x)+s(x,t) , Q(x,t) = q(x,t) . (2.6)
After introduction of eq. (2.6) in the above formulation, the resulting zeroth order problem
consists of the determination of the equilibrium shape of a liquid bridge at rest, So(x), and it
can be solved with a method similar to the one used in [II]. Concerning the first order
problem, s(x,t) can be eliminated from the formulation and the whole problem formulated in
terms of q(x,t), the resulting equation being
(2.7)
where Cij are functions of So(x) and its derivatives (additional details can be obtained upon
request from the authors). Equation (2.7) is fourth order in the variable x and, therefore,
needs four boundary conditions to be solved. Two of them are derived from eq. (2.4) and
the two remaining can be deduced from the boundary condition (2.3) which implies
sl(±A,t) = 0 and, using the continuity equation (2.1), the boundary conditions become
q(±A,t) = [g'±h'jSo(±A) , qx(±A,t) = ig'±h']Sox(±A) (2.8)
3. Harmonic Oscillations
Since in the modelling of most of the technological applications (e.g. floating zone
technique) the distance between the disks should be considered constant and the
perturbation is assumed to be due to g-jitter. only in-phase vibration of disks (h(t) = 0,
get) *" 0) will be considered from now on. In the following it is assumed that both the liquid
bridge perturbation, get), and the liquid bridge response, q(x,t) and s(x,t), are harmonic
functions of time, i.e.
get) = Re(Ge iW1 ) , q(x,t) = Re(Q(xle iW1 ) , s(x,t) = Re(S(x)e iW1 ) ,

(3.1)
where G is a real constant and Q(x) and Sex) are complex functions of the real variable x.
Introduction of these expressions in the first order problem yields:
(3.2)
(3.3)
41
(3.4)
where C j are complex functions of the real variable x derived from the functions C y
appearing in eq. (2.7). To solve the above formulation an implicit finite-difference method
is used, with a centered five-point scheme for the evaluation of the spatial derivatives. This
method is similar to the one used by Meseguer [6] to solve the slice model in the case of an
inviscid liquid bridge in an oscillatory axial microgravity field. Once the value of Q is
known (note that these values must be computed using complex algebra) the value of 8 can
be obtained through continuity equation (3.2). Additional details on the numerical scheme
can be obtained upon request to the authors.
4. Liquid Bridge Resonances

Before present theoretical results concerning the mappings of frequencies of resonance it
would be convenient to introduce some previous comments on the influence of viscosity on
the dynamic response of liquid bridges. To evaluate such influence, attention has been
focused mainly on the resonances (formally, on the resonance pulsations, OJ = 2rcf)
corresponding to the first oscillation modes: the first mode and the third one (note that
according to the kind of perturbation considered -in phase vibration of both disks- only odd
oscillation modes are excited). In Fig. 2, the variation with the viscosity parameter, C, of
the response of two liquid bridges between equal disks and in gravitation less conditions
5 5
(a) (b) c=o
A c=o A
f\
\ I.
0.05 \
II ~~\'\ f\
/;
~ QI
//
\ ~
£
2 2
~
"
0.1
I
)
?/
~ ~
o
o
Y 3 w
o
o 3 w
Fig. 2. Variation with the pulsation, OJ, of the ratio of the maximum interface
deformation to the amplitude of the oscillation of the disks, A, of liquid bridges
with slenderness A = 2, between equal disks, K = 1, in gravitationless
conditions, B = 0, and dimensionless volume V = 8 (a) or V = 12 (b). Numbers
on the curves indicate the value of the parameter of viscosity, C.
42
0.2 (K = 1, B = 0), both with the same

(0)
slenderness, J\ = 2.0, but with differ-
ent volumes, V = 8.0 and V = 12.0,
..----::.:
'\ -;:/ respectively, has been represented (the
01
\~
~ response has been defined as the ratio
of the maximum interface deformation
I
;7 to the amplitude of the perturbation:
A(w) = (Fma.CFmin)/G, where F,nax and
F min are the maximum and minimum
I values of the dimensionless radius of

the interface in each cycle). According
to this plot, the amplitude of the liquid
A
bridge response decreases as the vis-
cosity of the liquid increases and that
amplitude decreases faster in the case
V=8.0 (this liquid bridge configuration
w is closer to the minimum volume
stability limit than the second one,
Fig. 3. (a) Variation with the volume of the
V = 12.0). Even more, as it can be
liquid bridge, V, of the pulsation of
resonance corresponding to the first observed, there is a critical value of
oscillation mode, W], of liquid bridges
the viscosity parameter, C~, for which
with A = 2.8, K = 1 and B = O.
Numbers on the curves indicate the the resonance corresponding to the
value of the parameter of viscosity, C.
first oscillation mode disappears (there
The dependence on the liquid bridge
volume, V, of the response of the liquid is a critical value of the viscosity pa-
bridge (A vs. w) for a particular value
rameter associated with each oscilla-
of the viscosity parameter, C = 0.05, is
shown in (b). tion mode, C~, with C~ > C~+1)' This
value C~, becomes smaller as the
volume of liquid approaches the corresponding minimum volume stability limit, Vm' This
behaviour is summarized in Fig. 3a, where the dependence of the resonance pulsation
corresponding to the first oscillation mode, WI, with the volume of the liquid bridge has
been represented in the case of liquid bridges with J\ = 2.8, K = I and B = O. As it can be
observed, W] decreases as the volume of the liquid bridge V decreases and, in the case of
inviscid liquid bridges (C = 0), W1 becomes zero when the corresponding stability limit of
minimum volume, Vm, is reached. The same trends are shown when viscous liquid bridges
are considered (C = 0.05): W] decreases as V decreases, although in this case the resonance
disappears at a value of W] different from zero for a volume greater than Vm (that means
that the considered value of C has become critical for such configuration). Such behaviour
is illustrated in Fig. 3b, where the variation of the transfer function, A( w), with the liquid
43
bridge volume, close to the stability limit, is shown for a liquid bridge with A = 2.8, K = 1,
B =0 and C = 0.05. Note that if V < 15. 1 the maximum in the curve disappears and that,
close to this limiting value of V, the pulsation of resonance slightly increases. This rise in
the value of WI is due to the definition of WI as the value of W where A(w) becomes
maximum, no matter how relatively small it is. However, it is questionable that such
increment in the value of WI could be detected experimentally and therefore, that last part of
the curve corresponding to C = 0.05 in Fig. 3a has been plotted by using a dashed line
instead of a continuous one to indicate that this phenomenon could not be detectable under
normal experimental conditions. Obviously this behaviour is qualitatively similar no matter
what the values of A, K and Bare.
These features of the liquid bridge response, mainly the dependence of C: on the
parameters defining the liquid bridge configuration, A, V, K and B, are of paramount
importance when designing any experiment related to liquid bridge resonances; it would be
even possible to select a fluid and a liquid column configuration for which it were
impossible to observe any resonance.
The mappings of frequencies of resonance corresponding to the first oscillation mode (the
curves of constant WI on the A- V stability diagrams) have been plotted in Figs. 4, 5 and 6
for different values of the geometry parameter, K, and Bond number, B. The first of these
1.6 nr--,.--",-,-,,---,.---.-,,----rr-.---,.,-----,---n---,
1.2
1.4 1.8 2.2 2.6 3.0

A
Fig. 4. Variation with the slenderness, A, and the reduced volume of the liquid bridge,
Vr = V/(2nA) of the resonance pulsation corresponding to the first oscillation
mode, WI, of liquid bridges between equal disks, K = I, Bond number B = 0
and viscosity parameter C = 0 (--) and C = 0.1 (-----). Numbers on the
curves indicate the value of WI. The curve labelled as WI = 0 corresponds to the
minimum volume stability limit.
44
08
a
H 18 2.2 26 3.0
1\
16
V,
12
Vr = V/(2n-A) of the resonance pulsation corresponding to the first oscillation
mode, ill], of liquid bridges between unequal disks, K = 0.7. Numbers on the
curves indicate the value of Wj. The curve labelled as ill] = 0 corresponds to the
minimum volume stability limit. Bond numbers are (a) B = - 0.1, (b) B = 0 and
(c) B = 0.1. In (a) and (c) only zero viscosity (C = 0) has been considered
whereas in (b) results corresponding to viscosity parameters C = 0 (-~) and C
= 0.1 (-----) has been plotted.
45
plots, Fig. 4, corresponds to the case of liquid bridges between equal disks, K = 1, and in
gravitation less conditions, B = O. As it can be observed, in the inviscid case the resonance
frequency becomes zero at the minimum volume stability limit and, in a region close to this
stability limit, the pulsation of resonance increases as the volume of liquid grows. Note that
for each value of the slenderness there is a value of the volume of liquid for which WI
reaches a maximum, the values of the pulsation of resonance decreasing again if the liquid
bridge volume exceeds this maximum frequency volume (this is clearly seen in the left
most curves of the diagram). This phenomenon, namely, the existence for each value of the
slenderness of a volume of liquid for which there is a maximum in the value of the
pulsation of resonance corresponding to the first oscillation mode, has been already pointed
out in [81. The influence of viscosity is also shown in Fig. 4. Observe that the different
curves of constant W] disappear in a region close to the curve of minimum volume in which
the damping becomes critical. In the case of liquid bridge configurations represented by
points inside this region in the A- V stability diagram it is not possible to detect any
resonance corresponding to the first oscillation mode. The behaviour for higher values of
the liquid bridge volume is in this case similar to that of the inviscid case, at least within the
range of values of volume analyzed.
It is clear from Fig. 4 that the mapping of resonances strongly depends on the minimum
volume stability limit, Vm. Then, since Vm varies as K and B change, one could expect that
the frequencies of resonance vary with these parameters in a similar fashion . To visualize
1\
Vr = V/(2nA) of the resonance pulsation corresponding to the first oscillation
mode, W], of liquid bridges between unequal disks, K = 0.7, Bond number B =
0.1 and viscosity parameter C = 0 (e) , C = 0.04 (+) and C = 0.08 (_). Numbers
on the curves indicate the value of WI .
46
such dependence, the mappings corresponding to liquid bridges between unequal disks,
K = 0.7, subjected to different values of Bond number have been represented in Fig. 5a
(B = -0.1), Fig. 5b (B = 0) and Fig. 5c (B = 0.1). Note that in each one of these plots the
behaviour is similar to that shown in Fig. 4, the different mappings being only different in
the low frequency range to become adapted to the corresponding minimum volume stability
limit (corresponding to WI = 0). Additional details on the influence of viscosity on the
frequencies of resonance corresponding to the first oscillation mode of liquid bridge
configurations close to the minimum volume stability limit (K = 0.7, B = 0.1) are shown in
Fig. 6, which provides a close look at the region where the stability limit curve presents a
discontinuity in the slope.
Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by the Spanish Comisi6n Interministerial de Ciencia y
Tecnologfa (CICYT), Project No. ESPRR-0359.
References
1. Meseguer, J., The breaking of axisymmetric liquid bridges, 1. Fluid Mech. 130 (1983),
123-151.
2. Sanz, A, The influence of the outer bath on the dynamics of axisymmetric liquid
bridges, 1. Fluid Mech. 156 (19R5), 101-140.
3. Rivas, D. and Meseguer, 1., One-dimensional self-similar solution of the dynamics of

axisymmetric slender liquid bridges, 1. Fluid Mech. 138 (1984), 417-429.
4. Zhang, Y. and Alexander, J .1.0., Sensitivity of liquid bridges subjected to axial residual
acceleration, Phys. Fluids A 2 (1990), 1966-1974.
5. Nicolas, J.A, Frequency response of axisymmetric liquid bridges to an oscillatory

microgravity field, Microgravity Sci. Techno!., in press.
6. Meseguer, J., Axisymmetric long liquid bridges in a time-dependent microgravity field,

Appl. Microgravity Tech. 1 (19RR), 136-141.
7. Meseguer, J., Sanz, A. and Perales, 1.M., Axisymmetric long liquid bridges stability
and resonances, App!. Microgravity Tech. 2 (1990), 186-192.
8. Perales, I.M., Dinamica de columnas liquidas, Tesis Doctoral, Universidad Politecnica

de Madrid, 1990.
9. Green, AE., On the non-linear behaviour of fluid jets, lnt. 1. Engng. Sci. 14 (1976),
49-63.
10. Bogy, D.B., Drop formation in a circular liquid jet, Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 11 (1979),
207-228.
11. Perales, I.M., Meseguer, 1. and Martinez, I., Minimum volume of axisymmetric liquid
bridges between unequal disks in an axial microgravity field, 1. Crystal Growth 110
(1991), 855-861.
Vibrational Behavior of Amphora Liquid Columns
in Microgravity Fields
Helmut F. Bauer and Werner Eidel
Institut fUr Raumfahrttechnik

Universitat der Bundeswehr MUnchen
Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39
D-8014 Neubiberg, Germany
Summary
A circular cylindrical liquid column changes under the influence of a
steady axial micro-gravity field its static geometry into an amphora-type
geometry. Under this influence the natural frequencies as weI J as the
damped frequencies change with the magnitude of the axial Bondnumber. They
are determined for such an amphora-type geometry for frictionless and
viscous liquids. In addition the response of such systems to axial
excitation is determined for various axial Bondnumbers. It was noticed
that the natural frequencies decrease with increasing axial Bondnumber
and that al I vibration modes in the response show up for non-vanishing
Bondnumber, whereas under pure zero-gravity only odd mode responses
appea r.
1. I ntroduct ion
The vibrational behavior of circular cyl indrical I iquid columns and their
stabil ity has been investigated extensively for incompressible and
frictionless as well as viscous liquids [1-7]. Under axial micro-gravity,
however, an originally circular cylindrical liquid column assumes an
amphora-type geometry. For such a geometry the natural frequencies are
different from those of a circular cylindrical liquid bridge and have
been determined for a frictionless and viscous I iquid column of height
h and diameter 2ra+ro(z)]. It is found that the natural frequencies of
such a distorted amphora-type geometry decrease in compar i son wi th a
perfectly circular cyl indrical bridge [8]. This decrease exhibits larger
magnitudes with the increase of the axial Bond number. It is also found,
that larger aspect ratios of the I iquid bridge exhibit a larger decreasing
effect of the natural frequencies. The largest deviations, however,
appear for the fundamental axisymmetric mode. The response of such an
amphora-type geometry has also been determined for an axial harmonic
excitation, and shows larger response ampJ itudes for increased axial
Bond numbers [91.
ILlRath(Edllor)
Mlf.;rogravlly Fluid Mechantcs
IUTAM Sympo~lUm Bremen 1991
~:) Spnnger-Verlag Berlln Heidelberg 1992
48
It has also been shown, that the deviation from the perfect circular
cyl indrical geometry yields additional resonance peaks at even resonances,
which is in contrast to the odd resonance peaks appearing for a circular
cylindrical liquid column. For a viscous liquid [10] it is found that
damped oscillations as well as aperiodic decay may appear depending on
the Ohnesorg number pv I- loa, and that the decrease of the Bond number
2
80 =pga 10 increases the area for decaying aperiodic motion and decreases
the aspect ratio, for which instabi I ity appears.
~ic Equations
A circular cyl indrical 1 iquid column of incompressible and [Y'ictionless
liquid of height h and radius a (Fig.1) is subjected to a constant axial
acceleration, which yields a static deflection ro(z).
5:oloc Dofloctoon
under ~-9rovlty
Figure 1: Geometry and amphora equilibrium position
2
The magnitude of this deflection depends on the Bond number Bo ~pga la,
where g is the axial acceleration, p the mass density, and a the surface
tension of the! iqu id. For small Bond number Bo the static deflection
from cyl indrical form is given approximately by
2
r o(z) =Bo r 1 (z) +Bo r 2(z) (1 )
where
r 1 (z) z sin (zl a)

=- and
a cos ( hi 2a)
~~a-
49
6tan(h/Za) _ 5-
( h/a)
2 2
8+(h/a) -Ij(z/a) 1 cos(z/a)+ cos(~z/a)
c'os(h/ 2a) 4cos(h/Za)
A disturbance to this static geometry of the I iquid column results in

free oscillations, which exhibit different natural frequencies from those
of a circular cyl indrical I iquid bridge, which are
m=O,1 ,2, ..• (2)

n=I,2,3, ...
The purpose of the fol lowing investigation is therefore the determination

of the natural frequencies of such an amphora-type I iquid column and its
response to axial excitation. Assuming the I iquid is in irrotational motion,
the velocity may be expressed as the gradient of a velocity potential
~(r,~,z,t), which due to the incompressibil ity condition of the liquid
(div v=O) is a solution of the Laplace equation
t.~=O (3)
222
where t." L2 + l L + .!.... ~a~ + _a~
r ar 2 Z 2
ar r a~ az
Equation (3) has to be solved with conditions at the free surface namely
the kinematic condition
(4)
at r=a+r o (z)+~(~,z,t), and the dynamic

.. condition
50
( 5)
at r=a+ro(z)+!::(cp,z,t) , where h(CP,z,t) is the liquid surface displacement

from axisymmetric equil ibrium configuration and ro(z) the deviation from
the circular cyl indrical geometry (1) of the I iquid column under axial
acceleration. At the top and bottom of the liquid column the boundary
condition is given by
0 for free oscillations

d,", h
3Z= at z =+ - ( 6)
- 2
zo(t) for axial exc i tat ions
The kinematic and dynamic condition yield, after Taylor expansion up to

the second order in ro and the first order in hand Q,
at r=a
and
2 2 2 3a 4 2
+ r oz~(") - 2a r ozs~
T
- --r- ( r ozSzz
T T) 1 - -
+2 r oz r ozzsz - gz
at r=a. (8)
The solution of the Laplace equation (3) with the boundary condition
(6) yields
.I ( mcp+-h-
nnz)
(r,cp,z,t)= Z Z C (t)1 (~r)e
mn m h
m= - co M= - co
51
1m are the modified Bessel functions of first kind and m-th order.
An infinite systems of linear differential equations for C (t) (m=O,1,2, .. )
mn
must be truncated to a finite number of time differential equations, which
are then solved assuming a time dependenc;y c;oswt, yielding the natural
frequencies of the amphora-type geometry of the I iquid column by setting
the coefficient determinant equal to zero.
In addition the Rayleigh instabil ity has been obtained from the
analytical results by setting the natural frequency square wZ equal to
zero. The results of this investigation are presented in Figure 2, where
a strong decrease of sLabil ity with increasing Bond number may be observed.
For Bo=O, i.e. in zero-gravity the Rayleigh instability occ;urs at an
aspect ratio .b,=n,
a
while for a Bond number Bo=0.5 the admissible ratio.b,
a
is only 0.7n.
'1l
,Iroo
O.95j
0. 90
,..0 I
o . I unstable
'·'1 . "'I
o.ecl
'1
~
"i
0.71:1
0.0 0.1
s lable
0 .2
~
0.3 0. ' D.S

Se
Figure 2: Static stabi I ity boundary

unoer axial gravity
From the results obtained we draw the following important c;onc;lusione

(Fig.3,4).
52
wL.lBoJ (Jz,,(BoJ
",""IOJ
-~
w~tOI
1.0 1.0 I1"I.OJ
\ .........
i'-.. h 0= 1. 5 1----- .........1 F"" ;:0-. i--+-
I . 21
-....:: t.:::: t--
o. e \ "",,-
""-
0.2 1
"
I . 11
"
C.S
\ I
• I
'"
2.0
o. .'1 f'... o.
• \ ~ I ~ 0 . 11
\ m ·O
n;; I
, h/o·2.0
I
II
o. o. -
'I \
o. 2
I
13 . 0 2.
o. ? I
I
o. 0 0.0
0.'
1\
0.:;1 O.~ 0.4 O.'S
.0
0.0
I
0.' 0 . "2
I 0..3 Q.~ C.S
Bo Bo
Figyre 3: Natural axisymmetri~ Figure 4: Natural frequencies

frequency as function of Bond for aspect ratio h/a =2
number
1. The natural frequencies of an amphora-type I iquid column decrease with

increasing Bond number or axial acceleration or gravity.
L. A I iquid with larger surface tension experiences a lesser decrease
of natural frequencies with increasing axial gravity.
3. The larger the aspect ratio the stronger the decreasing effect
upon the natural frequencies.
4. The higher the mode there is less decrease of natural frequency
with increasing Bond number.
5. The largest deviation is exhibited by the fundamental
axisymmetric mode m=O, n=l.
6. The Rayleigh instabil ity occurs at much reduced aspect ratios
h/a for increasing axial Bond numbers.
3. Experimental Results
Some experimental results have been performed with I iquid bridges of length
h=4 mm under normal gravity. Such a I iquid bridge is presented in Figure 5.
53
Figure 5: Photo of I iquid column

under the action of gravity
The various experimental results are exhibited as x-values in Figure 2 and

show relatively good agreement in comparison with the theoretically
obtained values. The I iquid bridge was placed between two large plates, of
which one was moved such, that the distance between them increased.
When the I iquid column disintegrated, instabil ity has been obtained.
4. Axial response
If the amphora column is harmonically excited in axial direction the
above equations have to be solved with the boundary conditions
at ;0; =+
-
-2~' where z
0
is the excitation ampl itude and Q the
forcing frequency. The magnification function is presented in Fig.6.

54
I¥I
.SrlTl----lT'r----"TT---."
1.0
1.5
1.0
0.'
o
o .• '-;"L.---:;-----;-..!.:..._-;:-_ _---:::_ _...J JaiPoI
2. 4. Ei. 8. 10.
Figure 6: Response of amphora-column

to axial excitation
From the results we may conclude:

1. that with the action of axial gravity the respon s e to axial
excitation contains response peak s for al I mode s in contra s t
to those of a circular cyl indrical I iquid column, which only
yields resonance peaks of the odd modes,
2 . that with the increase of the axial Bond number the magnitude of the
response ampl itude increases,
3. that with the increase of the aspect ratio h/a of the I iquid column
the magnitude of the response ampl itude decrea s e s .
5. Viscous effects
To determine the damped natural fr equencie s for a vi scous amphora-type
geometry the Stokes equations
av 1 ( 1 0)
~+-grad p+v curl curl v = -gk
at p
has to be solved with the continuity equation for incompressible

liquid (v=ue +ve +wk)
r (j)
divv=O (11)
and the boundary conditions u=v=O at z=O,h and
w=O at z=O,h. ( 12)

55
The conditions u=v=O at z=O, are abandoned and substituted by the sl ip-
conditions, =, =0, i.e.
rep rz
~ + ~ =0 at z=O,h (13 )
dr dZ
l!:'!-+.!.d W O. (1 ij )
() z r d(P
In addition the free surface conditions ace given by the kinematic

condition
~
dt
= u -wr
oz
at r=a+ro(z)+~(ep,z,t) (' 5)
and the dynamic condition
(' 6)
with R, and R2 being the principal radi i of curvature of the free liquid
surface. The vanishing of the shearstress on the free surface requires
{r ~ ('!...) +.!.~ } +.!.~ = 0 (1])

'rep = n dr r r d(j) r dep
and
'rz =n { d()rW + ~
dZ
} =0 (Hl)
Applying the vector operation "divergence" on the Stokes equation yields

the Laplace equation for the pressure
L'> P= 0 • ( , 9)
Expanding the above results in Taylor series at r=a renders after

I inearization in u,v,w and ~ up to second order terms in ro(z) simpl ified
expressions for the boundary conditions, with which the above basic
equations have to be solved. The numerical results show, that with the
increase of the Bond number Bo=pga 2/o the oscillation frequency decreases
in comparison with the case Bo=O and shows an increased decay magnitude,
which both for smaller aspect ratios h/a diminishes to that of vanishing
Bond number, i.e. a circular cyl indrical I iquid column.
56
The instability, which decreases with increasing Bond number, exhibits for
smaller ~ - values just below instability a region, in which only an
aperiodic motion is possible. This region is for BOfO shifted to smaller
aspect ratios ~ in comparison with Bo=O, i.e. the circular cylindrical
liquid bridge (Fig.7).
s•. r - - . - - - - -_ _~
,
'.
"
30. : \ aolpv~:~O
It'), Bo=
'·'· ... l·1 0
::.'~ .~
-'0. ~
0 R.(SI-
-JO'I :,1 0.1
.,.
1m[S, ----.
-50.
...1 1.0 2 •• 3,. 5 .•
h/o
Figure 7:
For very small aspect ratios ~ the liquid column ceases to exhibit damped
oscillatory motion. It just responds by an aperiodic motion. These ranges
depend on the magnitude of the surface tension parameter aa/pv 2.
The smaller this value, the larger the regions, in which aperiodic
motion occurs.
57
References
1. Rayleigh,Lord: On the Capillary Phenomena of Jets.

Proc.Roy.Soc. 89 (1879) 71-97.
2. Rayleigh,Lord: On the Instability of Cylindrical Fluid Surfaces.
Phil.Mag. 34 (1892) 177-18+.
3. Lamb, H.: Hydrodynamics. Dover Publ. New York 1945,471-473.
4. Bauer, H.F.: Coupled oscillations of a solidly rotating liquid bridge.
Acta Astronaut. 9 (1982) 547-563.
5. Bauer. H.F.: Natural Damped Frequencies of an Infinitely Long Column
of Immiscible Viscous Liquid. Z.Angew.Math.u.Mech. 64, 11 (1984)
475-49+.
6. Bauer, H.F.: Free Surface and Interface Oscillations of an Infinitely
Long Visco-elastic Liquid Column. Acta Astronautica 13 (1986) 9-22.
7. Bauer, H.F.: Vibrational behavior of a viscous column with a free
surface. Z.Flugwiss.Weltraumforsch. 13 (1989) 248-253.
8. Bauer, H.F. and Eidel, W.: Vibrations of a cylindrical liquid column
under the influence of a steady axial micro-gravity field.
Forschungsbericht der Universitat der Bundeswehr MUnchen,
LRT-WE-9-FB-1(1990).
9. Bauer, H.F. and Eidel, W.: Axial Response of an amphora-type liquid
column. Forschungsbericht der Universitat der Bundeswehr MUnchen,
LRT-WE-9-FB-2(1990).
10. Bauer, H.F. and Eidel, W.: Natural damped frequencies of a viscous
liquid column under steady axial gravity. Forschungsbericht der
Universitat der Bundeswehr MUnchen. LRT-WE-9-FB-12(1991)
Research performed for the German Ministry of Science and Technology

contract No. 50 QV 88764 entitled" Resonanzfrequenzen von F1Ussig-
keitssaulen (LICOR)".
Interface Phenomena I
Marangoni Convection in a Non-Spherical
Liquid Drop
Werner Eidel
Institut fUr Raumfahrttechnik

Universitat der Bundeswehr MUnchen
Summary
An arbitrary temperature field applied at the free surface of a spherical
liquid drop induces both Marangoni convection inside the drop and a de-
formation of the liquid drop. Assuming small deformation this has been
neglected in former investigations and the free surface conditions have
been satisfied at the surface of the sphere which is also a coordinate
surface in spherical coordinates. In the analysis, presented here, the
deviation from spherical geometry of the liquid drop is taken into
consideration. By expanding the free surface conditions into Taylor series
with respect to the elevation of the liquid surface an analytical solution
is presented.
1. Introduction
Manufacturing processes under micro-gravity conditions require for the sake
of the quality of the product the disturbances as small as possible during
a solidification or melting process. One of the problems appearing in
heated liquid or melted systems is presented by the thermocapillary
convection, also called marangoni-convection [1,2]. This motion of the
fluid is induced by a variation of the surface tension resulting from
temperature gradients at the surface of the liquid. The gradient of the
surface tension yields a shear stress, which transmits through viscous
traction a convection of the liquid to the inside of the liquid, an un-
desirable fact in many manufacturing processes. Many theoretical and
experimental investigations have been performed in recent years (for a
detailed list of references see [3,4]. Most of them have studied Marangoni-
convection in a floating zone, see for example [5-7]. Marangoni-convection
in a liquid sphere was studied in [9] for an axisymmetric temperature field
and in [10] for an arbitrary temperature field and both analytical results
were gained by solving the linearized equations. In all these investi-
gations it was assumed that the deformation of the liquid is negligibly
small and the boundary conditions have to be satisfied at r=a, i.e. at the
Il, J Ralh (Editor)

Mlcrogravily Fluid Mechanics
(c) Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1992
62
surface of the liquid without fluid motion. In [11], the authors studied
the two-dimensional Marangoni-convection of both, a drop having a hot
region and a fusion problem with thermocapillary motion of two drops of
different temperatures. The results, produced by solving the governing
nonlinear equations numerically, show that for high Marangoni number and
high capillary number, the fluid flow causes a large deformation of the
fluid surface, which has a significant influence on the surface flow, and
moreover, on the whole flow. In the study, presented here, the influence
of small but finite deformation of the liquid surface is investigated for
an axisymmetric temperature field.
2. Basic Equations
A spherical liquid drop (Fig.I) is subjected at its boundary at r=a to
an arbitrary temperature distribution which induces both a thermal
convection and a deformation s(3~) of the liquid drop. The temperature at
the surface may be given by
The difference in temperature at the liquid surface causes local variations

in the surface tension, thus creating a flow at the surface from the warmer
to the colder region, which due to viscous traction transmits to the total
liquid drop, an effect known as the thermal Marangoni convection. To
determine the velocity distribution inside the liquid system, we have to
solve for creeping flow the Stokes equations for incompressible liquid, i.e.
1.n grad p = - curl curl V ( 1)
together with the continuity equation
div v= 0 (2)
and the boundary conditions at the free liquid surface S
on S (3)
and
63
on S (4)
v
where = utr +vta.
v
+wt<p is the velocity, t is the stress vector, h the unit
vector orthogonal to the surface, a is the surface tension and RI , R2 the
principal radii of curvature. Equation (3) describes the equality of
forces on the surface and (4) means that the normal velocity vanishes at
the surface of the liquid drop. We expand the boundary conditions (3) and
(4) into Taylor series at r=a with respect to ~ and neglect terms higher
than ~2. This yields a set of non-linear partial differential equations in
p,~,u,v and w (see [12]).
3. Method of Solution
In the following we only consider an axisymmetric temperature field, i.e.
at r=a+~(8).
For the determination of the velocity distribution inside the liquid drop
the above results have to be introduced into the appropriate boundary
conditions. The freely floating liquid sphere of density p, radius a and
viscosity n has to satisfy the expansions of the boundary conditions (3)
and (4). Writing An and Cn instead of Ano and Cno respectively, the
velocity distribution for the axisymmetric case reads
Aa
u(r,8) = 1: {C (.!:)n-I +~ ~ (.!:)n+l} Yno(8,q» (5a)
n=1 na en \,_n+... I a
Applying the "divergence" operation upon the Stokes equation renders the
Laplace equation l!.p=O for the pressure. The solution is given by
64
(5c)
For the surface elevation ~ and the surface tension a we assume
~(3) = l: i3 n Yno(3,qJ) and 0(3) = l: Yn Yno(3,qJ) (6a,b)

n=o n=o
with unknown i3 n and Yn . Expanding the given temperature at the free

surface into a series of spherical harmonics, i.e.
(7)
where Q is the space angle and * mean complex conjugate. Assuming

0(3)=00 +.gr T(3) with ~ = const., the Yn are given by Yo=oiYoo(3,qJ)=2vTibo
and Yn = ~~ ~ (n=1,2, ... ). Introducing (5), (6) and (7) into the boundary
conditions (3) and (4) and eleminating the 8-dependence by expanding all
terms into series of spherical harmonics yields three systems of algebraic
equations from which the unknown An' en and i3 n can be determined.
The systems of equations are (n=1,2,3, ... )
A 2y A, Y
D1 (n,2B' -~+-') + l: {[-n' _n_+ 2B "+(n"-1)(n"+2) - ; +
. 11 all ( n' , n' , ) all n' lla
1 do a
- ---z Of a +-;. i3 ]. r 2(n, n ' , n' , )} i3 =0 (8a)
lla n' lla n' n' ,
65
E B
D (n, E' - -=- +-=- _l... ~ a ) + l: { [ (E' , _1. E' +.!.". E +
2 . a a aT] U I . ( n' ,n' , ) n ' an' a£. n '
+ 1. B' lIdo 200

a n' --Z B +ZdT a, -"""jt3 ,)13 ,,+13 (l...A _ 2 B
a n ' a T] n T]a n n n' aT] n" n" 7
- ~ y )]r 3(n,n' ,n") -~ r 4(n,n' ,n")E 13 } = 0 (8b)

T]a n' , a n ' n"
(8c)
where D1 and D2 are linear operators. For these and the other abbreviations
used in (8) see [12]. The equations (8) have to be solved numerically.
Neglecting the nonlinear terms in (8) we have the well known results
[9,10], when the boundary conditions are only satisfied at r=a.
4. Numerical Evaluations
For the numerical evaluations a temperature distribution
T=To+T1Y20(3,q»=To+T1J(5/16n)' (3cos 2&-1) is assumed and is shown in Fig.2.
In the following figures the surface elevation ~, streamlines and
components of velocity u and v are drawn (straight lines ---) and compared
with the simplified theory (dotted lines ---) where the boundary conditions
are satisfyed at r=a ([9,10]), i.e. ~=(aT1/2000)ldo/dTIY20(3,<p),
66
2
u=( 3T /5T}) -I da/dT 1 [1- (r/a) ]( r/a)Y 20(3,<p) and
v=(3T/Hm) Ida/dT I [1 - 4/3 (r/a)2](r/a) aY 20 (3,<p)/a3.
In Fig.3a the streamlines are presented for surface tension parameter
a/aT} =0.0625 s -1 and capillary parameter (T/a o ) Ida/dTI = 1.5.
It can be seen that the streamlines close to the center of the drop, say
for r/a < 1/2, are nearly identical for simplified and advanced
calculations but for r/a > 1/2 there are clear deviations. This
deviations becomes higher near the surface of the drop. The streamlines
near the surface of the drop are, compared with those of the simplified
theory, shifted in the same manner as the surface shape of the drop, which
has a spheroidal form. In Fig.3b the surface elevation is shown. It can be
seen that the maximal elevation is about 5%. The figures following now show
the results for a higher capillary parameter (Tl/a o ) Ida/dT I =2. In Fig.4a
the streamlines are drawn. It can be seen that the quantities described
above (compare with Fig.3a) are more pronounced. Especially the deformation
of the surface (Fig.4b) becomes greater (now more than 8%) which can be
seen by comparing with Fig.3b. In Fig.4b also the difference of the surface
elevation resulting from the advanced computation (~=0.08a) and that of the
simplified method (~=0.06a) of calculation is clearly pronounced. In Fig.4c
and 4d the components of the velocity near the surface (r=0.9a) are shown.
It should be noticed that the maximal velocity in radial direction (Fig.4c)
is about 40% higher than predicted by the simplified theory while the
maximum of the tangential velocity component is shifted (12 0 ) into the
direction of the equator and additional the maximal value is some smaller
(6%) .
References
1. Marangoni, C.: Ober die Ausbreitung der Tropfen einer F1Ussigkeit auf
der Oberflache einer anderen. Annalen der Physik und Chemie 143 (1871)
337-354
2. Scriven, L.E. and Sternling, L.V.: The Marangoni effects. Nature 187
(1960) 186-188
3. Myshkis, A.D., et.al.: Low Gravity Fluid Mechanics. Springer, Berlin
Heidelberg (1987)
67
References
4. Napolitano. L.G. and Vivani. A.: Marangoni Convection - An Overview.
First International Microgravity Congress Bremen. Germany 24-26
September 1990
5. Da-Riva, I. and Ruesga. J.M.: Fluid-Physics-Module Experiments.
Proceedings of the Second European Symposium on Material Sciences in
Space. Frascati, Italy 6.-8. April 1976. ESA-SP-114 (Sept. 1976)
265-275
6. Fowle, A.A.; Haggerty. J.J.; Pepron. R.R.; Strong. P.F. and Swanson,
J.L.: Float-Zone Processing in a Weightless Environment.
NASA CR-2768, Nov. 1976
7. Chun.Ch.-H. and Wuest, W.: Experiments on the Transition from a Steady
to the Oscillatory Marangoni Convection of a Floating Zone under
Reduced Gravity Effect. Acta Astronautica 6 (1979) 1073-1082
8. Bauer. H.F.: Theoretical Study about the marangoni convection in a
Liquid Column in Zero Gravity. Acta Astron. II, No.6 (1984) 301-311
9. Bauer. H.F.: Marangoni-Convection in a Freely Floating Liquid Sphere
Due to Axial Temperature Field. Ing.Arch. 52 (1982) 263-273
10. Bauer. H.F. and Eidel. W.: Marangoni-Convection in a Spherical Liquid
Systems. Acta Astron. 15 (1987) 275-290
11. Ohnishi. M.; Yoshihara. S. and Azuma. H.: Computer Simulation of
Thermocapillary Motion with Surface Deformation. 41st Congress of the
International Astronautical Federation. Oct. 6-12. 1990. Dresden,
Germany
12. Eidel, W.: Marangoni-Convection in a Non-Spherical Liquid Drop.
Forschungsbericht der Universitat der Bundeswehr MUnchen.
LRT-WE-9-FB (1991)
68
y
1.0r----------------------------,
0.6
0 .2
-0.2
Free floating -0.5

liquid sphere
- I • oLo-.0----0-.-2----0-.-'----0-.-6----,0,-."7
8----'1 . 0
Fig. 1: Geometry of System and Coordinates
-J/n
Fig. 2: Spherical function Y20(3,qJ)
Ua
O. 10r----------------------------,
T=T, +TI Y"f..s.9')
(1,/01) =0.06255.1
ET 11(1, ) d(1ldT=-i .5
0.06
0.02
-0.02
-0.06
o,/o~ : 0.0625 ..I

IT 10,1 daldT =-tS
T.T•• r, YlO f~.'9) -0 .1 0 0L .-o----0,-."72- - - -0,-.-,----,o-."7 e ----!, .0
s ----=0,-."7
..s/n
Fig. 3a: Streamlines Fig. 3b: Surface elevation

69
?lo
0.10r---------------- -----______~
T=T. +T, v" (,} .<p1

a./oT) =0.0625.-'
0.06
IT, fa. I da/dT=-2
0.02
-0.02
-0 .06
a, lo~, 0.0625 s'

(T,Io,) do IdT, -2
i, T, . T, Y,.r.:l.'91 -0. 1 o!-:--~:--:---------------------l
0.0 0.2 0.' 0.6 0.8 1.0
'}/Tt
Fig. 4a: Streamlines Fig. 4b: Surface elevation
u/(IT,/1)l l da/dT II v/(lT ,/ T)1 Ida/dTI I

o.o,------------------------------, 0.10r----------------------------,
;=1, +T, ~,(".<p1 T=T, +T, Y" (" .<p1

a,/o1) =0.0625s· a,/oT) =0.0625 s·,
IT, /a, Ida/dT=-2 IT, fa. Ida/dT=-2
0.06 0.06
r/o=0.9 r/o=0.9
0.02 0.02
-0 . 02 -0.02
"
-0.06 -0.06
-0 . 10~0-.0----~0-.-2----0-.-.-----0-.6-----0-.8----~1.0 -0.IOO~~.0~--~O-.2~--~0-.~.----0-.-6----0-.-8--~, .0
"/Tt "/Tt
Fig. 4c: Radial component of velocity Fig. 4d: Meridional component of velocity
Some Problems Raised by Marangoni Instability
in Spherical Geometry
G.LEBON,P.C.DAUBY,
Liege University, Institute of Physics,
Sart Tihnan B5, 4000 Liege, Belgium
A. CLOOT,
University of the Orange Free State, Department of Applied Mathematics,
P.O. Box 339, 9300 Bloemfontein, South Africa
ABSTRACT
Several problems concerning Marangoni instability in spherical geometry are discussed. The
system under study consists of a thin liquid shelllimited by two concentric spherical surfaces:
the inner one is rigid and uniformly heated while the outer is free: it exchanges heat with the
external environment and is submitted to a temperature-dependent surface tension. In a fIrst
stage, the spherical support is assumed at rest and the outer surface is non-deformable. The
critical Marangoni number is calculated as a function of the thickness of the layer and its
curvature. When the latter tends to zero, one recovers the classical results for a planar
geometry. The hypotheses of a fixed frame and a non-deformable outer surface are then
relaxed. By allowing the spherical support to rotate around its polar axis with a uniform angular
velocity, overstability occurs. When the support is at rest but the outer surface is deformed, it is
shown that the stability conditions are drastically modifIed.
1. INTRODUCTION
Thermoconvective instabilities in a spherical geometry have attracted widespread attention

during the last decades, principally among the geophysicists and the astrophysicists. In his
celebrated monograph, Chandrasekhar [1] treated the problem of convection in the Earth's
mantle as an application of Rayleigh-Benard instability in spherical shells. Several interesting
papers have been published on the subject: useful references are found in the review articles
by Turcotte and Oxburgh [2] and by Shubert [3].
From a mathematical point of view the study of thermal convection in spherical
geometries is interesting because it can be solved without appealing to lateral boundary
conditions, as requested in planar geometries.
To our knowledge, as far as spherical geometries are concerned, only buoyancy effects
are considered, surface-tension effects being ignored most of the time. This is curious because
it is well known that, in planar configurations, Marangoni instability is of special interest in
very thin fluid layers and/or in a micro gravity environment where the gravity forces playa
negligible role [4].
H J. Rath (Editor)
MicrogravllY FlUId MechaniCS
72
The lack of theoretical results together with the promises of future relevant experimental
evidence on the subject have motivated the present work. Three different situations are
analyzed. In section 2, the whole system is assumed at rest; in the third section, the spherical
shell is rotating. In both cases the outer surface is assumed to be non-deformable. Section 4 is
devoted to the study of the effects of surface deformations for a non-rotating spherical system.
In the present work, only the linear stability problem is investigated: the normal mode
technique will be used to study the behaviour of the velocity and temperature disturbances.
2. MARANGONI CONVECTION IN A NON-ROTATING SPHERICAL GEOMETRY
Consider an incompressible Boussinesquean fluid layer without internal heat sources

contained between two concentric spherical boundaries located respectively at R j -the inner
radius- and Ro -the outer radius. The inner surface of the fluid, assumed to be rigid, is heated
while the outer one is in contact with an ambient gas and submitted to a surface tension
depending on the temperature. The fluid layer is placed in a micro gravity environment
(g = 10-6 m/s2) and the support is fixed. Let Ii and T designate the velocity and temperature
fields respectively. In the unperturbed rest state, they are given by
(2.1)
wherein T j and To are the temperatures at the inner and outer faces respectively.
After scaling the spatial coordinates by Ro - R j , the velocity by /( /(Ro - R j ) with /( the
heat diffusivity, the temperature by I1T = T j - To and applying twice the curl operator to the
momentum equation, one obtains [5,6] the following dimensionless equations for the perturbed
fields ur ' the radial component of the velocity in the spherical coordinates (r,e,¢J), and T , the
perturbation of temperature :
v2(Pr -1 ata - V 2) (r Ur ) = 0 , (2.2)
(2.3)
One has dropped all the non-linear terms because the disturbances are assumed of
infinitesimally small amplitude. For the sake of simplicity, one has used the same notation for
dimensionless and dimensional quantities except for r which stands for R / (Ro -R). After the
scaling, one thus has r 0 = rj + 1 since the thickness of the shell is equal to 1.
In equation (2.2), Pr is Prandtl number defined by Pr = v I /(, where v is the kinematic
viscosity.
73
The boundary conditions for the radial velocity at the inner and outer faces
are respectively:
Ur = 0, a/dr (ur ) = 0 at r =rj , (2.4)

ur =0, a2/ar 2 (rur )=-(l/r)MaL 2 T at r=ro ' (2.5)
with operator L2 given by
The dimensionless Marangoni number Ma is defmed by
P is the mass density, ~ the surface tension, assumed to be a linearly decreasing function of the
temperature (Ma is thus here a positive quantity).
Relation (2.4.a) expresses the non-slip condition while (2.4.b) is a consequence of the
continuity equation and of the vanishing of uf) and u¢ , the eand cfJ components of the velocity.
Equation (2.S.a) is the non-deformability condition and (2.5.b) expresses the balance between
the viscous tensions and the forces due to the variations of ~ with respect to T (for an explicit
derivation of (2.S.b), see reference [5]).
The boundary conditions for the temperature are
T = 0 at r = rj , alar (T) = 0 at r = r0 ' (2.6)
Le., we impose the inner sphere to be perfectly heat conducting and the free surface to be
perfectly insulated.
According to the normal mode technique, we seek solutions of the form
rUr = W(r) Y7'( e,qJ) exp( at) , (2.7)

T = E>(r) yr(e,qJ) exp(at) ,
where y;" are the spherical surface hannonics satisfying the eigenvalue equation
where I is the wave number of the normal mode.

74
At neutral stability and within the hypothesis of exchange of stability Re( CT) =Im(CT) =0 ,
which is briefly discussed in next section, the amplitude functions W(r) and 8(r) obey the
following differential equations :
(2.8)
where DI = a 2/ar2 + (2/r) alar -/(/+ 1)/r 2 ,with boundary conditions
= a 2/ar2 (W) = 8 = 0 at r = r j ,
W
W = a 2 /ar2 (W) + Ma (I(I+1)/r) 8 = alar (8) = 0 at r = ro' (2.9)
The general solution of (2.8) is
W(r) - A r-(/-1)
- 1
+ A 2 rl + A 3 r-(/+I) + A 4
r(/+2)
' (2.10)
(2.11)
wherein the integration constants AI' ... , A6 are obtained by substitution of (2.10-11) in the
boundary conditions (2.9). This yields a set of six homogenous linear algebraic equations for
which the coefficient determinant should vanish. After calculation of the determinant the
eigenvalue Ma is obtained as a function of I, ro and the ratio b = rj / ro . Onset of instability
occurs at the critical value Mac = mini = 1,2". Ma(/). The quantity Ma is found to be [5,6]
Ma =4/+2 [/+1 b l+ L b- I-1] [(2/+1)(b 3_b- 1) + 2b- 21 _ 2b 21+2]

ro ro ro
[b -31 _ b 31+3 + (2/ 3 + 2P + 1/2)(b l+4-b -1-1) + (4/ 3 + 212 _ 1- 1/2)(b"I-b l+3)
+ (6P + 6/- 3/2)(b -1+l_ b l+2)+ (4P + 10/ 2 + 71 + 3/2)(b 1+1_b -1+2)
+ (2/ 3 + 412 + (5/2)1 + l/2)(b"1+3 -b I) ] -I, (2.12)
In the limit that r0 tends to infinity and setting a = l/r 0 ,expression (2.12) takes the form
M 8 2 cosh a (a- sinh a cosh a)

a= a 3 3' (2.13)
a cosh a - sinh a
which is exactly Pearson's result derived for the case of a planar layer. This results attests of
the correctness of expression (2.12).
75
In Table 1 are reported the critical Marangoni and wave numbers as a function of ri and
theratiob=ri/ro =ri/(ri +1).
r·I b Mac Ie
0.67 0.4 75 2
1.5 0.6 74 3
4 0.8 76 8
10 0.909 78 20
00
- 80 -
Table 1. Mae and Ie as a function of the inner radius ri or as a function of the ratio b =ri / ro
It is seen that Mac increases with the inner radius for values of ri larger than 1.5. It is
also shown that in general Mac is an increasing function of the ratio of the inner to the outer
radius. According to the definition of the Marangoni number, this amounts to say that the
critical temperature difference IlTe increases with decreasing fluid thickness. This result can be
interpreted by recalling that the surface tension, which is more effective in thin layers, plays a
stabilizing role. Therefore, onset of convection needs a larger temperature difference in shallow
layers than in thick ones. The same property was also noticed by Pearson [7], Nield [8] and
Koschmieder and Biggerstaff [9] in horizontal layers extending laterally to infinity. It is
interesting to remark that a similar behavior was observed in Chandrasekhar's monograph [1]
for Benard convection between two spherical shells.
3. MARANGONIINSTABILITY IN A ROTATING SPHERICAL GEOMETRY
In this section, we shall essentially point out the main differences that are emerging when
e
the spherical shell is allowed to rotate at the constant angular velocity m z where z is the unit e
vector directed along the South-North axis. The procedure followed in section 2 remains valid
at the condition to replace equations (2.8) by (detailed calculations can be found in [10])
76
(3.1)
(3.2)
wherein Ta = 2jml (ro- r/lv is the dimensionless Taylor number.

Due to the rotation, the solutions of equations (3.1) and (3.2) are no longer degenerated ;
to each value of the couple I,m there corresponds a distinct solution. This must be compared
with the case of no-rotation, where the parameter m is absent so that solutions with different
spatial dependences are not distinguishable. It can thus be said that the introduction of rotation
destroys the spherical symmetry which is replaced by a cylindrical symmetry.
Unlike the case of no-rotation for which an analytical solution is available, only numerical
solutions can be obtained when rotation is acting. Moreover, compared to the problem without
rotation, two additional difficulties emerge. First, a supplementary angular number m appears
in the analysis. Second, exchange of stability, which can be numerically checked [10] in the
absence of rotation (Ta = 0) is no longer guaranteed when rotation occurs (Ta *- 0).
As a first step, let us fix the values of Pr and Ta in order to determine the role of a change
of thickness on the onset of convection. Critical values for Pr = 500 and Ta = 1()4 are reported
in Table 2 for two values of the inner radius (ri = 0.666 and r i = 4). It is observed that the
lowest values of Mae and Ie are obtained for m = 0, whatever the radius of the inner sphere and
it has been checked that this value m = 0 corresponds to exchange of stability. If m *- 0,
overstability may occur. In this case, we notice that the smallest value of Mae corresponds to
m = land is attained for a value of Ie higher than the one obtained for m = 0 (see Table 2).
m 0 1 2
ri
0.666 Mae = 75.6 and Ie = 2 Mae = 1106 and Ie = 11 Mae = 1558 and Ie = 23
4 Mae = 76.1 and Ie = 8 Mae = 205 and Ie = 19 Mae = 291 and Ie = 23
Table 2. Critical values Mae and Ie for 'i =0.666 and 'i =4 as functions of m (for p, =500 and Ta = 104 ).
We have also examined what happens when Taylor's number is varied. It follows from
Figure 1 that the layer becomes more stable as the angular velocity increases. The lowest curve
in Figure 1 has been calculated for Ta = 0 (absence of rotation). It could also be seen for
moderate values of Ta «10 2), the curves corresponding to overstability and exchange of
stability are (almost) identical, whatever the value of m.
77
A last comment concerns the role of the Prandtl number. It is shown in Figure 2 that
stability is increased when Pr increases. For values of Pr greater than 10, the stability curves
becomes rather insensitive to the values of the Prandtl number. Since Pr is proportional to the
viscosity, it results from the calculation that an increase of viscosity reinforces stability. This is
physically understandable as viscous dissipation inhibits the onset of convection.
The main difference between configurations at rest and in rotation is the emergence, in the
latter case, of overstability. However, in the range of variation of the parameters Pr and Ta
considered in this work (10-4 < Pr < 500, 0 < Ta < 10\ it is observed that the marginal
stability curve for exchange of stability (corresponding to m = 0) is located below the curves
corresponding to overstability. As a consequence, it can be stated that marginal equilibrium is
not characterized by an oscillatory behavior, at least for moderate to high Prandtl and Taylor
numbers.
Ma
1600
Figure 1. Effect of variation of Ta on the onset Figure 2. Effect of variation of p, on the onset of
of convection; p, =500. Ri =0.666. m = 1. convection; Ta = 104. Ri = 0.666. The lowest
curve corresponds to m = 0, the other ones to m = 1.
4. EFFECT OF SURFACE DEFORMATIONS
We consider the same configuration as in section 2 (no rotation of the support) but we
relax the hypothesis of a non-deformable outer surface. Instead of being given by r 0 = constant,
the upper free surface will be written as
(4.1)
wherein 0 is the elevation of the deformed surface.

For infinitesimally small disturbances, the normal mode approach remains valid. This
allows to expand the surface-deformation into the form
78
8 = (f>(r) yr( (J,I/J) exp( at) , (4.2)
with the amplitude of the elevation.

The amplitudes of the velocity W(r) and temperature fJ(r) satisfy the same differential
equations (2.8) as in section 2, but now the boundary conditions at the outer surface r = r0 take
the more complicated form (see [11] for details) :
W = alar (e) = 0, (4.3)
(4.4)
(4.5)
Deformation of the free surface generates an additional term in (4.4) and a new equation (4.5)
which involves the so-called crispation number Cr = PVI( / (; (Ro - Rj ».
Using classical integration techniques [11] one obtains a nonlinear relation between the
Marangoni number Ma and the other nondimensional quantities which can be formally written
as
Ma = Ma(l,Cr,r)
For a given geometry and referring to a particular fluid, the onset of convection occurs at
the critical Marangoni number
The critical value Mac was derived for several combinations of the parameters Cr and rj
and the main results can be summarized as follows. For a fixed value of rj it is observed (see
Figures 3 and 4) that Mac and Ie remain constant for small values of the crispation number:
Cr < Cr *. But for a value of Cr slightly higher than Cr *, there is a sharp decrease of the Mac
and Ie values. This bifurcation phenomena is the essential feature that is displayed by the
introduction of the deformability of the upper surface.
It is also interesting to compare with the results obtained for a planar but deformable
configuration [12]. In a plane layer, the theory predicts that once the value of the crispation
number Cr differs from zero any configuration becomes unconditionally unstable as it is found
that
I being the horizontal wave number associated to the perturbation.

79
60 ',2
Ie
40 B,
:
4r-
"I Cr'
u~.____~----~~'.~~,Lo~g~IO~C~r, 01
I
I
,
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 -8 -6 -4 -2 0
Figure 3. Critical value Mac a~ a function Figure 4. Evolution for the critical wave number Ie
of the crispation number Cr (rl =4). as a function of the crispation number Cr (rl = 4).
In the present problem, a similar behaviour occurs when one takes the limit
I ~1, IE ]l,oo[
However as a consequence of the discrete character of the variable I which can only take integer
values, one has a cut off to the spectrum at I = 2 which prevents Mac from vanishing.
To conclude, it can be claimed that deformation of the surface plays a destabilizing role.
Moreover, it should be stressed that the appearance of a bifurcation has no counterpart in a
planar geometry.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Fruitful discussions with professor J.c. Legros and his group (Universite Libre de Bruxelles)
are acknowledged. This research has been partially supported by the program "Pole
d'Attraction Interuniversitaire nO 21 ", S.P.P.S., Belgium.
REFERENCES
1. S. Chandrasekhar, Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability, Clarendon, Oxford,

1961.
2. D.L. Turcotte and E.R. Oxburgh, Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 4, 33 (1971).
3. G. Shubert, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 7, 289 (1979).
4. S.H. Davis, Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 19,403 (1987).
5. O. Pirotte and G. Lebon, Appl. Micrograv. Technol. 1, 175 (1988).
6. H. Hoefsloot and W. Hoogstraten, Appl. Micrograv. Technol. 2, 102 (1989).
7. J.R. Pearson, J. Fluid Mech. 4, 489 (1958).
8. D.A. Nield, J. Fluid Mech. 19, 341 (1964).
9. F. Koschmieder and M. Biggerstaff, J. Fluid Mech. 167,49 (1986).
10. A. Cloot and G. Lebon, Phys. Fluids A 2, 525 (1990).
11. A. Cloot and G. Lebon, Appl. Micrograv. Technol. 3, 44 (1990).
12. A. CIoot and G. Lebon, PCH Physico Chemical Hydro. 6,453 (1985).
Marangoni Convection in Drops
under Microgravity Conditions
B. Petri, A. Delgado, H ..J. Rath
Centre of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, Zarm, University of Bremen,

Germany
Abstract: The results reported here are part of a research project aimed at investi-
gating the influence of transient temperature fields on Marangoni convection. In this
publication, theoretical solutions for stationary flow fields of a freely floating drop in
response to a given temperature field are presented. In contrast to existing literature,
the temperature dependence of material constants is taken into account. It is found
that the errors made in the solutions for flow and temperature fields incurred by ne-
glecting this temperature dependence is substantial even at small Marangoni (Mg) and
Reynolds (Re) numbers respectively. Flow and temperature fields for 0 ~ Re :::; 5000
and 0 ~ M 9 :::; 1000 are depicted.
1. Introduction
Marangoni convection is fluid motion driven by a gradient in surface or interface tension.
Surface tension depends on temperature, concentration and electrical charge distribu-
tion along a boundary. The investigations presented here address the phenomenon of
thermal Marangoni convection, i.e. the convection induced by temperature distribution
along a boundary. Thermal Marangoni convection is independent of gravity but in the
presence of gravity, it is often masked by thermal buoyant convection. A good overview
of the phenomena related to the Marangoni convection is given by Ostrach [1] and Da
Riva [2]. Various aspects of this phenomenon have been investigated experimentally
and theoretically, i.e. investigations on the floating zone [3,4,5,6] or migrating drops
and bubbles in fluids [7,8,9].
Under microgravity the sphere is the natural geometry of a free-floating undisturbed

liquid volume. Analytical solutions for the flow fields in spherical drops with a given
temperature gradient at the surface have been presented [10,11]. These solutions are
only valid for small Reynolds numbers (creeping flow). The assumption made for these
solutions other than an undeformed drop geometry is that the material parameters are
temperature independent. In [12] results for the Marangoni convection under the same
H. J. Ralh (EdItor)
Mlcrogravlty FlUId MechaniCS
© Spnnger-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1992
82
premise are discussed. Analytical and numerical solutions for the Marangoni flow in
drops for high Reynolds numbers can be found in [14,15].
The aim of this publication is to calculate flow fields in drops taking into account
the temperature dependence of the material parameters.
2. Mathematical Description
2.1 Geometry
For convenience the flow behaviour within the spherical drop is analyzed by using sphe-
rical coordinates (r. represents the radial, -a the azimuthal and cp the meridional di-
rection). The surface of the drop is assumed to be that of a perfect sphere and can
therefore be described by R = const.
2.2 Assumptions
For the mathematical description of the problem the following assumptions have been
made:
- the fluid is viscous, newtonian, incompressible and homogeneous,
- only stationary and stable states are investigated,
- only rotationally symmetrical induction mechanisms (temperature fields) are inve-

stigated,
- the temperature dependency of surface tension is described by the following ex-

pression:
u.(T.) = u.(T.o) + :;: (T. - T.o),
- the temperature derivative of surface tension is negative across the whole tempe-
rature regime,
- all influences from the drop surroundings (e.g. mass and momentum transfer) are
neglected,
- the temperature field at the drop surface is known,
- the temperature dependence of all material parameters used is approximated with

linear relations, (in [13] it is shown, that this provides a good approximation in the
temperature range, 15°C < T. < 35°C, considered).
83
2.3 Basic equations
In order to describe the flow processes within the drop, the continuity, the momentum
and the energy equations are formulated in the differential form. Here, the dimensionless
notation is used:
(2.1)
8u v 8u v2)
Re(l+CpT) ( u - + - - - -
8r r8{} r
=
8p (2U 2 8v 2v cot {})
--+(l+C T) ~u- - - - - - - -
8r 'I r2 r2 8{} r2
8T 18T) (2.2)
+C'I ( 2D rr 8r + 2Dr11;: 8{}
(2.3)
Mg (1 + CpT) ( u 8T
8r + ;:v 8T)
8{} = (1 + CS)~T + C~ [(8T)2
8r (18T)2]
+;: 8{) (2.4)
U.R. U.R.
with Re := v(T.o) j Mg:= a(T. o) (2.5)
C ._~8p. C ._~871• .
p .- p.(T.o) 8T. 'I .- 71. (T.o) 8T. '
and U .- 18u·I T•.

•. - 81'. 71. '
The quantities u., v. and w. represent the velocity components in radial, tangential
and azimuthal direction. Further, p. represents the pressure, U. the characteristic ve-
locity, T. the temperature, v. the kinematic viscosity, 71. the dynamic viscosity, a. the
temperature conductivity, p. the density and
~ == r;~~ (r2~) + r;
8r. • 8r.
__ 1_!... (sin{}!...)
sin {} 8{} 8{}
84
the Laplace operator. D rr , Dr" and D"" are the corresponding elements of the defor-
mation velocity tensor and can be found in [13] (all symbols annotated with a * are
dimensional parameters).
The dimensionless numbers Re,Mg,Cp,C~ and C>. characterize the problem in que-
stion. The Reynolds number Re can be interpreted as the ratio of the momentum flux
due to convection to that due to shearing. The Marangoni number Mg describes the
relationship betwe«;n the transport of thermal energy through convection and through
diffusion. The material parameters C p, C~ and C>. characterize the variation in material
data in relation to their reference values.
For the numerical work, the material data for a 20% water-80% glycerine solution at a re-
ference temperature of T. o = T.mutT.m;D = 25°C are chosen (Cp = -T. 4.9 10- 4 o~, C~ =
-T. 5.6 1O-2o~'C>, = T. 1.210-3o~).
The thermal capacity can be taken as approximately constant. The results presented
are for a characteristic temperature difference of T. = 5°C.
The simulation region can be represented by a (r., '19.) plane. It is bounded by the
surface r. = R.(t9.) and the symmetry line '19 = 0 and '19 = 7r respectively. The boundary
conditions on the surface are:
r = 1: (2.6)
(1 (av - -v)r
+ C~ T) -ar s = sgn (!;) (2.7)
T(t9) = /('19). (2.8)
The condition (2.6) determines that no tangential flow exists through the free surface
of the drop, thus guaranteeing a stationary state at this surface. The condition (2.7)
describes the tangential stress balance at the surface in t9-direction. At the symmetry
axis '19 = 0 and '19 = 7r the symmetry condition is valid.
2.4 Numerical treatment
The differential equations (2.1)-(2.4) are transposed into a discrete form with the va-
riables u;;, v;;, p;; and 1';; with the help of second-order central difference quotients. The
boundary conditions are discretised similarly. Only at the point R = 1, a one-sided se-
cond order difference quotient is used in r-direction. Via the tranposition to discrete
variables, a system of non-linear algebraic equations is obtained. This is then solved
using a Newton algorithm.
85
3. Results
Here, results for the boundary condition
1
T =-
cosfJ (3.9)
2
are presented. Analytical solutions of the problem described above for temperature-
independent material parameters and small Reynolds numbers are discussed in [10,11).
In the present project an analytical solution valid for arbitrary Reynolds numbers under
the premise of temperature independence (and the assumptions formulated in section
2.2) was found. The calculation of the solution is described in [13,14). These results
serve as comparison for the temperature-dependent data obtained here.
Exemplary streamlines belonging to the velocity field found .in [13,14) are illustrated
in Figure 3.1. The flow is that of a rotationally symmetrical ring vortex. The latter
stretches over the whole (r,fJ)-plane. The material flows along the surface from the
warmer left pole to the colder right pole of the drop. In the vicinity of the symmetry
axis, the fluid flows back to the warmer pole.
Figure 3.1 : Stream function for the boundary condition T = ~ cos fJ
No analytical representation of the temperature field in the drop as a function of the

Marangoni number Mg was found in [13,14). The temperature distribution was therefore
calculated numerically for the Marangoni numbers M 9 = 0,1,10,100 and 1000. These
solutions are also valid for arbitrary Reynolds number Re. The solutions obtained for
temperature-independent material parameters are depicted in Figures 3.1 and 3.2.
For M 9 -+ 0 the temperature field is independent of the flow. The transport of thermal
energy occurs only via diffusion and a temperature gradient is induced according to the
temperature distribution at the drop surface. The temperature distribution is linear
86
Figure 3.2: Isotherms for temperature-independent material parameters; Mg = 1000
from the north pole to the south pole of the drop. The Figure 3.2 shows the tempe-
rature distribution for the Marangoni number Mg = 1000 respectively. The contour
lines represent isotherms. In Figure 3.2 it can be clearly seen that at M 9 = 1000 the
temperature transport is chiefly by convection and the isotherms follow the streamline
closely in a large section of the drop. Only along the surface does the temperature
follow the thermal boundary conditions. Also remarkable is that the temperature is
lower than the reference temperature (T = 0) in the whole interior of the drop.
For temperature-dependent material parameters the solutions are dependent both on

the Reynolds Re and on the Marangoni numbers M g, as the energy equation is not
decoupled from the flow equations. The numerical simulations were carried out for
Re = 0,1,10,100,500,1000 and 5000 and for Mg = 0,1,10,100 and 1000.
When the reference solutions are compared with that of the temperature-dependent
ones, it can be seen that the effects of temperature dependence of density and ther-
mal conductivity can be neglected in relation to that of viscosity. This can be directly
deduced by comparing the values of the parameters C p , C~ and C~ in section 2.3. The
changes due to temperature dependence of material parameters occur chiefly in the flow
field. The temperature field is influenced only indirectly by flow field changes at large
Marangoni numbers Mg.
Changes in the flow field can be observed already at low Reynolds and Marangoni
numbers as it is illustrated in Figure 3.3 for Re -+ 0 and M 9 -+ O. This Figure en-
ables a direct comparison of the streamlines of the reference state (analytical solution)
with that obtained for different flow situations. In the case Re -+ 0 and Mg -+ 0 the
streamlines are shifted in comparison to the reference states represented graphically in
87
analyti(ol solution
----- Re-O ;Mg-O
- .-'-'- Re· 5000 ; Mg -1000
- 0005 -0.010 -0.015
Figure 3.3: Comparison of the solution obtained taking into account the temperature
dependence of the material constants for vanishing and very large values of Re and Mg
to the reference solution
Figure 3.1 towards the warmer pole. Because of a linear temperature distribution in
z-direction, the temperature in the left half of the drop is higher than the reference
value, leading to a lower viscosity there. In the right half the situation is reversed:
the temperature here is lower and therefore the viscosity higher. As an result, higher
velocity values than in the reference solution are obtained in the left hemisphere and
vice-versa.
If the Reynolds number is increased at constant Marangoni number, see Figure 3.4,
a decrease in the dimensionless velocities inside the vortex is observed. The viscous
drag in the colder half of the drop cannot be compensated by the effect of lower visco-
sity in the warmer half and the vortex experiences a "braking effect" .
If for low Reynolds numbers the Marangoni number is increased, see Figure 3.4, the
velocity diminishes even more rapidly. At large Marangoni numbers the temperature in
almost the whole drop is lower than the reference temperature, thus leading to higher
viscosities and a higher "braking effect" than in the reference states.
For large Reynolds and Marangoni numbers both effects superimpose to reduce ve-
locities even further. This can be deduced from the streamlines depicted in Figure 3.3
for the values Re = 5000 and M 9 = 1000.
88
analytical solution
------ Re - 5000 ; Mg-O
_ . _ . _ .- Re -0 ; Mg -1000
- 0,005 -0.01 0 - 0.015
Figure 3.4: The influence of Re and Mg on the stream lines when considering tempera-
ture-dependent material constants
Here it is evident that even for creeping flows especially at high Marangoni numbers the
negligence of temperature-dependency of material parameters can lead to considerable
errors in the solutions found. For large Reynolds and Marangoni numbers the tempe-
rature dependence of material parameters, especially of viscosity, should be taken into
account of in numerical simulation work.
Acknowledgment
The financial support by the Bundesminister fiir Forschung und Technologie is grate-
fully acknowledged.
Literature
[1] Ostrach, S.: Convection Phenomena of Importance for Materials Processing in

Space, Paper D.3.1 at the COSPAR Symposium on Materials Sciences in Space,
Philadelphia, Pa., June 9-10, 1976, (1976)
89
[2] Da Riva, I.: Some Physical and Chemical Processes in Fluids, Proceedings of the
ESRO "Processing and Manufacturing in Space", Frascati, Italy, 25-27.03.1974,
171-183 (1974)
[3] Schwabe, D., Scharmann, A., Preisser, F.: Studies of Marangoni Convection in
Floating Zones, Acta Astronautica Vol.9, No.3, 183-186 (1982)
[4] Rybicki, A., Floryan, J .M.: Thermocapillary effects in liquid bridges I. Thermoca-
pillary convection, Phys. Fluids 30 (7), (1987)
[5] Rybicki, A., Floryan, J.M.: Thermocapillary effects in liquid bridges II. Deforma-
tion of the interface and capillary instability, Phys. Fluids 30 (7), (1987)
[6] Chun,C.-H., Wuest, W.: A micro-gravity simulation of the Marangoni convection,

Acta Astronautica, Vol. 5, 681-686 (1978)
[7] Szymczyk, J .A.: Berechnung der thermokapillaren Blasenbewegung in Flussigkeiten

unter Schwerelosigkeit fur groJ1e Reynolds- und Marangoni-Zahlen, Dissertation,
Universitiit Essen (1985)
[8] Szymczyk, J.A., Wozniak, G., Siekmann, J.: On Marangoni Bubble Motion at
Higher Reynolds- and Marangoni-Numbers under Microgravity, Appl. microgravity
tech. I 1, 27-29 (1987)
[9] Siekmann, J., Wozniak, G.: Thermocapillary Bubble Migration in Microgravity at

Higher Marangoni (Mg) and Reynolds (Re) numbers, Israel Journal of Technology,
Vol. 23, 179-183 (1986/87)
[10] Shankar, N., Cole, R., Subramanian, R.S.: Thermocapillary Migration of a Fluid
Droplet inside a Drop in a Space Laboratory, Int. J. Multiphase Flow Vol. 7, No.
6, 581-594 (1981)
[11] Bauer, H.F., Eidel, W.: Marangoni-Convection in a Spherical Liquid System, Acta
Astronautica Vol. 15, No.5, 275-290 (1987)
[12] Saghir, M.Z., Choma, C.T.: Numerical Simulation of Thermocapillary Convection

inside a Liquid Drop, preprints of "Spacebound '87", First Canadian Workshop on
R&D Opportunities on Board the Space Station,May 6-8 1987, Ottawa, Canada
(1987)
[13] Petri, B.: Marangonikonvektion in Tropfen unter Mikrogravitation, Dissertation,

Universitiit Bremen (1990)
[14] Petri, B., Rath, H.J.: Thermische Marangoni-Konvektion in sphiirischen Tropfen

bei verschiedenen Reynoldszahlen unter Schwerelosigkeit, ZAMM 70 (1990) 4
[15] Petri, B., Delgado, A., Rath, H.J.: Marangoni Convection in Spherical Drops Dri-
ven by Rotationally Symmetrical Temperature Fields under Microgravity, Procee-
ding of the VII European Symposium on Materials and Fluid Sciences in Micro-
gravity, Oxford, UK, 10-15.09.1989, ESA SP-295, 321-330 (1990)
Stationary Marangoni Instability in a Liquid Layer
due to Non-Isothermal Gas Absorption
S. SLAUTCHEU, U. NAIDENOU * , ZH. KOZHOUKHAROUA
Institute of Mechanics and Biomechanics

Bulgarian Academ~ of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria,
*Institute for Water Research, Moscow, USSR
Summar~
The thermocapillar~ instabilit~ in a la~er of binar~ system

due to the heat of absorption in the case of a mass transfer
through a gas-liquid surface is studied. As the effects of
fluid density are negligibl~ small at reduced gravit~, the
mass transfer process can be influenced b~ a thermal
interfacial convection. The anal~sis shows that the
stationar~ convection sets on not onl~ when the wall
temperature is higher than that of the gas (according to
Pearson's theory) but also at equal temperatures and even when
the gas temperature is slightly higher.
Introduction
A mass transfer through a surface separating liquid and gas
phases is often accompanied b~ a heat effect, owing to the
exothermic character of the ph~sical absorption. In many
absorption processes going on at the Earth, the heat of
absorption has a negligible influence on the mass transfer.
But, in the Space, where motions of the liquid under reduced
gravity don't exist, surface tension inhomogeneities due to
temperature gradients may appear and cause spontaneous
movements known as an interface turbulence. This convection
influences the mass transfer. In this connection it is
important to establish the conditions for onset of the
interface convection due to the heat of absorption.
A vast literature on the gas absorption without and with a

chemical reaction is considered with the application of the
film theory and the penetration theor~ [1-5J. Since 1959 when
Sternling and Scriven [6J first used the stability theory to
H. J Rath (EditOr)
Microgravlty FlUId Mechamcs
© Sprmger-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1992
92
explain the initiation of cellular patterns in a mass transfer

system consisting of a solute and a pair of immiscible
solvents, the interfacial instability in binary systems has
been investigated intensively (see, for example, [7,8J). Less
attention has been paid to the thermocapillar~ Marangoni
instability in such systems in the case of non-isothermal gas
absorption when the thermal flux at the interface is coupled
with the mass flux [9,10J.
Formulation of the problem

Let us consider a liquid la~er bounded b~ a rigid wall and
opened to the ambient gas. One of the gas components
Cabsorbate) is absorbed by the liquid (absorbent) dissolving
in it. The concentration of the absorbate in the gas phase is
taken to be constant. The absorbate has not surface-active
properties. The heat of absorption produced at the surface
diffuses into the absorbent and this results in changing the
surface tension due to temperature gradients along the
interface. As the gas is supposed motionless, no shear forces
act on the liquid. The thermal effect on the solute diffusion
in the bulk, known as an interdiffusion, is disregarded.
Under these assumptions, the non-steady, heat and mass

transfer process in the liquid is described b~ the mass,
momentum, energy, and solute diffusion equations:
7 V = 0, e 1)
a V 1
+ ( V 7 ) Y 7 P + v 7zy
(2)
a t. P
a
a t.
T
+ ey 7 T )
- a 7 zT, (3)
a
-
c
+ (y 7 C ) 0 7 zc, un
L
a t.
where y is the fluid velocity, P the pre sure , T the

temperature, C the solute concentration, p the denSity, v the
93
kinematic viscosit~, a the thermal diffusivit~, D the

L
diFfusion coeFFicient For solute in the liquid, the

gradient operator, 9 Z the Laplacian.
Considering a three-dimensional problem of instabilit~ we

choose the coordinates x, y in the plane of the wall and z
perpendicular to it. The solution of the equations Cl-~)
satisfies the following boundar~ conditions:
v 0, T = T w' C C at z = 0 Cat the wall) (5)

w
and at the free surface Cz = h)
a a aZer aZer
- -a -Z
u v
w - 0, >l
(--
a y
+
a x x
+
a y
Z
(6 )
a T a C
-A ex (T - T 'J - t.H D (7)
a'
a z
T L
a z
CB)
where U ,v and ware the velocit~ components, .u the d~namic
viscosit~, A the heat conductivit~, ':x the heat transfer

T
coeFficient, t.H > 0 the heat of absorption, ()( the solute
c
transfer coefficient, Cw the solute concentration at the wall,
Co the concentration in the gas, Tw the wall temperature, To
the gas temperature,
er = a o + e CT To the surface
tension and e = -der/dT > 0 the surface tension coeFficient.
The reference state of the gas-liquid s~stem CV = 0) is given

b~
, T T + J3 z,
w + 13 c z
C C (9)
W T
t.H 13 C DL T - T
1 a w
Bi
13 T + T ) , CI0)
1 + Bi A h
T
94
Bi C - C
c 0 w
13 c ( 11)
1 + Bi h
c
where BiT = ~Th/~ is the thermal Biot number, Bic - ach/DL the
solutal Biot number, h the layer thickness. In the case of
absorption the concentration gradient l3 e is always positive.
When the gas temperature To is higher or equal to the wall
temperature, the temperature gradient I3 T is also positive.
Then, the liquid temperature at the free surface is larger
than the wall temperature. For
b.H (C - C D
OWL
T < T + (12)
o W
0(
T
I3 T < 0, and the heating from the wall overcomes that due to
the heat of absorption. Then, we have the typical case of
heating the layer from the wall as is considered first by
Pearson [llJ.
Applying the linear stability analysis we arrive at the

equations for the perturbated quantities: the normal velocity
component w' the temperature T' and the concentration C'
a t
T' = - 13 T W' , (13)

a t
D L ",Z ) C' = - 13 c w·.

a t
The solution of the system (13) is usually presented in the

form
[w', T', C'J - [- WCz), eCz), CCz)J Fex,Y) expCwt), C1'±)
where the function FCx,y) satisfies the equation

95
+ C1S)
with an arbitrar~ non-negative constant k and 00 - 00 + iw. is

r ~
the time constant.
Introducing h , hZ/v , a/h , (c - C ) and CC - C ) t..HO /A as

o w OWL
scalling quantities for length, time, velocit~, concentration
and temperature, respectivel~, the equations (13) are reduced
to the following form
[00 - (OZ - kZ)]CO z - kZ) W = 0,
[Pr.w - CO Z- kZ)] B = W / K, (16)
[Pr.w - Le CO Z - kZ)] C - W.
Here 0 denotes a differentiation with respect to z, Pr v/a
is the Prandtl number, Le = 0 /a is the Lewis number and

L
t..H 0L f3 c
K Cl7)
The parameter K represents the ratio of the heat produced due

to the absorption at unit surface for unit time to the heat
flux from the surface into the liquid.
B~ use of (6)-(8) and of C1~), the boundar~ conditions for

s~stem (16) are as follows
a) at the wall (z 0)
W - OW - B C - 0 Cl8)
b) at the flat interface (z = 1 )
(19)
DB + Bi
T
e - DC = 0 , DC + Bic C - 0, (20)
where Ma - f3 hZ£/~a is the Marangoni number that represents

T
the ratio of the thermocapillar~ forces to the viscous ones
both acting on the free surface.
96
The problem (16), (18)-C20) is an eigenvalue one, e.g. at

given Ma, Pr, Le, BiT' Bic and K the solution exists for some
values of wand the wave number k.
Solution of the problem

Here we restrict our anal~sis to the case of stationar~
instabilit~ supposing w - O. Then, the solution doesn't depend

on Pro The Marangoni number is given b~
8kCsinhk.coshk - klCk.coshk + Bi sinhk)

T
(21)
K LeCk coshk + Bi sinhk)

c
'ltCk,Bic,Le,K) -
K.Bi sinhk - LeCk coshk + Bi sinhk)
c c
To demonstrate the ideas we will consider onl~ the case when

Bic tends to infinit~, e.g. C = Co at the free surface. Then,
the function 'It reduces to the following form
K Le C1+Bi )Le
1lr .. T (22)
K - Le l+Bi -LeC1+Bi S)
T T
where K is given b~ the formula Cusing C10) l
1 + Bi CT - T )A
K - 1 + Bi T'S
T
'S =
t.H. D CC" -C
0
(23)
L 0
'"
The function m coincides with the expression presenting the
Marangoni number in Pearson's problem [11J. This positive
function has one minimum value at some k and given Bi The
T
function 'ltCS) is schematicall~ presented in Fig.1 for
arbitrar~ BiT and Le. It is positive for
1 + Bi -Le
T
oS < So Bi Le
(2'1)
T
and in this case the neutral curves Ma MaCk) lie in the

upper half of the plane Ck,Ma). Then, the critical Marangoni
number Mac is finite and the stabilit~ region is under ever~
97
curve. IF BT < 0 (5 <- l/Bi T ), e.g. the liquid is additionally

heated From the wall, Mac is quite small. At heating the
liquid From the gas (B T > 0) the critical Marangoni number is
higher but Finite. When 5 tends to 50' ~ goes to inFinity. For
5 > 50 the layer remains stable to any wave as Ma From (22) is
negative.
Fig. 1. Schematic view of Function ~
A question arises. Why, in contrast to Pearson's theory, the

liquid layer is unstable at heating the layer From the Free
surFace? The answer Follows From another mechanism of
disturbing the system stability. Let us suppose that the
liquid is somehow perturbated and a portion of it goes to the
wall From some point P at the Free surFace. Then, at this
point the concentration gradient perpendicular to the surFace
is less than that at points surrounding P. Hence, the mass
Flux From the gas into the liquid decrsasss at P and ths
corrssponding hsat of absorption as wsll as ths surFacs
tsmpsrature is also less. Dus to surFacs tsmperature
gradients, capillary Forcss dirsctsd to ths point P may appear
and they dsvslops the psrturbaton. Whsn ths gas tsmpsraturs
is much highsr than that of the wall s.g. whsn 5 >5 )
o
this psrturbation is suprssssd and ths liquid laysr remains
stable.
98
So, due to the heat of absocption, a spontaneous motion in the

layec exists not only when Tw > To Caccocding to Peacson's
analysis) but also at equal tempecatuces of the gas and the
wall, and even at To > Tw Undec ceduced gcavity this motion
will influence the mass tcansfec through the gas-liqUid
sucface.
References
1. Bird, R.B.; Steward, W.E.; Lightfoot, E.N. Transpoct
Phenomena. New York, London: Jonh Willey 1960.
2. Astarita, G. Mass Tcansfer with Chemical Reaction.
Amsterdam: Elseviec Publishing Company 1967.
3. Oanckwerst, P.U. Gas-Liquid Reactions. New York: McGraw
Hill 1970.
~. Ramm, W.M. Gas Absocption. Moscow: Khimia 1976 eln
Russian).
5. Koutateladze, S.S.; Nakocyakov, U.E. Heat and mass transfer
and waves in gas-liquid systems. Novosibirsk: Nauka 198~
eln Russian).
6. Sternling, C.U.; SCciven, L.E.: Interfacial turbulence:
Hydrodynamic instability and the Marangoni effect.
A.I.Ch.E. Joucna15 (1959) 51~-523.
7. Zierep, J. Ced.) Convective Transpoct and Instability
Phenomena. Kaclsruhe: Bcaun Uerlag 1982.
8. Uelacde, M.G. Ced.) Physicochemical Hydcodynamics:
Interfacial Phenomena. New YOck, London: Plenum Press 1988.
9. Oilman, V.U.; Naidenov, U.I.; Olevski, U.U.: Non-isothermal
Marangoni instability in a falling liqu~d film. Ookl. Akad.
Nauk SSSR 298 (1988) 676-680 eln Russian).
10.Naidenov, U.; Slavtchev, S.: Influence of heat of
absorption on thermocapillary instabilit~ in a thin liquid
layer. Theor. Appl. Mech. CSofia) Cto appear).
11.Pearson, J.R.A.: On convective cell induced b~ surface
tension. J. Fluid Mech. ~ (1958) ~89-500.
Three-Dimensional Transient Simulation
of Marangoni Flow in a Cylindrical Enclosure
under Various Gravity Levels
R. Marek, J. Straub
Lehrstuhl A fuer Thermodynamik, Technical University of Munich
Arcisstrasse 21, W-8000 Munich 2, Germany
1 Abstract
The interaction of natural convection and Marangoni flow in a vertical cylindrical enclo-
sure of aspect ratio 1 with an adiabatic free lateral face and isothermal top and bottom
walls is studied numerically for various gravity levels. The three-dimensional transient
code employs a hybrid finite difference scheme on a staggered grid with explicit time steps
and an iterative pressure-velocity coupling. In zero-gravity an axisymmetric toroidal flow
pattern evolves. In this configuration, heat transfer and fluid flow are studied under zero,
micro and earth-gravity conditions. Flow patterns and isotherms remain qualitatively un-
changed in different gravity environments. Although natural convection by itself forms a
single roll, it is remarkable that no significant disturbance of the axially symmetric torus
mode is observed, when buoyancy and surface tension driven flows interact. The steady-
state heat transfer is calculated for Marangoni and buoyancy convection acting in both
equal and opposite directions. Finally, the dependence of the overall heat transfer rate
and the strength of the thermocapillary convection is established.
2 Introduction
Marangoni convection plays an important role in all natural and technical processes where
a free surface is exposed to a temperature gradient. Recently, materials processing under
microgravity conditions employing floating zone melting and Czochralski growth has be-
come significant. In order to reduce the number of expensive experiments in space, and
to fully take advantage of these promising techniques, it is highly desirable to simulate
fluid flow and heat transfer in such configurations numerically.
From the viewpoints of computing time and costs, it is convenient to apply a two-
dimensional steady-state model for the numerical simulation of the flow in a cylindri-
cal enclosure [2J, [14J. Moreover, eliminating the pressure from the momentum equations
H J Rath (Editor)
100
yields the so-called vorticity-stream function approach with enormous savings in both
memory and computing time. As the resulting vorticity transport equation can easily be
solved [9), this method has found great acceptance. However, its application is restricted
to two-dimensional situations only. Hence, the requirement arises to simplify a given prob-
lem to such an extent that it can be treated two-dimensionally. On the one hand, this
reduction can be reliable in case of symmetrical geometry and boundary conditions, or
if one dimension is assumed to be infinitely extended. On the other hand, one may lose
vital information about the actual three-dimensional flow by this approach, since a two-
dimensional model can only deliver two-dimensional results. Oscillations in a fluid, for
example, are in general three-dimensional and time-dependent, as shown by the calcula-
tions of Kirchartz [5), MihelCic [7), and Rupp et al. [10). As a consequence, the results for
oscillatory convection obtained by two-dimensional numerical schemes are very doubtful.
Nevertheless, the apparently physically realistic results of two-dimensional calculations
are often cited as a proof for the flow being two-dimensional. In our opinion, a three-
dimensional calculation should be applied; it then cannot safely be concluded that the
flow is two-dimensional indeed, unless two-dimensional flow modes are obtained.
In the cylindrical enclosure under consideration, Marangoni convection itself forms a
two-dimensional axisymmetric toroidal flow, while natural convection evokes a three-
dimensional single roll [3], [11], [12). The superposition of both flow modes implies a
resulting flow field which is three-dimensional. We therefore utilize a three-dimensional
finite difference scheme for our calculations.
T(z=H) = To - t:.T u(z=H) =0
aT
-(r=R) = 0
Or
T(z=O) = To + t:.T u(z=O) = 0

2=
I.e.: T(t=O) = To + t:.T(l- H)
u(t=O) = 0
Figure 1: Geometry of the enclosure with boundary and initial conditions (I.e.)
101
3 Physical and mathematical models
A liquid-filled vertical cylindrical enclosure of diameter D and height H with an aspect

ratio of
H
A= -=1 (1)
D
is considered (Fig.I). The bottom and top walls of the cylinder are maintained at different
constant temperatures, while its surface is adiabatic. The thermal boundary conditions
can be formulated as follows:
T(r,<p,z=O) = To + DoT
T(r,<p,z=H) = To - DoT
f)T
f)r (r=R,<p,z) = 0 (2)
The non-slip condition is valid for both bottom and top walls of the enclosure
v(r,<p,z=O) = 0
v(r,<p,z=H) = 0, (3)
while the lateral face is treated as non-deformable free surface with the Marangoni con-
ditions applying. This assumption is unrealistic for earth-gravity conditions, however, we
wanted to study surface tension driven convection and its interaction with buoyancy flow
in a simple geometrical configuration:
vr(r=R,<p,z) =0
f)v.p 1 f)q f)T
r· a:; (r = R, <p, z) - V.p (r = R, <p, z) = ~ . f)T . f)<p
f)v z 1 f)q f)T
-(r=R,<p,z) = -. - . - (4)
or TJ oT f)z
Initially, a linear temperature profile in axial direction corresponding to pure heat con-
duction is assumed:
T(r,<p,z,t=O)=To+DoT· (I-~) (5)
Furthermore, the fluid is at rest, and a hydrostatic pressure distribution is assumed:
v(r,<p,z,t=O) =0 (6)
p(r,<p,z,t=O) = Po + {]. 9z· (zo - z) (7)

102
The flow is governed by the following conservation laws [IJ for
• mass:
~~ + V (gv) = 0 (8)
• momentum:
1) (gV)
- - = -Vp - =
Vr
_9
+ g- (9)
1)t
• energy (compression work and viscous dissipation neglected):
Cp _ 1) (gT) = ). _V 2 T
(10)
1)t
The following dimensionless groups are introduced:
• Rayleigh number:
Ra = 9 z - f3p - H3 - 2!:.T
v-a
• Prandtl number:
Pr= ~
a
• Fourier number:
a- t
Fo=-
H2
• Marangoni number:
Ma = lou I_ 2 f:l.T - H
oT a-TJ
• Bond number:
Bo- g - gz - f3p - H2 Ra
- 1;;1 - --
Ma
103
• Nusselt number (local):
Q·H aT H
Nu=--=-_·_- (11)
,\ 2 tl.Taz
All properties except the fluid's density are regarded as constant. For the density we use
an extended Boussinesq approximation that accounts for the temperature dependence in
the conservation equations (8)-(10). The density of the liquid is evaluated by:
(1 (T) = (10· [1 - {3p • (T - To)] (12)
r=R
r-z-pla.ne
Figure 2: Grid arrangement in the r-<p- and r-z-planes
We calculate the primitive variables p, T, (1, Vn vIP' V z on a staggered grid proposed by

Harlow and Welch [4] (Fig.2). Our numerical code is based upon a control volume hy-
brid finite difference scheme with explicit time steps and an iterative pressure-velocity
algorithm (SIMPLE) [8]. The time step is chosen according to diffusive and convective
stability criteria. Details of the computational procedure are given in [6]. Many numeri-
cal schemes in cylindrical coordinates fail in treating the cylinder axis. Since some terms
become indefinite in the basic equations (8)-(10) for r -+ 0, the axis is often left out of
consideration, and an annulus of a small inner diameter is calculated. Schneider [11], [12]
solved this problem by employing a cylindrical volume element of radius r = tl.r /2 for the
axis as sketched in Fig.2.
104
The calculations were performed on a CDC Cyber 99.5. In general, transient three-dimen-
sional calculations are expensive, especially when a fine grid is used. We rather want to
emphasize the interdependencies of several parameters than to obtain solutions of high
accuracy. As a consequence, we employ quite a coarse grid of 12 x 8 x 12 nodes, as a
reasonable compromise between accuracy and computing costs. The relationship of the
calculated results is assumed to be correct, although the absolute values are less exact.
4 Numerical results
, - . . . . . . ...... ..... ..... .

~
I · •. · · · · · · · · • · · · · · · · · • · ·1 j , ... ,\\.\'\, ••••• I '1/11"'1 " . .•• \\ • . . . . • . • • • " •• - '1
I···· ·· ················ ·1 II " \\\ \" \ I I I " " "" -, I I I · · •• ' " , 1111"'1 I.··· 'I
I······················ ·1 I" .11111111111' t 1111' -'I '" . . .. "'"1111111111 •• · · • I

11 ' 11111111111111'
I · ····· ··· · ·· ······· ·· · ·1 I' I II' - 'I - I I . - • •• 111111' III j I.· • I I
I · ······· ··· ·· ···· · ···· · 1 , ,' 1111111111111" \ •• , I '1 • •• 1111111111111 •• • • 11
I ·· ············ ········ ·1 1""11,' 111111111'"" "1 ' I· · · · 1111111111111' • • • II
I · · ..• ···• ·•········ ·· • '1

1, ·., 1 1,' 11'111'111""'1 t,· ·· I 11111 111111 11.'" II
I " . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . "1 II" "" I II 1111'"" •• · , I r I". I , I 111'111' I I I • • • '11
I · ··.· . · ·.······· ··· ··· ·1 t ••••• , ••••• • ••••• , ••••• , J I ••• I I I I , f , I , t 1 \ \ \ \~ • • • I
I············ · ·········· ,
. . . . . . . . .... . .. ... . e' · · · · . .. . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • \ •- - - - •••• • ••••• - . . . . . ...... - - I
Fo = 3.3 .10- 3 (t= 28) Fo=8.3·10- 2 (t=50.)
Figure 3: Development of flow and temperature fields with time in the initially linear
non-isothermal system (Ma =5000, Ra = 1.8 .10- 36 , &= 3.6.10- 4°)
Applying the boundary conditions (2)-(4) to a zero-gravity configuration, an axisymmetric

toroidal flow pattern, well-known from liquid bridges on TEXUS flights, evolves. The
typical transient development of the flow field and the isotherms is given in Fig.3. Owing
to a Prandtl number of Pr = 2, the temperature field develops much slower with time than
the flow field . It is remarkable that the center of the toroidal vortex migrates towards the
105
heated side to the lower third of the cylinder in the steady-state case. This is due to the
fact that at the bottom wall relatively cold fluid flows from the center of the enclosure to
the exterior, heats up and is thus accelerated, while at the top wall, relatively warm fluid
flows from the outside towards the axis, cools down, and is thus decelerated.
Choosing a moderate Marangoni number of Ma = 5000, three different gravity levels,
characterized by the corresponding Bond numbers, are studied:
Gravity level O-g J-L-g I-g I-g I-g

Remarks pure MC MC ii BC MC ii BC MC T1 BC pure BC
Eo 3.6 E-40 3.6 E-02 3.6 EOO 3.6 EOO 00
Ra 1.8 E-36 1.8 E02 1.8 E04 1.8 E04 1.8 E04
Ma 5.0 E03 5.0 E03 5.0 E03 5.0 E03 0.0 EOO
Nu 6.922 6.928 7.44 6.29 2.65
Table 1: Heat transfer rates for different gravity levels

(MC==Marangoni convection, BC==buoyancy convection)
Flow patterns and isotherms, which are not given here due to lack of space, remain qual-
itatively unchanged in different gravity environments. As shown by Crespo et al. [3] and
Schneider [11], [12], buoyancy convection forms a single roll in a cylindrical enclosure of
A = 1. However, even under 19-conditions, no significant disturbance of the axisymmet-
ric thermocapillary flow mode by the buoyancy driven convection can be observed. The
configuration in Fig.1 is heated from below, and cooled from above. Marangoni flow and
buoyancy flow act thus in the same direction, but the resulting interaction is surprisingly
weak. The heat transfer rate is enhanced by only about 7% under earth-gravity (Fig.5).
On the other hand, we also consider a cylinder heated from above and cooled from below.
In this case, surface tension and buoyancy forces counteract (Table 1). The steady-state
average Nusselt number reduces by about 9% compared with O-g conditions. These re-
sults imply that, for the given configuration, Marangoni convection is very dominant over
natural convection, even under 19-conditions.
The above configuration is characterized by either an increase or a reduction of the bot-
tom or the top temperature by an increment I1T. We additionally simulate an initially
isothermal system of temperature To under 19-conditions with an abrupt rise of the bot-
tom temperature by 211T governed by the following conditions:
T(r,<p,z=O)= To + 211T
T(r,<p,z=H) = To
aT
ar (r=R,<p,z) =0 (13)
106
T(r,cp,z,t==O) == To (14)
Now the toroidal vortex gradually migrates from the bottom to the top of the enclosure
(Fig.4). Due to the abrupt temperature rise at the bottom, an increased heat transfer can
be noticed. Although the transient flow and temperature fields are very different from the
initially non-isothermal configuration, the same steady-state heat transfer (Nu = 7.44) is
obtained. This is not surprising, since the Marangoni number is the same for both the
conditions given by (2) and (5), and by (13) and (14), respectively. Moreover, the identity
of the Nusselt numbers in both configurations is a further indication that the numerical
code works correctly. However, since the lid is inactive for some time, a much longer period
of time passes, until steady-state conditions are reached.
,-_ .......... ... . . .... . . . ..... _--\

.. . . . ....... , .......... , .. . ........ " , ...... , , " ' .. .. , I····" ••.....• " " " , .. ,
.... . ....••. , • . • . • • • • ~ r• \, \• \ \ \ t I I , , , ,I I I ••• , I I I ••• , , _ , I • 1 , I I II I I , ••• I I
.,........ . ..... ...... ... If"'" I" 11 I 1 1 1 1 / 1 / " , i i / I , ' " I'" II I I I ' I l l , • • • I I
. . . ". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I r ··· 1'1'1 1 111"'. " . ' , I I ••• ..• ,'" 111" , . ",, - "1
.. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "" '11111111 " "11 1 "'11 " . " ! l l l l l l l l " " " " 111
1- .. .. • . . . . • · • .. • .t ••• " •• , 1" ' 1111111111111 1 11",,1 '" '1 1111111"111"" . tl'
, •..•..............••.. . \ Ir ··." 1111111111111".1 1 " • . • , 111'1 11 111' II' " " ,
r,··II .... · .. · · , .. · " ' · · 1 , 1 """"111111"".··" /11 " ""111 11 1"'\1"'1'
t ••• , , , ••• • '.' .• ••• •• 'f I I • I I •• , , I I , , , 1 1 , , , \ \ \ , , •• I j I ' . •~ , I I I , , I I I I \ \ \ \ \ \ . , , I
I·"~~··············"""· I t·· ... " " " " " " .. , ........... ·" 1.......... " " " ' 1 \ \ " ' , ..... _-"
\-_ ....... . . . . . . . . . . . & ... _, \ ---_ .... . . . . ... . .. ....... ...... _, \ .. _- ............ , ................ ---,
Fo = 3.3.10- 3 (!=2.) Fo = 8.3.10- 2 (t = 50.. )
Figure 4: Development of flow and temperature fields with time in the initially isothermal
system (Ma ==5000, Ra == 1.8.10 4 , 130=3.6)
In order to estimate the significance of Marangoni convection for the given configuration,
pure buoyancy flow with a Rayleigh number of Ra == 1.8.10 4 is simulated under 19-
conditions (Table 1). It is noticeable that the average Nusselt number only amounts to
about 1/3 of the value for pure Marangoni flow. Once more, this shows the dominance of
107
thermocapillary flow over natural convection in the system considered.

Finally, the dependence of the average Nusselt number on the Marangoni number is
established in Fig.5. For small Marangoni numbers up to a critical value of Ma:::: 200,
the Nusselt number does not deviate significantly from unity, which represents pure heat
conduction. For larger Marangoni numbers, the velocities in the enclosure rise due to an
increased driving force. If the Marangoni number exceeds 104 , a gradual decline in the heat
transfer is observed due to the effect of heat conduction in the thermal boundary layer
on the wall. This is a diffusive process, and a limiting factor for the overall heat transfer.
Hence, it seems that for Ala> 10 5 the laminar Marangoni flow is fully developed with
no further increase of the Nusselt number, which is in agreement with own experimental
observations [13]. Yet the transition to turbulent flow at higher Marangoni numbers has
to be examined.
12
11 j I
" 7441I
10
9
I
8
7
6
a-~
cD--6.29
5
~ 4
3
2
1+---------------~~
O+-~~Tnnr-.-r~~--.-~~~_.~~~_._.~
10°
Figure 5: Dependence of the overall heat transfer (Nu) on the strength of the thermo-
capillary convection (Ma) under micro-gravity
a: Buoyancy and Marangoni flow act in the same direction (Jl-g)
b: Buoyancy and Marangoni flow act in the same direction (I-g)
c: Buoyancy and Marangoni flow act in opposite directions (I-g)
Although three-dimensional transient calculations are expensive, further studies of impor-

tant parameters, like the Prandtl number or the aspect ratio, are in progress for Marangoni
convection in cylindrical enclosures.
108
5 List of symbols
a thermal diffusivity Ra Rayleigh number
A aspect ratio time
Eo Bond number T temperature
Cp isobaric specific heat capacity v vector of veloci ty = (V., Vop, v z ) T
D diameter of the cylinder z axial coordinate
V substantial derivative a heat transfer coefficient
Fo Fourier number /3p thermal expansion coefficient
§ vector of gravitational = -~(*)p
acceleration = (O,O,gz)T D..r radial increment
H height of the cylinder D..T temperature increment (D..T > 0)
Ma Marangoni number TJ dynamic viscosity
Nu Nusselt number ). thermal conductivity
Nu average Nusselt number for v kinematic viscosity
a cross-section z = const. (! density
p pressure 'P azimuthal coordinate
Pr Prandtl number (7 surface tension
r radial coordinate 'f stress tensor
R radius of the cylinder \7 nabla operator
subscripts:
r radial component r.p azimuthal component
M Marangoni 0 reference value
z axial component
References
[lJ Bird, B.R.; Stewart, W.E.; Lightfoot, E.N.: Transport Phenomena. New York, Lon-
don: John Wiley & Sons Inc. 1960.
[2J Chun, Ch.H.: Beitraege zur Marangoni-Konvektion in zylindrischen Schmelzzonen:

Experimentelle Simulation und Berechnung des Einflusses der Erdschwere. BMFT-
FB W 78-39, Hannover (1978).
109
[3] Crespo, E.; Bontoux, P.; Smutek, C.; Roux, B.; Hardin, G.; Sani, R.; Rosenberger,
F.: Three-Dimensional Simulations of Convection Regimes in Cylindrical Ampoules:
Comparisons with Theoretical Analyses and Experiments. Proc. 6th Europ. Sympos.
Material Sciences under Microgravity Conditions - Bordeaux, France, ESA SP-256
(1986) 529-537.
[4] Harlow, F.H.; Welch, E.J.: Numerical Calculation of Time-Dependent Viscous In-
compressible Flow of Fluid with Free Surface. Phys. Fluids 8 (1965) 2182-2189.
[5] Kirchartz K.-R.: Numerische Simulation von Strukturaenderungen bei dreidimen-

sionalen Konvektionsstroemungen. Z. Flugwiss. Weltraumforsch. 13 (1989) 1-7.
[6] Marek, R.: Numerische Simulation dreidimensionaler, instationaerer Marangoni-

Konvektion in einem Zylinder bei variabler Schwerkraft. diploma thesis, Technical
University of Munich (1989).
[7] MihelCic, M.; Wingerath, K.: Instability of the Buoyancy Driven Convection in Si
Melts During Czochralski Clystal Growth. J. Crystal Growth 97 (1989) 42-49.
[8] Patankar, S.Y.: Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. Washington, London:
Hemisphere Publishing Corporation (1980).
[9] Roache, P.J.: Computational Fluid Dynamics. Albuquerque: Hermosa Publishers

(1976).
[10] Rupp, R.; Mueller, G.; Neumann G.: Three-Dimensional Time Dependent Modelling
of the Marangoni Convection in Zone Melting Configurations for GaAs. J. Crystal
Growth 97 (1989) 34-41.
[1l] Schneider, S.: Laminare freie Konvektion in emem Zylinder bei konstanter und
zeitveraenderlicher Schwerkraft (g-jitter). doctoral thesis, Technical University of
Munich (1990).
[12] Schneider, S.; Straub, J.: Laminar Natural Convection in a Cylindrical Enclosure
with Different End Temperatures. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, to be published (1991).
[13] Straub, J.; Weinzierl, A.; Zell, M.: Thermokapillare Grenzflaechenkonvektion an

Gasblasen in einem Temperaturgradientenfeld, Waerme- u. Stoffuebertr. 25 (1990)
281-288.
[14] Wilcox, W. R.; Chang, Ch. E.: Analysis of Surface Tension Driven Flow in Floating
Zone Melting. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 19 (1976) 355-366.
Influence of the Temperature Gradient on the
Oscillatory Instabilities of Thermo capillary Flow
at a Rotating Interface
J. A. Szymczyk
University of Essen, Chair of Mechanics,
Germany
Summary
An investigation is described conclusing the hydrodynamical flow
ensuing from a liquid-gas system which rotates uniformly and
rapidly at 0 rad/s about a vertical axis, and subjected to a
vertical temperature gradient. Because the angular velocity 0
was sufficiently large for primary effects due to Coriolis
forces to arise, centripetal forces always exceeded a small
fraction of those due to gravity. The liquid-gas zone was heated
from above and cooled from below which means a thermally stable
stratification with respect to gravitational acceleration. Velo-
city fields in two silicone oils of different viscosity and tem-
perature field in glycerin-water solution have been visualized
and investigated using inertialess ecospheres and liquid
crystals particles respectively. The onset of thermocapillary
and centrifugal-buoyancy-driven convection, the flow pattern at
the interface as a function of the temperature gradient
(Marangoni number), and the role of the rotational speed are
described and classified. The boundary layer character of the
flow in the liquid and the heat transfer in form of the shape of
the isotherms are investigated and discussed.
Introduction
The important role of convection flows in planetary and stellar
systems has been, for a long time, a primary motivation for
theoretical and experimental studies of convection. Some of the
problems of convection are strongly influenced by the effects of
rotation. Free convection can take place in any external force
field, and in particular the centrifugal accelerations can pro-
duce very rapid free convection currents, causing extremely
effective heat transfer. E. Schmidt first proposed to use this
knowledge for cooling turbine blades, and a turbine incorpo-
rating his ideas was constructed in Germany during the war.
In this study we present experimentally determined regime tran-
sition data for three liquids confined within a cylindrical
annulus of fixed geometry. By means of these data we attempt to
ILJ R<lth (Editor)

MicTogravlty Fluid Mcchan[(.:~
IlJTAM SymposIum Bremen )99)
© Springer-Verlag Berhn Heidelberg 1992
112
interpret the effect of the interaction of the thermocapillarity

and centrifugal-buoyancy on several phenomena associated with
the transition between convection regimes.
The above phenomena were studied as function of the imposed
vertical temperature gradient 6T and the imposed rotational
speed 0 (see Table 1). The non-uniform temperature field is the
driving impulse for flow in rotating fluid systems. It produces
variations in the density of the fluid and in the surface ten-
sion of the liquid-gas interface.
In general, the flow in the rotating liquid-gas zone with a free

inner surface is influenced by thermocapillary convection, gra-
vitational and centrifugal buoyancy.
Apparatus. Mesurements. Procedures

A schematic diagram of the rotating liquid-gas system is shown
in Figure 1. It consisted of an annular ring of a liquid column
(silicone oils AK-0.65, AK-5, 80 % glycerin/water solution) with
a inner free surface confined in a rapidly rotating cylinder,
o = 62.83 - 104,30 rad/s (600 - 1000 rpm). The top and bottom
surfaces were rigid and the liquid zone was heated from above
and cooled from below. The surfaces were held at a constant tem-
perature TH and Te , respectively, with Peltier blocks. Near the
boundary of the fluid, viscous forces are expected to be impor-
tant. However, in a fluid of moderate viscosity viscous forces
will only be significant within thin boundary layers (see
Fig.2). The largest temperature difference between the heating
and cooling plates was 35 K. Heating, cooling and registration
of the test data (temperature measurements on the top and the
bottom with Pt-100) were accomplished by means of a sliding
contact ring. The whole apparatus was mounted on a massi ve
damping mass, which was additionally located on air springs in
order to avoid mechanical vibrations. For the purpose of flow
visualization, a stroboscopic xenon lamp was used. The flow
indicators employed in silicone oils were ecospheres particles.
Liquid crystals were suspended in a glycerin/water solution to
visualize simultaneously both, the velocity and the temperature
field. The microencapsulated liquid crystals are nearly buoyant
in the glycerin-water solution due to their density of
Ta = 402ft E=-"- 02R
Medium Pr n o= 2'lffi Fr=- bee = 02R g be = -2Ou
2 g
" OH 2
[m/s2] - [min -1] [Rad/s]
" - - - [m/s2] [m/s2] [m/s2]
Siliconoil 600 62,832 1,161011 5,8610-6 8 82,90 -0,59

AK-O,6S 0,65-10-6 5 800 83,776 2,07-10 11 4,41-10-6 15 147,39 10 -0,71
(T=25°C) 1000 104,719 3,23-1011 3 ,53-10-6 23 230,29 -1,10
0 0
Siliconoil 600 62,832 1,965 109 4 ,51 10-5 8 82,90 -0,21
AK.-S 5-10-6 55 800 83,776 0
3,4942 109 33910-
, 5 15 147,39 10 -0,49
(T=25°C) 1000 104,719 5,4598-109 272-10-
, 5 23 230,29 -0,70
0
Glycerin/H 2O 600 62.832 5,4598-107 271
, 10-4 8 82,90 -0,07
0 0
80% 3010-6 280 800 83,776 9,7062 107 2,04 10-4 15 147,39 10 -0,15
(T=WC) 1000 104,719 1,5166108 1,23-10-4 23 230,29 -0,17
Table 1: Taylor and Ekman numberso Order of magnitude of acceleration due to centrifugal (bce>, gravity (g) and Coriolis (be) forces for
~
different speeds of rotation (Fr) and different liquids (Pr)o w

114
1.02 x 10 3 to 1.03 X 103 kg/m 3 • They have a size range of 2 to 50

~m, a thermal response time of 0.01 s, a colour response time of
0.1 to 0.2 s, and can be obtained for any event temperature

level from -30·C to +100·C, depending on the particular range
required. The recommended concentration of the suspension in the
liquid is 0.1 % or less [1]. The principle of the method is
based on the occurence of a selective reflection of the incident
white light in the visible spectral domain at one definite tem-
perature only. This selective reflection is generated as a con-
sequence of the helical arrangement of the cholesterin liquid
crystals. Thus a coloured image of the temperature field is ob-
tained [2]. In the present experiments we are interested only in
the shape of the isotherms which indicate the kind of heat
transfer in the liquid but not in their absolute temperature
values. Colour photographs of the flow were taken with a camera.
The exposure times were chosen in dependence on the flow pattern
as short time exposure (0.5 s) or long time exposure (2 - 10 s).
First the experiment cell was rotated until the desired speed of
rotation was achieved. Next the temperature gradient, directed
tangentially to the vertical cylindrical interface between
liquid and air, was established.
Slroboso:lpc
X....... -I a~
Ros<sIo'U f"oII .... element
IherlTlllml!ter
~ng pIote
E.cpet-I",",*>I
cet
loquod
CooIng pial<!
~ ~;.,. eCemeni
lherrnomet..,.
Data acquisition
systtm
Molar Slidng '"'ll
Fig. 1: Schematic view of a experimental arrangement.

115
Boundary layer character of the flow

A very important statement of this work concerns the model of
the flow circulation in a very rapidly rotating cylindrical
container. The experiments have confirmed the theroretical find-
ings of Smith [3], Kobayashi [4], Carrier [5] and Chun [6],
namely that a driving force exists at the liquid-gas interface
only, and thus there is no coupling with the interior of the
fluid. The thermocapillary stresses within the thin Marangoni-
boundary layer are in equilibrium with the viscous stresses at
the interface. In his numerical study Smith has shown, that at
larger distances from the interface the viscous forces cannot
balance the resulting Coriolis forces. Hence the internal liquid
volume remains motionless relative to the spinning container. He
further pointed out that the confinement of the thermocapillary
convection on the boundary layer at the liquid-gas interface is
a consequence of the Taylor-Proudman theorem for the flow within
a nonviscous nucleus. The Taylor-Proudman theory holds for slow
steady flow in a homogeneous and inviscid fluid, where friction-
and inertial forces are very small in comparison with the
Coriolis force. Furthermore, Smith has dealt with the case of a
very small Froude number, Fr = 10-3 (0 = 1 rad/s). Our experi-
ments have demonstrated the boundary layer character of the flow
field for all speeds of rotation. Moreover, the boundary layer
character of the flow is independent of the Prandtl- and the
Marangoni number.
Many contributions to thermocapillary convection without rota-

tion (Schwabe [7] has given a survey of the literature, see also
Szymczyk [8]) have documented the appearance of toroidal convec-
tion rolls at the liquid-gas interface. The centers of these
rolls are located close to the interface, however, with the back
flow they are carried deeply into the liquid volume. The papers
mentioned in the beginning of this section [3,4,5,6] lead to the
conclusion that in rotating configurations there arise also
cells which are restricted to a very narrow range (called the
Marangoni boundary layer), if the liquid zone rotates with a
sufficiently large and uniform speed of rotation.
A numerical investigation by Kobayashi has considered the
interaction between thermocapillary convection and rotation. In
116
the author's model the liquid bridge was assumed to be heated

uniformly at the side, therefore a direct comparison with the
results of this study is not possible. However, he has recog-
nized the typical confinement of the thermocapillary flow close
by the boundary layer domain, though this region of the confine-
ment was too large to be characterized as a boundary layer.
Figure 2 exhibits a three dimensional representation of the flow

field with the following flow regions: at the upper and the
lower plates an Ekman boundary layer is generated, at the
liquid-gas interface a Marangoni-boundary layer develops, at the
outer wall a Prandtl boundary layer arises, while at the center
of the inverse liquid bridge an inviscid nucleus is formed which
rotates with the angular velocity of the cell (rigid body rota-
tion) .
...41!::::-----.~ EkMOtl lOyo< 1.,.,1
B~~:::t:~~~2~r7 Thof""""p4lo'y
INorongonic.onv.chon
tt. tn l~'OC4' .
lOy« 01
Bock flOw I
Corl motIOn
Figure 2: Circulation of the flow within the rotating test

cell
A fluid particle separates from the upper Ekman boundary layer,

moves at the interface spirally down within the very small
Marangoni boundary layer with the same sense of rotation as the
container and finally is dragged into the lower Ekman boundary
layer. There exists no radial flow in the interior of the liquid
because the fluid is weakly stratified.
117
Heat transfer
For an inhomogeneous density distribution, as existent in the
experimental cell in the original state of heat conduction, a
motionless state is impossible in the presence of a centrifugal
force field. In his book Greenspan [9] has discussed this effect
in some detail. Only in case of a centrifugal acceleration being
a great deal smaller than the gravitational acceleration,
(o2r/g) « 1, the one-dimensional original state can be
described approximately as a state of heat conduction without
convection. Based on this assumption (Froude number, Fr = o2r/g
« 1) many theories have been developed. They indicate that the
basic stratification is linear and that no resulting motion
occurs. Since this is not the case in the present study - for a
very rapidly rotating cylinder we have Fr > 1 , and, as mentioned
previously, the effect of the centrifugal force must be taken
into consideration (see Fig. 3.). The figure shows schematically
the shape of the isotherms for different Froude numbers and
different Marangoni numbers. The isotherms are parallel to the
interface. In the case of heat transfer a complicated macros-
copic kinetics takes place: an elementary transport process as
heat conduction is coupled with convective heat transport
(diffusion has been neglected).
A
, I
~ J- ,-A ,,\' : -A
B ~
\
!I 1I
I-B
\
f- B
I !
C
~ I -C
\.. I ./
I- C
r I r I r
Fig. 3: Isotherms for different Marangoni numbers and
different Froude numbers. (3a) Fr = 8, (3b) Fr = 15,
(3c) Fr 23. Isotherms: A) Mg = 9.12.10 3 ,
B) Mg = 15.4.103 , C) Mg = 18.2.103
Conclusions
The onset of thermocapillary convection does not depend on the
rotational speed and the Prandtl number, and starts immediately
after the temperature gradient is applied. The results show that
the thermocapillary flow is confined to a thin layer at the
118
liquid-gas interface. The motion in the rotating liquid-gas zone

is significantly influenced by thermocapillarity, gravitational
and centrifugal buoyancy and has boundary layer character.
References
1. Fergasson, J. L.: "Liquid crystals in nondestructive

testing", Appl. Apt., 7,1729-1737, (1969)
2. Szymczyk, J.A., Ch.-H. Chun, J. Siekmann, K. Wozniak:

"Liquid crystal tracers as a method for thermocapillary
flow diagnostics". Arch. of Mech., 41, 2-3, 351-360,
(1989)
3. smith, M.K.: "Thermocapillary and centrifugal buoancy-

driven motion in a rapidly rotating liquid cylinder",
J. Fluid Mech., vol. 166, 245-264, (1986)
4. Kobayashi, N.: "computer simulation of the steady flow in

a cylindrical floating zone under low gravity", Journal of
Crystal Growth 66, 63-72, (1984)
5. Carrier, G.F.: "Some effects of stratification and

geometry in rotating fluids", J. Fluid Mech., vol. 23,
part 1, 145-172, (1965)
6. Chun, Ch.-H., Wuest, W.: "suppression of temperature

oscillations of thermal Marangoniconvection in a floating
zone by superimposing of rotatings flows", Acta
Astronautica, vol. 9, No.4, 225-230, (1982)
7. Schwabe, D.: "Marangoni effects in crystal growth melts".

PCH Physico Chemical Hydrodynamics, 2, 263-280, (1981)
8. Szymczyk, J. A.: "Marangoni and buoyant convection in a

cylindrical cell under normal gravity". Can. J. Chern.
Eng., (Dec. 1991) in press
9. Greenspan, H.P.: "The theory of rotating fluids",

Cambridge at the University Press, (1969)
Simultaneous Measurement of the Temperature
and Velocity Field in Thermocapillary Convections
of Bubbles
G. wozniak and K. Wozniak
Lehrstuhl fur Mechanik, Universitat-GH-Essen
0-4300 Essen 1, Germany
1. Introduction
The paper deals with the experimental analysis of thermoca-

pillary convection around a bubble in a liquid under a hori-
zontal wall using a novel measuring technique.
In many industrial processes involving fluids the interaction

of gas or vapor bubbles with heated walls is of fundamental
interest as far as heat and mass transfer are concerned. In
microgravity buoyancy effects vanish such that interfacial
tension driven flows become dominating. Bubbles resulting from
solidification, melting and other operations tend to migrate to
the hotter zones of the melt due to thermocapillari ty, until
they reach a containerwall where they generally remain and
influence the heat and mass transfer. Bubbles on solidification
fronts represent another problem of considerable interest in
space processing.
In the present study the flow configuration shown in Fig. 1 is

investigated. A bubble in a liquid is positioned under a heated
horizontal wall, while the continuous phase liquid is cooled
from below. Thus a vertical temperature gradient is established
which leads to a decreasing interfacial tension in the upper
direction at the bubble periphery. This, in turn, causes sur-
face tension driven flows in the counter direction (towards the
pole of the bubble). In the literature this phenomenon is fre-
quently designated as "Marangoni convection" or thermocapillary
convection.
H J. Rath (Editor)
Microgravlty Fluid Mechanics
© Spnngcr-Vcr!ag Berlin Heidelberg 1992
120
T = T (z)
T : temperature
Tw : wall - temperature
Fig. 1: Mechanism of thermocapillary flow around a bubble

under a heated horizontal wall
Raake et al. [1] used interferometry for the thermal mapping of

the described flow phenomenon and measured the flow velocities
qualitatively by the tracking of tracer particles.
K. Wozniak et al. [2] applied particle-image-velocimetry for
the quantitative analysis of the velocity field. It is desire-
able, however, to measure the flow ~ temperature field
simultaneously. We therefore combined particle-image-veloci-
metry and thermal mapping using tracer particles consisting of
liquid crystal material.
In the following sections the experimental set up and measuring

techniques are described in some detail. Finally, first
experimental results are presented and discussed.
2. Experimental
Fig. 2 is a schematic of the test cell. It consists of a rec-

tangular cavity with horizontal copper endwalls. At each wall a
constant but uniform temperature is maintained. The inside
dimensions of the chamber are 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm.
121
thermocouple
convect ion
vortex
syringe
Fig. 2 Schematic view of the test chamber
Front, rear and side walls consist of optical glass for visua-
lization purposes. For the measurement and control of the un-
disturbed vertical temperature profile a thermocouple is
installed in the upper copper wall. The vertical position of
the sensor is variable. The bubble is injected via a bore-hole
in the center of the upper plate. For flow and temperature
field visualization the liquid was seeded with liquid crystal
tracer particles. For refractive index matching between the
test fluid and liquid crystals we used an 87 % glycerol-water
solution as test liquid (for more details see section 2.2).
The experimental procedure is as follows: first, the liquid

matrix is heated from above and cooled from below until a
steady temperature profile between the horizontal plates within
the matrix liquid is established. Then the bubble is injected
and the experimenter waits, until a steady convection flow has
developed, which takes just a few seconds. After that, flow
visualization and photographic registration can be applied.
122
2.1 Particle-image-velocimetry (PIV)
The PIV is a modification of the well-known speckle velocimetry

and especially suitable for thermo-convective liquid flows [2].
The optical arrangement is rather simple and schematically
shown in Fig. 3.
The measuring plane of the test liquid seeded with tracer par-
ticles (liquid crystals) is illuminated with white light using
a Xenon arc-lamp as light source. The particle images of the
illuminated plane are recorded on photographic material. Due to
different velocities in the flow field tracer pairs or groups
of different distances and orientations are visualized by
double- or multi-exposures and recorded on the film. Thus the
entire velocity field of the illuminated plane is stored and
reconstructable.
xenon arc lamp
Infrared fIller
imaging lens photographic plane
test cell with seeded liQUId
Fig. 3 optical set up for image aquisition
With a second optical arrangement consisting of Fourier-optics

the quantitative velocity distribution can be evaluated by the
so-called pointwise interrogation technique. A schematic of the
123
set up is shown in Fig. 4. A laser beam traverses the negative

of the flow image represented by the characteristic distri-
bution of the scattering particles point by point. Particle
images act like point sources and emit light into the ambient.
The superimposed wavelets of the particle images interfere and
as a result parallel, equidistant interference fringes appear,
for example on a screen. The orientation of the fringes is
perpendicular to the particle displacement direction (flow
direction) and the fringe distance ~s is inversely proportional
to the particle displacement d, given by
L • >.
d=~,
where L is the distance between the photographic plane and the

screen and >. the wavelength of the laser light. Thus the
interference pattern contains the information of the velocity
magnitude and direction at a point of the flow field. By
repeating this procedure point by point one can reconstruct the
entire flow field of the illuminated plane. This procedure can
be automated by image-processing techniques in order to in-
crease the resolution and to reduce the time necessary for the
evaluation. For further details the reader may consult
references [2, 3, 4, 5].
negative diffraction halo interference pattern
!aserbeam (X)
- L
Fig. 4 Evaluation of a double-exposed negative by

pointwise interrogation
124
2.2 Liquid crystal tracers for temperature field monitoring
The application of liquid crystals for liquid flow visua-

lization has already been developed previously [6]. The wave-
length A and thus the colour of the light reflected by liquid
crystals as tracers offers the feature of measuring the path of
the tracers (the local flow velocity) and the local temperature
via the colour of the crystal. It is important to note that the
index of refraction of liquid crystal tracers and matrix liquid
has to be similar in order to avoid color resolution losses. In
the experiments crystal tracer of about 12 ~m in diameter have
been suspended in an 87 % glycerol-water solution for refrac-
tive index matching. A quantitative temperature evaluation
imposes a previous calibration of the wavelength of the
reflected light as a function of temperature. The calibration
curve was determined by measuring the intensity distributions
of liquid crystal reflections at various test liquid
temperatures Fig. 5.
A[nmj
650
600
550
500
450
26.5 27 27.5 28 T rOC)
Fig. 5 Reflected wavelength A of liquid crystal TM 107 (BDH

Chemical Ltd.) versus temperature
125
3. Results and discussion
In order to obtain the temperature and velocity distribution

from a single flow image we first produce a double- or multi-
exposed color image of the flow containing the displacements
and the colors of the crystal tracers. The color print enables
us to reconstruct the temperature distribution within the
illuminated plane of the liquid matrix. Before application of
PIV we produce a black and white copy of the color negative,
and adjust and optimize its contrast and intensity. Fig. 6a
shows such a black and white image. Fig. 6b reveals the result
of the pointwise particle image evaluation including the iso-
therms resulting from the color print. The relatively high
veloci ties near the bubble contour indicate, that the surface
"drives" the flow. The flow pattern is a result of the inter-
action of thermocapillary and buoyancy convection, since the
experiment has been performed under gravitational conditions. A
characteristic number of that flow type is the Marangoni number
being defined by
Mg '" R2 1*1 1
" • a
dT
dz<Xl
It represents the relative importance of convection when com-

pared to heat transfer by pure conduction. In this definition R
denotes the horizontal bubble radius, daldT the variation of
surface tension with temperature, dT Idz I<Xl the vertical tempe-
rature gradient of the undisturbed liquid stratification, " the
dynamic viscosity and a the thermal diffusivity of the liquid.
The relatively low Marangoni number of Hg = 248 indicates a very
slow convection. The order of magnitude of the flow velocity is
10- 2 mm/s.
126
.. /.~.~.,.~--------~
J 1 ' I I . I.
• J . ! . i ••• ~••••
. --. . .
• J •• ~ ••• 1 • ~,•••••••• \
J.l.~.\ .•• •• ,_". \, ••
L 1 • • \ • \,,, " " . • • • J- ",' \ , .\ • •
Jl.\\\.'-.,,"-'- ..... , .... ' r i ' "
T=27,7°C _ 1~ ......... ~ .'-." ........... '-~/'! t tT !
T = 27,1 °c- _1::........:.--;....'....:':......;..\.• ....,~.:.....,.::.......:....._..:......;,.·....:·_~..;,...-<;,;..........;.:;;;~~--:;;.-.t.::......'·:......;,.~l4,~-I-~
T =26,8°C --- ...+-............,.........l...........Ir-w-=--~...................,,,.........~/_~....;.-
•• ~ • "..." ....... • -. • . . • • • -. • ~. • '=
T= 26,6 °C /
J ~ ~ • • • ... • . ..,. . .,. .............
1--+-----
10
~m
s
Fig. 6 a) Black and white particle image of the

thermocapillary flow
b) velocity field indicated by velocity vectors
resulting from particle-image-velocimetry and
isotherms resulting from the color image.
The horizontal bubble dimension is 1 cm
127
4. Concluding remarks
It has been demonstrated that the combined application of PIV

and liquid crystal tracers is a useful tool for the
experimental analysis of thermo-convective liquid flows. The
method is limited by the fact that test liquid and liquid
crystal tracers have to have similar refractive indices. How-
ever, this constraint can be overcome by refractive index
matching (mixing) of model fluids, or matching the liquid
crystal type.
References
[1] Raake, 0.; Siekmann, J.; Chun, Ch. -H.: Temperature and
velocity field due to surface tension driven flow. EXp.
Fluid 7, 164-172 (1989)
[2 ] wozniak, K.; Wozniak, G.; Rosgen, T.: Particle-image-

velocimetry applied to thermocapillary convection. Exp.
Fluids 10, 12-16 (1990)
[3] Merzkirch, W.: Flow visualization. 2nd edn. Academic

Press, New York (1987)
[4] Meynart, R.; Simpkins, P.G.; Oudderar, T.O.: Speckle

measurements of convection in a liquid cooled from above.
J. Fluid Mech. 182, 235-254 (1987)
[5] Simpkins, P.G.; Oudderar, T.O.: Laser speckle measurement

of transient Benard convection. J. Fluid Mech. 89,
665-671 (1978)
[6] Kasagi, N.; Maffat, R. J .; Hirata, M.: Liquid crystals,

in: Handbook of Flow visualization. Ed. Wen-Jei Yang,
Hemisphere Publishing corporation, New York, 105-124
(1989)
Influence of the Electromagnetic, G-Jitter
orThermocapiliary Forces on the Stability
of the Stationary Buoyancy Convection
A.Yu.GELFGAT, B.J.MARTUZANS
Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, The University

of Latvia, Rainis boulv. 29, Riga, Latvia, U.S.S.R., 226250
Introduction.
Microgravity conditions seem to be very useful for crystal
growth processes. Reduced gravitational force strongly weakens
the buoyancy convection, so the convective oscillations in the
melt become impossible [1]. This is the main reason of
numerous attempts to obtain monocrystal materials with
homogeneous internal structure in microgravity. On the other
hand for non-isothermal fluid in microgravity conditions other
driving forces become more significant than on the Earth. The
main of them are thermocapillarity and g-jitter. The
thermocapillary forces exist on the non-uniformly heated free
liquid surfaces and cause motion of the fluid. The g-jitter
appears in space unavoidably because of the vibrations of a
spacecraft. So, the investigation of combined gravitational -
thermocapillary and gravitational - g-jitter convective flows
is necessary for better control of crystal growth processes in
microgravity.
The buoyant convective flow can be suppressed also by the

externally imposed magnetic field. The weakening of the
convection both in the magnetic field and in the reduced
gravity gives a theoretical possibility for laboratory
modeling of the microgravity on the Earth. This is very
important both from theoretical and technological points of
view.
The present work deals with some results on the model

numerical investigation of the influence of three above
H.1. Rath (Editor)

Mlcrogravity Fluid Mechamcs
© Springer-Verlag BerlJn Heidelberg 1992
130
mentioned forces on the oscillatory instability of buoyant

convective flows in a square cavity. To understand the
phenomena better we change the gravity acceleration from 0 to
19 continuously. The dimensionless parametra used in the
investigation are: the Grashof number Gr=g~AT13Iv2, the
Prandtl number Pr=vlx, Ma=-(8crI8TjATl/pv 2 ,the gravitational
Rayleigh number Ra=Gr"Pr, the "g-jitter" Rayleigh number
RaM=(~bwATj212VX, the Hartman number Ha=Bl(~/pvjl/2D Here g
is the gravitational acceleration, ~ is the thermal expansion
coefficient, AT is the characteristic temperature difference,
1 is the characteristic length, v is the kinematic viscosity,
X is the thermal diffusivity, cr is the surface tension
coefficient, p is the density, band w are the amplitude and
the frequency of g-jitter, B is the induction of external
magnetic field, ~ is the electric conductivity. In all the
investigations we used fixed semiconductors value of the
Prandtl number Pr=0.02 corresponding to liquid
semiconductors.
The spectral Galerkin method was used for numerical solution.

The trial functions were constructed as linear superpositions
of Chebyshev polinomials in the way to satisfy all the
boundary conditions and the continuity equation. Such the
choice of the trial functions enables to exclude pressure from
the Navier-Stokes equation and reduces the problem to the
system of ordinary differential equations. The stability of
the stationary solutions of obtained system is investigated
using the bifurcation theory. The attempt to investigate the
image of the instability mechanism was done. The instability
mechanism is defined by the eigenvector of the linearized
Boussinesq equations. The pattern of the eigenvector shows the
most unstable regions of the flow, but unfortunately is not
enough to understand all the details of the mechanism.
The method was checked with several test calculations. The

comparison of the obtained results with the known theoretical
and experimental data (stability of quiescent fluid heated
from below in layers and cavities, oscillatory instability of
131
the convection of the air in laterally heated square cavity,

and others) showed the ability to obtain qualitatively and
quantitatively right results with the method used. On the
other hand there are not enough data to carry out the test
calculations for the cases described below. Taking into
account low-mode approximation of the Boussinesq equations
used here the presented results must be considered as mainly
qualitative.
Thermogravitational-thermocapillary convection.
The stability of thermogravitational-thermocapillary
convection in a square cavity with free upper boundary,
isothermal differentially heated vertical boundaries and
adiabatic horizontal boundaries was considered. The map of
stability was plotted in the plane Gr-Ma (see fig. 1). The
shaded region corresponds to the stable stationary flows.
Outside the shaded region the convective flows are oscillatory
unstable. The positive Ma numbers mean that the surface
tension grows with the growth of the temperature (BCJ'/BT<O),
and the negative Ma corresponds to BCJ'/BT>O (inverse
thermocapillaryeffect).
The points where the boundary of the stability region

intersects the Ma-axis show critical Marangoni numbers for
zero gravity. It is obvious that both values of IMacr I in zero
gravity are equal. The computations give the result
Ma =±1.1-105 • As it is seen from fig. 1 the increasing of Gr
cr
or Ma does not necessary mean the destabilization of the flow.
Moreover, it is possible to increase absolute values of Gr and
Ma simultaneously in such a way that the stability is
preserved. It means that one can increase convective mixing
without onset of convective oscillations. In the considered
case it is possible until Gr:sg-10 6 and -1.8:SMa:s3.2-10 5 • For
given material and external conditions the only parameter
available to change Gr and Ma is the characteristic length 1.
So, from the stability point of view there is a problem to
choose the proper size of a technological device.
132
The convection in g-constant + g-jitter gravitational field.

The convection in coupled g-constant and g-jitter
gravitational field was investigated for the case of square
cavity heated from below. The horizontal boundaries of the
cavity were rigid and isothermal with different temperatures.
The vertical boundaries were rigid and thermally conducting.
The cavity was assumed to oscillate in the vertical direction
with amplitude b and circle frequency w. It was supposed that
band w satisfy the following conditions: b/I«1 and w·1 2 /v
»1, i.e. we consider high-frequency g-jitter with small
amplitude. These conditions allow to use averaged Boussinesq
equations for obtaining a "slow" part of the flow (see [2]).
The stability map is shown in fig. 2 in the coordinates Ra

and a=RaM/Ra. The solid line in the lower part of the diagram
corresponds to the convective instability of the
quasi-quiescent non-uniformly heated fluid. Below the solid
line the fluid moves like a solid body and above the line a
convective motion appears. The growth of the critical Ra with
increasing a is well-known for plane fluid layers heated from
below (see [2]) and, as it is seen from fog.2, this phenomenon
takes place also in the case of the finite cavity. Therefore,
in the considered case there is a salient point on this
stability curve (a=1.6) which separates arising convective
flows with two different spatial structures. When a<1.6 the
instability of quasi-quiescent fluid evolutes to
central-symmetric flow with one main vortex and two small
reverse vortexes in the corners of the cavity. At the point
a=1.6 the most unstable perturbation causing the instability
of quasi-quiescent fluid changes abruptly and the flow axially
symmetric in respect to the horizontal axis with
one-above-another vortex structure arises. The oscillatory
instability of these two different convective motions was
studied separately.
The dash line in fig. 2 corresponds to the instability of

central symmetric flows, dot-and-dash line to the
instability of axially symmetric ones. Between solid and dash
133
lines central symmetric flows are stable. outside of this

region these flows are unstable. More detail, above the
dot-and-dash line outside the region the oscillatory
instability onsets, but below it the instability is monotonic:
above the solid line the central-symmetric flow is replaced by
the axially-symmetric one, and below the solid line the fluid
becomes motionless. Axially symmetric flows are stable between
solid and dash-and-dot lines and oscillatory unstable above
the upper dash-and-dot line.]
One can see from fig. 2 that rather large g-jitter causes a
hysteresis phenomenon - stationary flows remain stable below
the marginal stability curve of the quasi-quiescent fluid.
The general conclusion on the influence of the high-frequent

g-jitter on the stability of the stationary convective flows
is the following: g-jitter has an influence on both the
stability and the spatial structure of the convective flows.
Probably, artificial g-jitter may be used for the control of
convective motion.
The convection in the magnetic field.

The influence of the externally imposed magnetic field on the
stability on stationary buoyancy convective flows was studied
for the convection in laterally heated square cavity with 4
rigid walls. The vertical walls were isothermal with different
temperatures, and the horizontal walls were adiabatic. The
magnetic field was considered as constant and homogeneous. The
influence of the flow on the magnetic field was neglected. The
diagram of oscillatory instability for both vertical and
horizontal directions of the magnetic field is shown in the
fig.3. As it can be seen from the figure the direction of the
magnetic field has no significant influence on the critical
value of Grashof number.
To compare spatial and temporal structures of the

supercritical oscillatory flows in the reduced gravity
conditions and under the action of the electromagnetic force
134
the averaged and the pulsative components of the flow (both

obtained from a straight-forward solution) and trajectories of
liquid particles were studied. The investigations show that
the averaged component of the flow (see fig. 4) and
trajectories of liquid particles change very similarly when
the Grashof number decreases or Hartman number increases. So,
the averaged in time action of the magnetic field is analog of
the action of reduced gravity. On the other hand, the changes
in the pulsative component of the convective flow show some
analogies between the increasing of Hartman or Prandtl
numbers.
References.
1. Material Science in Space. A contribution to the Scientific
Basis of Space Processing. Berlin e.a., 1986.
2. Gershuni G.Z., Zhukhovitsky E.M. Vibration-Induced
Convection in Weightlessness. Fluid Mechanics, 15(1986),
63-85.
3. Gelfgat A. Yu., Martuzans B. J. The Investigation of the
Stability of the Stationary Gravitational-Thermocapillary
Convective Flows of the Fluid with Small Prandtl Number. Fluid
Mechanics, 25(1990), 169-174.
3. Gelfgat A.Yu. Evolution and Instability of Stationary
Convective Flows in the Square Cavity Heated from Below in the
Field of Vertical Vibrational Forces. Mechanics of Fluid and
Gase, 2(1991), 9-18. (rus.) to be translated in English (see
Fluid Mechanics, 1991).
4. Gelfgat A.Yu. Effects of the Magnetic Field Magnitude and
Direction on the Oscillatory Thermogravitational Convection
Regimes in a Rectangular Cavity. Magnetohydrodynamics, 1988,
324-328.
5. Gelfgat A.Yu. The Influence of the Magnetic Field on the
Spatial Structure of the Oscillatory Natural Convection.
Magnetic hydrodynamics, 1(1990), 13-22 (rus.), to be
translated in English (see Magnetohydrodynamics, 1990).
135
-2
Fig.l. The map of stability for the stationary

thermogravitational -thermocapillary flows. Pr=O.02
B .---------------.-------------~
Ro·/a- s
"
I \
I \
I \
"'- I \
I -.; '----
/\
I { / \
I / \ /
I \ /
I \ /
4 I-,------------~------~~~HY
I
I .1../.
/----1' ~
I Y
I { I
I I ~
I
I /
/
/
/
--- ---
0 1,8 ci.. J,6
Fig.2. The map of stability for the convection in coupled

g-constant + g-jitter gravitational field. Pr=O.02 .
136
3 Gr· 10
-,
;
1
I
"
I.
/. -
I.
2 /.
I.
I.
I.
/.
/.
/.
.- " "
/.
o L-------~ro~------~
20~------~~-------~~--~U~a~~~
Fig.3. The oscillatory instability diagram for the stationary

buoyancy convection in the laterally heated square
cavity in the externally imposed magnetic field.
Pr=O.02 .
Solid line - vertical magnetic field.
Dash line - horizontal magnetic field.
a b
Fig.4. Streamlines of the supercritical flows averaged in time.

6 7
a - Gr=6-10 , Ha=O. b - Gr=10, Ha=20.
The Influence of High Frequency Tangential
Vibrations on the Stability of the Fluid Interfaces
in Microgravity
N.A.BEZDENEZHNYKH, V.A.BRISKMAN, A.YU.LAPIN, D.V.LYUBIMOV·_

T.P.LYUBIMOVA, A.A.TCHEREPANOV·, LV.ZAKHAROV
Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics Urals Branch of

USSR Academy of Sciences, USSR
·Perm State University, USSR
Summary
The influence of high frequency vibrations on the stability of
fluid interface is investigated. The autonomous equations for
the mean values and the amplitude of pulsative components are
derived. Three problems are studied on the base of obtained
equations: quasi-equilibrium states of free surface, quasi-
equilibrium structures and stability of the plane interface
under the influence of high frequency horizontal vibrations and
the stability of cylindrical liquid zone surrounded by coaxial
layer of liquid of different density under the influence of
axial vibrations and rotation. The terrestrial experiments with
two immiscible fluids of different densities filled in the
horizontal layer displayed the horizontal vibrations are made.
It has been shown that the high frequency tangential vibrations
can lead to the appearance of quasi-stationary relief on the
fluid interface. The critical conditions for the onset of
relief and the character of its generation are determined with
the help of Lyapunov-Schmidt method. The evolution of forms of
the interface with the growth of the intensity of vibrations is
studied by finite-difference method and experimentally. The
sequence of the spatial period doubling bifurcations and the
splitting of the layer into the system of strata with the
growth of amplitude of the vibrations velocity are found out.
Keywords: fluid interface, high frequency vibrations,
quasi-equilibrium states, instability.
1. Introduction
Vibrations exert different influence on the behavior of the
fluids interface. Thus the vertical vibrations can excite
parametric waves on the fluid surface but on the other hand
they can suppress the Rayleigh-Taylor instability.
Unusual behavior of the system under the influence of
H J Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogravlty Fluld \1echamcs
© Springer~Verlag Berlm Heidelberg 1992
138
vibrations can be demonstrated with the help of simple

mechanical example the pendulum with the oscillating point of
suspension. It is known that if this point oscillates
vertically then the state of pendulim becomes stable in which
the center of mass is placed above the suspension point. If the
oscillations are horizontal then new states of equilibrium
appear. The experimental data testify that the vibrations can
lead to the unusual situations of the equilibrium states of the
fluid interface as well. It has been shown in /1/ that the
tangential high frequency vibrations can lead to the appearance
of quasi-equilibrium structures on the fluid interface. It
gives the base for working out of the approach connected with
the separation of the motion into the mean and pulsative
components and the application of the procedure of averaging.
The investigation of the behavior of fluid interface in the
framework of such approach is the objective of this paper .
.2.. Mathematical lll.Qdel

We considered the influence of vibrations on the equilibrium
states and stability of fluid interface. We restrict ourselves
to the vibrations of high frequency when the fluid motion may
be separated into the high frequency pulsative component and
the mean slow one. The effective separation of the flow into
the mean and pulsative components is possible if the period of
vibrations is essentially less than the viscous time:
w»v/~ W
and the amplitude of vibrations is small:
a « L p / bp (2)
In (1)-(2) L is the characteristic length of hydrodynamic
structures, v is the kinematic viscosity, p is typical density
and bp is the difference of the densities.
So our asymptotical approach is based on the assumptions that w
is large enough and a is small but their product b = aw, which
is the amplitude of the vibration velocity, is finite. We have
considered the case of linear monochromatic vibrations. The
equations for the mean and pulsative components of the fluids
motion in the reference frame of the vibrating vessel can be
obtained with the help of multiscale method [2J:
139
(3)
.. ) = = 1,2
( V(1 + k div V(1 = 0, (1 (4)
.. P(1 'V P(1'
Here u is the mean component of the velocity, V is the

amplitude
pulsative
of
components
pulsative
of
component,
the pressure,
.
p and P are the
y and k are
mean
the
and
unit
vectors directed vertically up and along the axis of vibrations
re specti ve ly, is the kinematic viscosity, g is the
acceleration of gravity, (1 marks the fluids.
The boundary conditions on the rigid side walls and the fluid
interface F(;,t) = 0 are:
u(1ls = 0, W(1nl,. =0 (5)
[W ]
n =0 , [p WT =0 , (6)
b2
-
2
[pVn WTo ]n + [ p ] n , [0 ] n.
'J J =a ( 'Vn ) n , (7)
of
+ U 'VF = 0, (8)
ot
Square brackets denotes the jump of the value on the interface.
We considered mainly the quasi-equilibrium states. This term
denotes the states with the absence of mean flow 11 = O. Though
generally speaking the pulsative component of the velocity is
not small in this case, the amplitude of the oscillations of
the fluid interface is smalL It is of the order of the
amplitude of the displacement of the vesseL
The
the
quasi-equilibrium
problem which is
states
obtained
can be
from
found
(3)-(8)
from
if
the
we
solution
set u
.. =
of
O.
This problem is non-linear and hence may, in general, possess
nonunique solutions .
.3. ~ surface
We have investigated the case when the fluid partially fills in
the vessel of rectangular cross-section which displays the
horizontal vibrations. In the absence of vibrations the free
surface is plane. The variational principle was formulated in
140
[3J for the finding of quasi-equilibrium states of free surface

under the influence of vibrations.
We have found with the help of this principle that in the
presence of small vibrations the free surface is not plane but
it preserves the symmetry (Fig.la). If the amplitude of the ve-
locity of vibrations increases then the spontaneous symmetry
breaking occurs at the critical value of the vibrational para-
meter (Fig.lb).At large values of the vibrational parameter the
static gravity field does not make essential influence on the
form of free surface. The fluid is placed near one of the ver-
tical boundaries of the vessel so that the free surface becomes
almost perpendicular to the axis of vibrations (Fig.1c).
Fig.l a Fig.1 b Fig.1 c
~ Stability cl ~ interface
.4..l. Analytical results

Another problem which has been studied on the base of the
equations (3)-(8) concerned the quasi-equilibrium structures on
the interface of two immiscible fluids of different densities
filling the layer long enough in the horizontal directions
under the high frequency tangential vibrations. It is easy to
show that the problem of quasi-equilibrium has in the consi-
dered case the solution with the plane interface.
We have studied the bifurcations of this solution. The
bifurcational conditions for the perturbations periodical along
the axis of vibrations with the wave number k were found to be:
3
(p + 1) -1
B = ( k + k )thkH (9)
8 p (p - 1)
141
1/2
2
Here B = b [( Pi - P 2) 1 et g 14 is the dimensionless vibra-
tional parameter, P = p/P2 and H = h [etl (Pi - P 2 )g ]-1/2 is the
dimensionless half-thickness of the layer (01 coefficient of
surface tension, h - half-thickness of the layer).
The bifurcational curves are presented in the Fig.2 for
different values of H. As one can see the longwave
perturbations are the most dangerous in the case of thin layers
while for the thick layers the periodical relief is excited.
The non-linear analysis made it possible to obtain the
depen9.ence of the amplitude of relief on the supercriticalness.
It has been shown that in the case of thick layers for the most
dangerous disturbances the periodical relief appears through
the direct bifurcation at P < 3.535. For P > 3.535 the birth
of relief is finite-amplitude.
A.2.. Numerical results

Non-linear analysis permitted to study the character of the
loss of stability and to obtain the characteristics of
quasi-stationary periodical patterns on the fluid interface
near the threshold. The results about the behavior of the fluid
interface at the values of the parameters which are far from
the critical values can be obtained by numerical methods. We
studied the problem with the help of finite-difference methods.
The calculations for various parameter values show that the
quasi-stationary periodical relief emerges at the interface
when the vibrational parameter reaches the critical value Be
(Fig.3a,p=1.25,B=11). With the growth of B the amplitude of re-
lief increases and its form is distorted, it becomes non-harmo-
nic (Fig.3b,c, B=12,12.5 correspondingly). The values of Be and
the dependence of the amplitude of relief on the supercriti-
calness are consistent with the results of non-linear analysis.
The further increase of B doubles the spatial period of the
relief Fig.4). At higher supercriticalness the preferential
orientation of the interface with respect to the axis of the
vibrations changes. The layer is splitted in horizontal
direction into a system of strata the alternating areas of
different fluids, separated by almost vertical boundaries.
142
2.5
~
~
~
0 k
~ ~
Fig.2 Fig.3 FigA
~ Experimental results
The experimental results which were obtained for the glycerine
and insulating oil placed into the horizontal cavity of the
lengb 160 rom and the thickness of 16 rom are presented in the
Fig.5. The frequency of vibration in this experiment was 50 Hz,
the amplitude of the displacement of the vessel varied in the
range from 0 till 2.5 rom. As one can see we observed the same
phenomena as in the numerical simulation. In the experiment
with thick layers we observed the sequence of the spatial
period doubling bifurcations.
Fig.5
143
.5.. Stability Qf cylindrical li9.W.d ZQlle.
.5..l. Analytical results

We also have investigated the problem of stability of
cylindrical liquid zone under the influence of rotation and
vibrations. The liquid zone is surrounded by the coaxial
cylindrical layer of the fluid of different density and the
whole system is placed into the rigid cylindrical vessel. The
system rotates around the axis of the cylinders and displays
the vibrations along the axis. The gravity is absent.
The rotation stabilizes the system if the more dense fluid is
placed outside and destabilizes it in the opposite case.
The vibrations were always found to produce destabilizing
effect. In the case when the more dense fluid is placed outside
the appearance of quasi-stationary periodical relief is
possible.
In the case of more dense inner fluid the vibrations shorten
the critical length of the liquid zone ( Fig.6, R = 2, ~ = 0,
~ is the parameter characterizing the rotation ).
5..2 Numerical results

The numerical investigation of the instability of cylindrical
liquid zone was fulfilled for the case when the more dense
fluid is placed outside. It is potentially stable situation. We
have found that at critical value of the vibrational parameter
the cy lindrical fluid interface becomes unstable. It is
replaced by the periodical quasi-stationary relief of the
harmonic form Fig.7 a, R = 2, p = 2, ~ = 9, B = 20 ). In
this and the next figures the interface is shaded.
Ar-- -----,
50
Fig.6 Fig.7a Fig.7b Fig.7c
144
With the growth of B the amplitude of relief increases and its

form is distorted. At certain value of B the interface reaches
the axis and separates the internal liquid zone into the
individual drops (Fig.7b, B = 30). With the further increase of
B the drops become more flat and their borders approach the
side walL At large enough value of B the external liquid zone
is splitted too (Fig.7c, B = 125 ).
£.. Conclusions
The influence of high frequency tangential vibrations on the
equilibrium forms and stability of fluid free surface or inter-
face was studied for the cases when fluid partially fills a
vessel and for two immiscible fluids of different densities
placed between parallel plane walls or inside the cylindrical
region. The action of vibration leads to the appearance of
pulsative motion of the fluids. The variational principle have
been formulated for the finding of quasi-equilibrium states of
the free surface. In the case of fluid interface the instabili-
ty of the Kelvin-Helmholtz type can be developing because of
the difference of the pulsative velocities on the interface.
Short waves are stabilized by capillary forces. The suppression
of longwave instability can be ensured by mass forces directed
perpendicularly to the undisturbed fluid interface. For the
considered problems the weak gravitational force plays this
role in the case of plane layer and centrifugal force exerts
stabilizing effect in the case of a cylindrical liquid zone.
References
l.G.H.Wolf The dynamic stabilization of the Raileigh-Taylor
instability and the corresponding dynamic equilibrium.-
Z.Physik B 227 291 (1969)
2.D.V.Lyubimov, A.A.Tcherepanov On the appearance of stati-
onary relief on the fluid interface in the vibrational field.
- Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Mech. zhidk. i gaza 6 (1986)
3.D.V.Lyubimov, A.A.Tcherepanov, M.V.Savvina On the equilibrium
form of the free surface of the fluid in the modulated gravi-
tational field.- The problems of hydromechanics and heat and
mass transfer with the free surfaces. Novosibirsk 97 (1987)
Thermocapillary Flows and Deformations of the
Surface in the Systems of Fluid Layers with the
Longitudinal Temperature Gradient in Microgravity
V.A.BRISKMAN, A.L.ZUEV, T.P.LYUBIMOVA, *A.A.NEPOMNYASHCHY
Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics UB of USSR Academy of

Sciences, Perm, USSR
*Technion, Haifa, Israel
Summary
The proposed paper considers three relatively poor
studied aspects of thermocapillary convection under the
influence of longitudinal thermal gradients in two- (or multi-)
layered fluid systems. The first is the mutually compensating
action of thermocapillary forces on the fluid interfaces. The
second problem includes strong deformations and breakdown of
the integrity, caused by large temperature differences in thin
layers. The third aspect is the motion of flat drops on
non-isothermal liquid surfaces.
Thermocapillary Flow in Two- Layered System of Coaxial Cylinders

As a simplest model, we consider the infinitely long liquid cy-
linder of circular cross-section surrounded by a coaxial layer
of another fluid. There is a constant thermal gradient A=dT/dz
along the cylinder axis. At the interface r =r1 and at the free
surface r =r2 the thermocapillary forces arise which are
proportional to d:t / dT=a. and are usually opposite to the
temperature gradient. The boundary conditions will be the con-
tinuity of tangential stress at both surfaces. We must take in-
to account that the overall flow in each layer is zero. Be-
sides, the sensible solution should be limited at any r. We
shall look for the solution of the boundary problem for the
Navier-Stokes equations under the following assumptions:
both surfaces are non-deformable; the thermocapillary flow is
parallel with only one component of velocity Vz = v (r).
H 1. Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogravity FlUId Mechamcs
146
Then the solution of the boundary problem will be:
~ = 2(f+T/(It-1))
f+ah
[
r
2
- ~ ),
2
0.5 a [ f-2 ag-R-F

v2 = f+T/It -T/ {[ 1+ aR + g) r2 + q in r+ -- +
2 2
- :g) }
T/
4R4inR 2It inR )
where: f = 1-3It+ g = -2R[1-
It -1 It -1 '
4It inR a
h = R[-l-#- ), q = 2R[-R-a+ - (1-#))
It -1 T/
To undimensionalize the problem, we measure length in units of

r1 , velocity in units of airiA/T/t and pressure in units of
a 1 A. Here T/ , stands for the dynamic viscosity; T/ = T/ 2 A t'
a =a 2 /a 1 and R =r 2 / ri · Indices 1 and 2 correspond to fluids
in the inner and outer cylinders.
Note that the shape of the velocity profile (1) in the inner
cylinder does not depend on the parameters a and R, it is only
the intensity of thermocapillary convection that varies after
covering the surface by the other fluid. Let us determine the
extent to which the presence of the outer layer suppresses the
convection in the inner one. In the absence of that layer the
velocity profile should be v:O> = (r -1/2)/2
2
(0)
Comparing the expressions for ~ and ~ we see that the
weakening of thermocapillary convection due to the second layer
Of 7J 0.2 if Q4 7J
a) a =
0.15 b) a 1.62 c) = a =
2.50
Fig.1. Velocity profiles in two-layered system
of coaxial cylinders
147
is characterized by the factor:
The evolution of the flow corresponding to the variation of the

ratio 01 (1) = 0.81, R = 1.5) is presented in Fig.1. The thermo-
capillary forces at the free surface and the interface have the
same direction, which for the closed flow of the considered
two-layered system means that they compensate each other.
Whenever 01<0.25, the main cause of the motion is the
thermocapillary force on the interface which drags adjacent
layers of both fluids. The return flows are located near the
cylinder axis and near the free surface (Fig.1.a). The increase
of 01 results in the growing thermocapillary force on the free
surface, this hampering the flow intensity. At a certain ratio
01* between the coefficients of temperature dependence of
surface tensions, convection in the inner layer vanishes
(Fig.1.b). The characteristic value 01* is determined by
getting the weakening factor k equal to zero:
01* = f/h = 4Jt lnR-(Jt -l)(3Jt -l)!(R(Jt -1)-4K lnR) = 1.62
A further increase in the ratio of thermocapillary forces at
01>01* leads again to the growth of the flow in the inner fluid,
but the directions of the flows change to the opposite (see
Fig.1.c). Similar effects were shown to take place also in
systems of two (or more) plane fluid layers, including the
case when one of them has a solid boundary. With the reduction
of the outer layer thickness, the intensity of convection in
the inner layer decreases. Hence, the thermocapillary
convection in the inner layer can be totally suppressed by a
special arranging the fluids properties and thicknesses.
For a thin film on the fluid surface (R=1+6, 6«1) the
decision is essentially simplified:
6
v=
2
61)
k = 2(2-01)6/31) ,
Note that pressure gradients in both media are not
equal to each other and to zero, which is due to the
assumption of non-deformability of surfaces r =rJ. and
148
It can be seen from this equations that the pressure difference

increases with 0 strives to zero and deformation of the
surfaces in the case of thin layers must be accounted for.
The thinner the film of the outer fluid is, the more
effectively it suppresses convection. But with sufficiently
small thicknesses, the film will be deformed and may eventually
break down. This limits the possibilities of this method of
suppression of thermocapillary convection.
Therroocapillary Deformatjon and Breakdown of Thin Liquid Layer

The equation for thin layer deformations was derived from
the condition of the pressure balance on the deformed surface:
o(o"'+o')=-c, where o'=d5/dz; C=Ar2(0I1+0I2Xl/o1+l/o2)
The estimate for the existence of non-singular solution of
this equation is obtained from the condition of the constant
mass of the fluid: (c/0 2 )* = 75/(32 i'). At 0<0* or c>c*
the layer of length L splits. Similar results have been found
in the framework of the thin-layer approach for another
geometry or multi-layer systems.
The results are reported for the ground experiments on the
thermocapillary deformation in a thin horizontal fluid layer
with free upper surface at a horizontal gradient of
temperature. It was shown in [l,2J that deformations are
considerable if the layer depth is less than 1-2 mm. The usual
thermogravitational convection in such thin layers is
negligible (small Rayleigh numbers Ra). The shape of the
surface was studied using the shadow technique [3J. A circular
or rectangular thin fluid layer was organized on a metallic
plate of the corresponding shape. Its sharp edges prevented the
liquid from brimming over. The rectangular liquid layer was
70x74 mm in size, the diameter of the circular layer 90 mm. The
plate was heated at the center and cooled on the periphery. In
order to prevent the non-uniform evaporation of a fluid the
maximal temperature difference f..T did not exceed 30 K. Liquid
layer thickness ho varied from 0.3 to 1.5 mm. Experiments were
performed with organic fluids of different viscosity.
Thermocapillary flow was shown to generate deformation, and, as
a result, the depth over the heater becomes less than over
149
colder regions (see Figures 2,3). The graphs show the

dependence of the local layer thickness on the horizontal
coordinate measured from the heater in the case of the circular
container. Different curves correspond to different total
amounts of fluid (Fig.2, ho =
0.47; 0.63; O.BO; 0.94; 1.10;
1.26 mm) or to a different temperature gradients (Fig.3, h.T =
3.5; 6.1; 10.2; 16.1; 22.5; 30.0 K). The same results were
obtained for the rectangular layer. For sufficiently thin
layers or large temperature gradients, one may observe
breaking of the integrity of the layer and discover a dry
spot above the heater. A similar situation is observed in
two- layered systems.
Our experiments with various fluids in different temperature
conditions have shown good agreement with analytical
predictions [1,2]. The maximal difference of depths between the
most heated and the most cooled regions proves to be propor-
tional to the temperature difference and inversely propor-
tional to initial thickness of the layer. The measured criti-
cal temperature differences (see Fig.4), which destroy layers
of different thicknesses in the rectangular container agree
with the theoretical results h.& * = if (straight line 1). Here
the initial layer thickness H is measured in units of capillary
radius (0'/pgO)1 / 2 h.&* is the critical value of parameter
rZ~m~m~ ________________-, Z mm
15 f 5 r-'-------------.
1.0
05
r,mm o .30 !';mm

Fig.2. Local depth of fluid Fig.3. Local depth of fluid
layers of different initial layers for various tempera-
thickness (h.T 14 K) = ture gradients (ho 0.47 mm) =
150
combination f,.& = 3 f,.T a/a . In the circular container (line 2)

the deformation is even stronger than in the rectangular one.
Thermocapillary deformations and destruction of layers and
films of fluids with two free surfaces were also studied. These
films were realized inside a 3x30 mID horizontal wire frame.
The width of the film was smaller than the capillary radius.
Therefore the film of decane (the pressure of the saturated
vapour of decane is small) is stable and may exist for several
hours. The film thickness was equal to the diameter of the wire
and varied from 0.1 to 1.0 mID. The uniformity of the thickness
was controlled with the help of interferometry device. For the
plane films the non-uniformity of the thickness in the experi-
ments never exceeded 0.01 mID. When the ends of the film are
differentially heated the thermocapillary motion sets in defor-
ming the film. At the critical temperature difference, the
film breaks down.
The analytical treatment of the problem is similar to that of
the liquid layer on a solid underlayer. The experimental data
13 t--------+:~--......~-------l
o 12 24
FiS.4. Critical temperature Fig.5. Apparatus for
differences needed to destroy fluid studying the motion of
layers of different thicknesses drops on water surface
(i-ethanol, 2-heptane, 3-decane)
151
a) b) c) d)
Fig.6. Drops of organic liquids on water surface
are in good agreement with analytical ones, allowing only for

the capillary forces and neglecting the role of gravity, in
the case of small thicknesses (less than 0.3 mm), when the
Rayleigh-Taylor instability is not relevant.
Motion of Drops on Non-Isothermal Surface of Immiscible Fluid

The experiments were performed with the fixed volumes
(3-30 mm 3 ) of various organic liquids placed on the surface of
a thin (Ra« 1) horizontal water layer, along which the
longitudinal temperature gradient was maintained. As the water
is usually contaminated with surfactants, the thermocapillary
motion on its surface is practically absent. The drop acquires
the form of a lens the diameter of which is proportional to the
cubic root from the volume. The pre-factor depends on the
surface tension on the interface and has different values for
various fluids. The shape of drops was studied with
the interferometric device, shown in Fig.5.
Most of the fluids were shown to form thick convex lenses
producing a conspicuous downwarp in the underlaying water sur-
face (see photo in Fig.6.a). The thermocapillary motion is pre-
sent both at the top and bottom surfaces of the drop. Over the
perimeter, the fluid moves from the heated pole to the cooled
one, whereas along the diameter the motion is reverse directed
to the heated side. This motion in the form of two symmetrical
vortices, as in Fig.6.b, was visualized with the help of light-
scattering particles. Drops of hexane and heptane in wa-
152
ter, however, spread into lenses which are so thin that they
practically do not deform the underlying surface (see Fig.6.c).
Such drops in the presence of the temperature gradient began
moving along the flat water surface to the cool side, as in
Fig. 6.d. The measured drop velocity proved to be proportional
to the volume of the fluid and temperature gradient. For the
same values of the Marangoni number speeds of thicker drops are
higher.
Conclusion
All three considered problems are united by common possible
applications. In order to weaken thermocapillary convection in
space technology processes as in the encapsulated zone mel-
ting, for example, the melt (inner layer) is covered by the
encapsulant (outer layer). We have demonstrated that the com-
pensating action of thermocapillary forces at the interface and
at the free surface produces the effect of suppression of
thermocapillary convection. In the melt this effect is enhanced
by the reduced thickness of the outer layer. However, the layer
should be too thin; otherwise it will be torn by thermocapil-
lary forces. The drops which formed after the breakdown display
thermocapillary migration in the direction opposite to the
thermal gradient.
References
l. Zuev A.L., Pshenichnikov A.F. Deformation and breakdown of
liquid film under the action of thermocapillary convection.
Prikl. l1ekh. Tekh. Phiz. (Applied Mechanics and Technical
Physics) 3 (1987) 90-95
2. Loulerque J.e. Deformation of surfaces of a thin liquid film
by thermal perturbation. J. Thin Solid Filma 82 (1981) 61-71
3. Bratukhin Yu.K., Briskman V.A., Zuev A.L., Pshenichnikov A.F
Surface deformation and motion of fluid layers and drops
under the action of thermocapillary forces. Gidromekhanika i
tepiD- maaaobmell pri poluchellii materialov (Hydromechanics
and Heat / Mass Transfer in Material Processing). Moscow:
Nauka 1990 273-281
Residual Acceleration Effects,
Fluid Handling
Fluid Management under Micro-Gravity
Conditions in Technical Applications
G. Netter, MBB/ERNO
J. WeiB, Hochschule Bremen
Abstract
Theoretical and experimental fluid management analysis for surface tension tanks under
micro-gravity conditions are described.
Solutions of the GauB-Laplace equation for rotational symmetry as a system of two ordinary
differential equations and for the general case applying finite difference methods are
described and some results presented. Dynamical calculations were performed for small
sloshing amplitudes as well as bulk motions of the fluid. Experimental test were performed
with parabolic flights, in the drop tower of Bremen, and with the space shuttle experiment
EMTE.
1. Introduction
At the beginning of the Post Apollo Programm in 1970, the interest in EUROPE to investigate
general applications of the Il-g environment had become a substantial technological aspect.
The need of fluid management in spacecraft operating in a micro-g environment has initiated
a number of experimental investigations to substantiate analytical models, describing the fluid
behaviour.
Experiments have been conducted under 1 g as well as under Il-g conditions.
Typical spacecraft technology applications of the Il-g fluid physics are the surface tension
tank, heat pipes and fluid transfer, which presently is an important research and development
activity at MBB/ERNO. Under Il-g conditions surface tension forces are predominant in
determining the location of the fluid within tanks. Furtheron the knowledge of the stability of
the fluid configuration and the reorientation rate due to small accelerations are of importance
for the design of tanks and heat pipes.
Since 1975, MBB/ERNO has become the supplier of a family of surface tension tanks for
satellites such as TV-SAT, TDF, DFS-Kopernikus, Italsat, Eute1sat, Insat II. The functional
performances of all these tanks were verified by ground tests. A second generation of surface
tension tanks was introduced in 1988. Presently, the analytical tools are capable to verify the
functional performance of this new type of propellant management devices.
H. J Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogravlty Fluid Mechamcs
156
To substantiate the predictions of static and dynamic properties by analytical methods, the
following experimental investigations have been perfonned:
capillary pumping
sloshing orientation
nucleate boiling
heat transportation
neutral buoyancy test (MBB/ERNO - Institut fUr Grenzflache und Bioverfahren)
(MBB/ERNO - ZARM)
micro-g parabolic flight tests on Do 28/KC 135
EMTE Space Shuttle experiment 1985: sloshing experiment / functional perfonnance test
drop test (MBB/ERNO - ZARM):
capillary induced fluid motions, capillary pumping, refill of sump, orientation
Microba balloon drop test: functional demonstration
2. Equilibrium Shapes of Liquid Surfaces

2.1 General
• For any point of the surface which is not a boundary point the GauS-Laplace equilibrium
equation must hold:
1 1 ~p
- + - = (1)
RI R2 cr
with R l' R2 = principal radii of curvature
~p =pressure difference
cr = surface tension
• For each point common to the liquid surface and the wall the boundary condition is:
nf . nw = cos( t'}O)
with llf = unit nonnal vector on the surface
nw = unit nonnal vector on the wall
t'}O = wall contact angle
The left side of (1) is computed from the geometric relation for the mean curvature H of the
surface
1 L·G - 2·P·M + E·N
+- 2·H = (2)
R2 (E.G - F2)3/2
157
with E = 1 + (dz/dX)2
F = (dz/dx)·(dz/dy)
G = 1 + (dz!i)y)2
L = d2z/dx 2 x
M = d2z/dXdy
N = d2z/dy2
2.2 Two-Dimensional Solution

For rotational symmetry with respect to the
x-axis (see fig. 1) equ. (2) can be written
as:
Fig. 1: Tank: Geometry of TV -SAT

1
- +
For the pressure difference M, which is a constant in case of zero gravity and in absence of
rotation, three fundamental cases will be considered:
a) axial acceleration gx ~ M = MOl + gx·x·p
b) radial accelerations gy ~ M = M02 + gy.y.p
c) rigid solid rotation ~ M = M03 + O.S·00·(y_YO)2.p
where MOi = (unknown) integrations constant
p = density of the fluid
yo =distance of the axis of rotation from the axis of symmetry
00 = angular velocity
So the differential equation gets the form
(3)
where M is taken from a), b), and/or c).

This equation, however, is not exact for cases b) and c), since the right hand side was derived
for surfaces with rotational symmetry. The term of M according to b) or that of c), if yo -:F- 0,
will lead to surfaces which are not symmetrical with respect to the axis x.
For a numerical solution of (3) we introduced the slope angle a as the independent variable
for which holds tan(a) = dy/dx. Then the second order differential equation (3) can be
replaced by two first order equations
158
dx cos (a)
da cos(a)/y - MIa
dy sin(a)
da cos(a)/y - MIa
The numerical integration of these equations is started at some point (x(j. yo> on the container
wall which determines the initial slope angle a. For the unknown constant MOi an estimated
value is taken. The integration over a is then performed until the slope of the straight line AB
in fig. 1 is reached. The end point (xE' YE) of this integration in general will not lyon the line
AB, but by iterative correction of the constant MOi this can be achieved.
2.3 Three-Dimensional Solution

For a numerical solution a discretization of the surface has to be performed. For rectangular
containers two different discretizations of the ground plane of the containers were used:
rectangular and triangular elements.
Rectangular containers
For rectangular containers two different grids are used:
• rectanglar grid:
The nodes are at the edges of the rectangular
elements.
The partial derivatives are approximated by central first and second order finite
differences of neighbouring points.
Two formulations of the boundary condition are used:

a) extrapolation with a parabola (l'}O ~ 40°)
(singularity for l'}O =0)
2 1
cot(l'}Ol) = 3' cot(l'}O) + 3' cot(l'}lz)
1 •
b) extrapolation with a circle (l'}O = 0°)
ZO = Zt +(Zt- Z2)+'-'(2,«xt- X2)2+(zt- Z2)2» P,

159
• trianglar grid:
The nodes are at the centres of the triangles.

The partial derivatives in equation (2) are computed
from equation (4) which approximates the surface at the
reference point
by dZ/dX a2,dZ/dy
d 2 Z/dx 2 a4,d 2 z/dxdy
d 2 Z/dy2 a6·
The coefficients at through a6 are determined using neighbouring points as indicated in
the figure. The surface z(x, y) passes through the reference point (large bullet) and the
three neighbours (small bullets), and the six next neighbours (open circles) are best
approximated (least squares method).
Two formulations of the boundary condition are used:
a) extrapolation with a parabola
b) The normal vector on the surface nf is derived from equation (3) at the boundary
point. In order to allow small contact angles the coordinate system has to be rotated
such that Z is parallel to fif at the reference point.
Iteration
The iteration process starts with zi = 0 for all grid points. Only the z-coordinates are changed
to meet the GauB-Laplace equilibrium equation and the boundary conditions. Each iteration
consists of three steps:
a) For every boundary point the contact angle t} is computed using neighbouring points and
the z-coordinate of the boundary point is changed such that It} - t}O I decreases.
b) For each inner point the mean curvature 2·Hi is computed from equ. (2) and the sum S is
computed:
N
S = I (2·H· - g·p·z·/cr)
i =1 1 1
c) Since the acceleration vector is assumed along -z the pressure difference is

LWi = Mlo + g.p.Zj.
The unknown constant MlO is computed by MlO = SIN. The coordinates zi of the inner
points are then changed such that the violation of the GauB-Laplace equation
1 2·Hi - Mli I decreases.
160
Triangular containers
F
As an example for a container with non-rectangular
DI_ _ _
shape an "open" container with only 3 walls was chosen
~
E
(fig. 2):
horizontal triangular ground plane ABC

two vertical planes ABED and ACDE with c
variable angle a
B
Fig. 2: Open container
Fig. 3: Triangularization Fig. 4: Start configuration
In this case a trinagular grid was used as shown in fig. 3.

The iteration method used for the rectangular containers, namely shifting the points parallel to
the z-axis, is not applicable since points must also move along the ground plane with z = O.
Fig. 4 shows the chosen solution: The points are shifted along the line AP. Fig. 4 shows also
the surface at the beginning of the iteration process, namely the plane BCD.
2.4 Results of 3D-Solution

As an example, fig. 5 shows the results of a rectangular container with a rectangular grid for
three Bond numbers. Only one quarter of the surface is drawn.
Fig. 6 gives a presentation with hidden lines of the same container for a triangular grid.
Fig. 7 shows some results for the open container of fig. 2 with the contact angle t'}O as the
parameter. In all cases the Bond number is zero and the angle between the two verticals walls
is a =90·.
161
3. Dynamics
3.1 General
For the dynamic analysis of the fluid slosh effects, three fundamental cases of fluid motion
must be distinguished:
(1) Sloshing with small amplitudes: The non-linear effects of the equations of motion can be
neglected. Only small amplitudes are considered according to the linear theory.
(2) Sloshing with large amplitude, nonlinear effect must be regarded, but the results can still
be derived from (1) by correction terms from experimental results.
(3) Movement in bulks: The dynamic effects are fundamentally different from (1) and (2)
and results cannot be derived from the motion with small amplitudes.
Numerical results were obtained with a commercially available software Flow-3D Science
for cases (1) and (2). FLOW-3D is a computer software of FLOW SCIENCE for the analysis
of fluid dynamic phenomena. A Finite-Difference method is used to construct a time
dependent solution of the fluid conservation laws for mass, momentum, and energy.
For case (3) a software was developed using the same approach as applied by a NASA
program LAMPS (Large AMPlitude Sloshing).
3.2 LAMPS· Description

A mechanical analog model was developed in the analytical phase to simulate the observed
large amplitude slosh. The analog model portrays the liquid as a point mass, moving on a
constraint surface which is represented by piecewise continuous elliptical segments.
The mechanical analog model was implemented in the computer program LAMPS. A two-
dimensional mechanical analog has been developed to predict forces and moments exerted by
a moving liquid on the container wall. The model is only applicable to elliptical domes with
cylindrical central parts.
The constraint surface is determined by slowly rotating the tank: (analytically) in a one-g field:
the constraints surface is the locus of liquid center of mass locations prescribed during
rotation, assuming the free liquid surface is planar.
The equations of motion of the two-dimensional problem for the coupled tanklfluid system
are stated in canonical first order form. The force balance on the fluid can be written as
Mp· ;ip=~+f
where Mp is the fluid mass, Yp the velocity vector of the fluid center of mass relative to the
inertial frame, ~ the constraint force normal to the constraint surface (inertial reactive force)
and i the viscous dissipative force on the fluid center of mass tangent to the constraint
surface.
162
3.3 Capillary Pumping

The subject capillary pumping is of importance to the reorientation rate of fluids under Jl-g
conditions, which is of interest to the reml capability of sumps and the performance of heat
pipes.
Using the Bernoulli equation for unsteady incompressible flow, the fluid transport in capillary
vanes to the reservoir and/or sump has been investigated.
The fluid transport under Jl-g conditions has been tested in the drop tower, Bremen. The
results show a good agreement between the theoretical and experimental data.
4. Test
4.1 Neutral Buoyancy Test
The objectives of a neutral buoyancy test are to observe the Jl-g liquid surface configuration
under I-g conditions.
Two immiscible test liquids of equal density have been used to represent the propellant and
the pressurant gas. Similarity of contact angle has also been achieved. The comparison of the
observed interface surface at different g levels has thus proven the theoretical Jl-g
calculations.
4.2 Parabolic Flights Tests

The capabilities offered by parabolic flight tests are restricted to a qualitative observation of
the following features:
migration along the tank/geysiring
propellant in contact with the screen adapter
liquid orientation due to perturbations
4.3 Drop Tower Test

Compared to the parabolic flight the drop tower tests achieve very small bond numbers.
Capillary effects, such as capillary pumping/refilling of sump, orientation times, can thus be
observed in an appropriate manner in order to verify the theoretical models.
163
4.4 EMTE
A sloshing/orientation experiment on a NASA STS mission was performed in June 1985. The
test sample was a model tank representing the OST 01/0 lower compartment.
Measurements of the reaction forces and accelerations at the model tank wall for different
amplitudes, frequencies and liquid load levels were recorded.
The objectives of the experimental program were:
to define all significant natural modes, associated natural frequencies,

to determine the mass of sloshing fluid which shall facilitate the assumptions of analysis,
to generate data for correlation with the computer model,
to determine the sloshing forces and their reactions on the tank wall,
to determine the pressure distribution in the fluid during sloshing,
to observe the orientation time, that means the total amount of time measured for liquid
to move from one end of a tank to the other, and come to rest again still,
to demonstrate the function performance expulsion efficiency.
The Il-g condition on board was 10-3 g gitter.
5. Conclusion
Qualification methods described in this paper, verified by an experimental program, has

achieved a level of confidence which is sufficient to design propellant management devices of
the type used in OST-l tanks without the need of extensive experimental verification. The
analytical models can thus be effectively utilized in the design of surface tension tanks such
as OST-2/Spacebus 2000.
References:
Bakker, G. Kapillaritiit
In: Wien, W. and F. Harms (Ed.): Handbuch der Experimentalphysik,
Vol. VI, Leipzig, 1928.
Langbein, D. (Ed.) Fliissigkeitsgrenzfliichen und Benetzung

WORKSHOP, Frankfurt, Juni 1981.
Berry, R. L. and Experimental study of transient liquid motion
1. R. Tegart NASA-30690, 1975/1976.
164
Fig. 5: Fluid surface of a rectangular container for different g-levels

Bond numbers are: 10 /1/0.01, the contact angle is t'}O = 40°.
165
r different g-levels
Fig. 6: tangular container fo
Fluid shapes of a rec
/ om , the COntact angle is
~o =40•.
are : 10 /1
Bond numbers
166
D E
\\
\}O == 40·
"1t:,
"\\ .
\,
\}O==45
"'' ' }>

r... ~
~
~ ).::
\"~
~~
~'" ~ -........... --....::::-.
& A B
'~ ).
).
,,-""'-'"
~"
'\. '" '>
- ........
~
~ ~
~~ \}O == 50·
~~ \}O = 60·
~
~
~~ ~
\"'-~
\.\.):
c\.~
.~
Fig. 7: Fluid shapes of the open container of fig. 2 for various contact angles \}O
The Bond number is B =0, the angle is ex =90·.
The figures show projections along the line AC of fig. 4.
The Sensitivity of a Non-Isothermal Liquid Bridge
to Residual Acceleration
J. Iwan D. Alexander and Yiqiang Zhang

Center for Microgravity and Materials Research
University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama 35899, USA
Abstract
Liquid bridges appear in a variety of industrial processes, for example in the well-known floating-zone
crystal growth technique. This crystal growth method has received much attention in recent years.
In particular, there have been a variety of experiments on spacelab missions. These experiments are
motivated by the fact that the microgravity environment affords the possibility of an increase in the
stability of the melt meniscus and a reduction in buoyancy-driven convection. However, within the
spacecraft there is a residual acceleration with variable magnitude and orientation. Under certain
conditions, the response of the free surface of a liquid bridge to time-dependent residual accelerations
will lead to zone breakage. In this paper the steady and unsteady behavior of isothermal and non-
isothermal liquid bridge systems under normal and low gravity conditions is examined. The full non-
linear governing equations are recast in terms of a stream-function vorticity formulation together with
a non-orthogonal coordinate transformation. The latter allows an irregular free boundary to coincide
with a coordinate line (or surface) without the need to solve a coupled set of Laplace equations. The
resulting equations are discretized using a centered finite difference scheme for space, and an Adams-
Bashforth-Crank-Nicolson scheme is used for time. The equations are solved by the A.D.I. method
and a Picard type iteration is used on the boundary condition for the balance of force normal to the
free surface. For non-isothermal bridges, residual acceleration affects the system by causing internal
buoyancy flows and fluctuations in the shape of the bridge which interact with the thermocapillary
flow caused by surface tension gradients. For the cases examined, the shape of the bridge is found
to be more sensitive to typical spacecraft accelerations than the buoyancy driven flow. The effect of
thermocapillary flow on the surface shape is found to be small for the range of capillary and Reynolds
numbers considered.
1. Introduction
Liquid bridges appear in a variety of industrial processes, for example the well-known
floating-zone crystal growth technique [1]. This crystal growth method has received much attention
in recent years [2-10]. In particular, there have been several related experiments on spacelab missions
[11-14]. These experiments are motivated by the fact that the microgravity environment affords the
possibility of an increase in the stability of the melt meniscus and a reduction in buoyancy-driven
convection. However, within the spacecraft there is a residual acceleration with variable magnitude
and orientation. Under certain conditions, the response of the free surface of an isothermal liquid bridge
to time-dependent residual accelerations will lead to zone breakage [13-15]. In this paper we examine
the interaction between convection caused by the response of the free surface of the zone to oscillatory
axial residual acceleration and convection due to thermocapillary and internal buoyancy forces.
H. J. Rath (EdLtor)
Microgravity Fluid Mechanics
© Sprmger-Verlag Berlm Heidelberg 1992
,
168
g(l)
Rigid Disk
\jI.... : -1.06 x 10-2
Auid Surface
r~ R(Z.I)
L
T.... =0
Rigid Disk
Fig. 2. The initial steady dimensionless stream-
2 R. =
function and temperature corresponding to Re 2899.
= = =
Gr 0.98. A 4 and Pr 0.0127.
Fig. 1. The model liquid bridge.
2. Fonnulation
2.1 Description of the Model
A cyJinchicalJiquid zone (see Fig. 1) is contained between two parallel coaxial circular rigid
disks (radius =Ro) separated by a distance L The Jiq uid is a non-isothennal Newtonian fluid for which
the Boussinesq approximation holds. The bridge is held between the disks by sUIface tension. The
free sUIfaceofthe bridge is a gas-liquid interface and is described byr= R(z.t). Each disk is maintained
at a constant temperature To. SUIface heating is provided through a parabolic function. T..., which is
a function of the axial coordinate and is an approximation to the heating profile associated with typical
floating zone crystal growth experiments. The heat transfer coefficient at the free sUIface is denoted
by h. In addition, we make the assumptions that the residual acceleration is parallel to the cylinder
axis, the velocity and temperature field and the deformation of free sUIface are axisymmetric, and we
take the sUIface tension at the free sUIface to be a linear function of the temperature. Motion of the
end disks perpendicular to the axis may also occur in practice. The restriction to axial acceleration
precludes an analysis of the effects of such motions.
The governing equations are made dimensionless by scaling length, time and velocity with
Ro, RdU* and U*, respectively. Here U* is a characteristic velocity given by
U· J~~T.
~
where 11T= TMAX - TMIN represents the maximum temperature difference along the sUIface, ~ is
the absolute value of the derivative of the sUIface tension with respect to temperature, and ~ is the
169
dynamic viscosity. The difference ~T is used to non-dimensionalize temperature.

The temperature maximum in a floating zone occurs between the two ends of the zone. We
shall take the dimensionless ambient temperature T MAX to be T ~(O), and T MIN to be T ~(±N2), where
A = l.IRo is the aspect ratio.
The non-dimensional pressure is
p* + Pog*(t) z
p= *2 Ro,
PoU
where p* is the dimensional pressure, z is the dimensionless axial coordinate, PO is the density cor-
- -
responding to the reference temperature and g*(t) = go + gJsin(23tft) is the residual gravitational
acceleration.
2.2 Basic Equations

With the scales presented in 2.1 the governing dimensionless equations in a cylindrical
coordinate system can be written as
(1)
(2)
iJw iJw iJw iJp

-+u-+w-=--+---L- 1 (iJ~ 1 iJw
_+...L_+_ ilw) n.
+~Tg(t), (3)
iJt iJr iJz iJz Re iJ? r iJr iJ z2 Re2
iJT + u iJT + w iJT = _l_(iJ2.r +.1 iJT + iJT) (4)

iJt iJr iJz Ma iJ? r iJr iJ z 2 '
where g(t) = g*(t)/go is a time-dependent dimensionless residual acceleration, and
Re = RoU· , Ma J !r1~TRo , Or JgoIP~~ ,

v ilK v
are, respectively, the Reynolds number, Marangoni number and Orashofnumber. Here, v is the ki-
nematic viscosity, K is the thermal diffusivity, P is the volume thermal expansion and coefficient.
The boundary conditions at the rigid end disks are
u = T = 0, w = w ±(t), at z = ±A, (5)

2
where w±(t) is zero if the two disks vibrate in phase (this will admit only odd mode deformations of
the zone surface [15]). The symmetry conditions at the centerline r = 0 are
u=iJw =iJT =0 (6)

iJr iJr '
The boundary conditions at the free surface r = R(z) take the form
170
"'MIN = -7.2 X 10.2

- = -7.8 10-3
"'MIN X 'l'MIN =-1.36x 10 -2
"'MAX = 1.42 x 10-2
(a) (b)
- (e)
-
"'MAX = 7.6 x 10-3 "'MAX = 1.37 X 10.2
(d) (e) (I)
Fig. 3. The instantaneous dimensionless stream-functions with Re =2899, Or =0.98, A =4

and Pr= 0.0127, at (a) 0.52 s, (b) 0.59 s, (c) 1 s, (d) 1.5 s (e) 1.56 s, (I) 2 s, after application of
an additional 2.5xlQ-2 g, 0.5 Hz, axial acceleration.
p _g(t)z + A. = 2Re-! [ou + (OR )2 OW _oR (ow + ou )~ +

p2
1+-
or (OR)2 oz oz oz or oz J
OZ
r_02R] ,
(7)
Re-! (ql- T) [1 +(~
[1 + (~~ rV R i1z2
[1_(OR )2] (ou + ow) + iR (ou _ ow )= _[1 + (OR )2]t(OT + oR OT) ,

OZ OZ or OZ or OZ oz oz OZ or (8)
oR
-+u+w-=O
oR (9)
ot oz'
(1+(OR)2)-t(OT _oR OT)+B~T_L)=O, (10)
OZ or OZ OZ
where the capillary number, Biot number and Proude number are, respectively,
C JY~~T Bi=hRo p=(gRo)-f

° "kl' k' U' 2 '
171
and Yo is the mean surface tension and k is the thennal conductivity. The force balance conditions
normal and tangent to the free surface are given by eqs. (7) and (8) respectively. Equation (9) is the
kinematic boundary condition at the liquid-gas interface. The thennal boundary condition at the
interface is given by equation (10) in which the equivalent heat transfer coefficient, h, models the effect
of the radiant and convective heat transfer between the bridge and the surrounding environment. The
constant A in (7) represents a dimensionless reference pressure difference across the interface which
for this system is determined by the following constant volume constraint [9,16]
V= ("2 1t R~z)dz = Vo == constant. (11)

Jeell.
2
Finally, the condition that the contact lines between the liquid end disks are fixed is
R = 1 at z = ± N2. (12)
T MAX • 0.998 T MAX • 0.998 T MAX • 0.998
T MIN - a T MIN. a
(a) (b) (c)
T MIN - a T MIN· a T MIN - a
T MAX - 0.998 T MAX - 0.998 T MAX • 0.998
T MIN . a T MIN - a
(e) (f)
Fig.4. The dimensionless temperature field with Re = 2899, Gr = 0.98, A = 4 and

Pr =0.0127, at (a) 0.52 s, (b) 0.59 s, (c) 1 s, (d) 1.5 s (e) 1.56 s, (f) 2 S, after
application of an additional 2.5xlo-2 g, 0.5 Hz, axial acceleration.
172
2.3 Solution Method

In the present investigation, the governing equations are recast in tenns of a stream-function
vorticity fonnulation. The stream-function is defined by
1 a'l'
u=-- v=---
1 a'l' (13)
r az ' r ar .
A non-orthogonal coordinate transfonnation,

11 = z , s=_r-
R(z,t) ,
( 14)
allows an irregular free boundary to coincide with a cylindrical coordinate line (or surface) without the
need to solve a coupled set of Laplace equations [17,18]. The resulting equations are discretized
following a semi-implicit difference scheme and solved by theA.D.I. method. The conditions for force
balance tangent to the surface and kinematic condition at the free surface are solved along with the
Navier-Stokes and continuity equations. The condition for the force balance normal to the surface is
used together with an "outer" iterative procedure to determine the free surface shape.
The unsteady free boundary problem for a cylindrical liquid zone is solved as follows. The
10' ....------r-----.,.--------,
lI'''AX-5.23 x 1 0-2
..ffi
z
Q
10" 1"--'-_ __
.....
w
o
(a) (b) ~ 2
w
a:
«
10"
ffi
.....
::!
10~L-_ _ __L~---~---~
10" 10" 10' 10'
FREOUENCY [Hz)
(e) (d)
Fig. 6. Tolerable acceleration [g] vs. Frequency [Hz]
Fig. 5. The instantaneous dimensionless stream- predicted by the 10 model [15] for (1) breakage and
function, with Re = 0, Or = 0, A = 4 and Pr = 0.0127. (2) 10% shape change. for an isothermal liquid zone
at (a) 0.59 s, (b) 1 s, (d) 1.5 s (e) 2 s, after application with 11.=4 and the thermophysical properties of
of an additional 2.5xlQ-2 g, O.51Iz, axial accx!eration. indium.
Note that for this case only. 'I' = 'I'/KRo , where'l' is the
dimensional stream-function cm3 s-l.
173
initial conditions correspond toeitherzeroorfinite steady residual acceleration situations with a steady
thermocapillary flow. These states are calculated using a method close to that described below [16].
For the unsteady calculation our solution scheme is similar to that used by Kang and Leal [17] and
Ryskin and Leal [18]. The following Picard iterative procedure [19] is adopted:
1. guess the free surface shape for the new tirnestep;
2. obtain the approximate temperature and stream-function, vorticity and velocity fields by transform-
ing the governing equations and boundary conditions to a circular cylindrical domain via a non-
orthogonal transformation and solve them using a semi-implicit method;
3. obtain the pressure at the free surface by integrating the transformed momentum equation;
4. use the condition for the balance of force normal to the free surface to decide how to update the free
surface location;
5. return to step 2. Repeat until convergence is obtained by satisfying all equations and boundary
conditions to a specified degree of accuracy for this tirnestep.
3. Results and Discussion

The following results were obtained for a liquid wne corresponding to the physical properties
of molten indium subject to an axial acceleration with a frequency of 0.5 Hz. Fig. 2 depicts the initial
state of the system. A steady axial acceleration of magnitude 1Q-4 g (10- 3 m s-2) acts along the negative
z-direction. Two equidimensional toroidal rolls indicate that surface-driven flow is dominant (Re =
2899, Gr= 0.98). The isotherm distribution shows that heat transfer is mainly by conduction, although
some distortion of the isotherms by the flow is evident. For indium, Lind [20] has reported that the
surface tension increases with increasing temperature i.e. Yr> O. (Note that surface contamination may
have affected the measured temperature dependence of surface tension in this case.) Thus, the flow
direction at the surface is toward the center (i.e. the highertemperature region). Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate
the effect of an additional acceleration component which varies sinusoidally with a frequency of 0.5
Hz. Figure 5 depicts the response of the wne to the same disturbance, but with Gr = Ma = O. (Note
that, for this case, K/L rather than t'frl ~T III was used as the velocity scale.) In another case with Re =
2899, Gr = 0.98 and the surface constrained to be a circular cylinder, no observable response occurred.
Clearly the system is more sensitive to the effects of free surface motion than internal buoyancy. Given
that the value of steady acceleration used is extreme for spacecraft acceleration environments [21], we
may conclude that for systems where internal buoyancy-driven effects are not manifested (in this case
because they are swamped by the surface-driven flow) it suffices to examine the response of the free
surface only. Furthermore, a comparison of our full axisymmetric results with those obtained with a
simplified ID isothermal model indicates that, at least for the conditions examined, the ID model may
be used to reliably predict liquid wne (isothermal and nonisothermal) sensitivity. The ID model is
described in detail in [15]. Fig. 6 shows the sensitivity of an indium liquid wne to axial acceleration.
The curves are based on results obtained using two sensitivity criteria. The first is determined by
174
breakage of the bridge, the second is whenever the bridge shape changes by more than 10% ofits static
shape, i.e. R(z,t) - R(z,O) = .lR(z,O).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the State of Alabama through the Center for Microgravity and
Materials Research and the Alabama Supercomputer Network, and by the National Aeronautics and
Space Agency through grant NAG8-724.
4. References
[1] W.G. Pfann, Zone Melting, Krueger, Huntington New York (1978).
[2] C. Chang and W.R. Wilcox, 1. Crystal Growth 28,8-12 (1975).
[3] PA. Clark and W.R. Wilcox, 1. Crystal Growth 50, 461-469 (1980).
[4] N. Kobayashi, J. Crystal Growth 66, 63-72 (1984).
[5] W.W. Fowlis and G.O. Roberts, 1. Crystal Growth 74,301-320 (1986).
[6] A. Rybicki and 1.M. Floryan, Phys. Fluids 30,1956-1972 (1987).
[7] R. Natarjan, AIChE J. 35, 614-624 (1989).
[8] Z. Kozhoukharova and S. Slavchev, J. Crystal Growth 74, 236-246 (1986).
[9] J.L. Duranceau and RA. Brown, in Taylor G. Wang (ed.) Drops and Bubbles Third Interna-
tional Colloquiwn 1988, AIP Conference Proceedings 197, American Institute of Physics, New
York, 1989, pp. 133-144.
[10] C.w. Lan and S. Kou, J. Crystal Growth 102, (fJ9-627 (1990).
[11] D.T.1. Hurle, G. MUller and R Nitsche, in Fluid Sciences and Materials Science in Space, Ed.
H. U. Walter (Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1987) pp. 313-351.
[12] A. Croll, W. MUller and R Nitsche, Proceedings ofthe 6th European Symposiwn on Materials
Sciences underMicrogravity Conditions, ESA SP·256 (ESA Publications Division, Noordwjyck,
1987) 87.
[13] 1. Martinez, J.M. Haynes and D. Langbein,in Fluid Sciences and Materials Science in Space,
Ed. H. U. Walter (Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1987) pp. 53-80.
[14] 1. Martinez, Proceedings of the 6th European Symposiwn on Materials Sciences under
Microgravity Conditions, ESA SP·256 (ESA Publications Division, Noordwjyck, 1987) 235.
[15] Y.Q. Zhang and J.I.D. Alexander, Physics of Fluids A 2, 1966 (1990).
[16] Y.Q. Zhang and J.I.D. Alexander, International Journalfor Nwnerical Methods in Fluids in
press.
[17] I.S. Kang and L.G. Leal, Physics of Fluids 30,1929-1940 (1987).
[18] G. Ryskin andL.G. Leal, J. Fluid Mech. 148, 1-17 (1984).
[19] 1.M. Floryan, Appl. Mech. Rev. 42, 323-341 (1989).
[20] M.D. Lind, Proceedings ofthe AIAA 25th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, Nevada, AIAA-
87-0618 (1987).
[21] 1.1.D. Alexander, Microgravity Science and Technology 3,52 (1990).
Effect of G-Jitter on Liquid free Surfaces
in Microgravity
Y. KAMOTANI AND S. OSTRACH
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio 44106, U. S. A.
Introduction
In a uniform one-g environment, gravity plays a major role in restraining

the motion of a fluid placed in an open container. Under microgravi ty
conditions, however, a fluid free surface is restrained mainly by surface
tension. Tha t I eads to the concern tha t , given the small vibrations
which occur in space vehicles, it might not be possible to contain a fluid
in an open vessel adequately. The problem was of special concern in the
design of the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE) to be
conducted aboard the USML-l Spacelab which is scheduled to fly in 1992. In
the experiment a ten centimeter diameter cylindrical container five
centimeters in height is to be filled with 10 cs silicone oil while in
orbit. The container, filled level with the side walls, is then to be
subjected to various thermal conditions in order to examine the convection
resulting from surface tension gradients [1]. In an early stage of its
design it was determined that a study should be conducted to determine the
effects of g-jitter on the liquid free surface in microgravity because very
little information was available in literature on the subject.
The present work was done mainly experimentally using the 2.2-second drop
tower facility at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The g-jitter was
simulated by vibrating the container sinusoidally. The direction of the
g-jitter was either normal to the free surface or parallel to it. The free
surface motion was recorded by a high-speed movie camera. The experiment
examined several fluid pinning configurations and the effectiveness of a
barrier coating. A scaling analysis was also conducted to guide the
experiment and to interpret the data.
H. J Rath (EdItor)
MlcrogravLty FluId Mechanics
176
Experiment
The drop rig, shown in Fig. 1, included a shaker table, a light, a

high-speed camera, batteries, and the circuitry necessary to conduct the
experiment. The shaker table was run by a DC motor and a belt. The table
was designed to shake either vertically or horizontally. The amplitude of
vibration was varied by a cam. It had two amplitude settings, 0.25 and
3.2 mm, but the former was mainly used. The frequency was varied from 2.0
to 4.4 Hz. The g-level associated with those conditions ranged from 4 x
10- 3 g o to 0.25 g , where g is the standard gravitational acceleration.
o 0
The natural frequency of the fluid in the 10 cm dia. container was found to
be 0.4 Hz, which was too small to study in the 2.2 second drop tower.
Therefore, smaller containers (2.54-3.18 cm dia.) with a natural frequency
range of 2-2.5 Hz were also used to investigate the free surface behavior
near the natural frequency. In all cases the fluid depth was equal to the
container radius. The container was filled to the rim to obtain a flat
surface both in one-g and in microgravi ty. The rim of the container side
wall was shaped in three different ways. The first was a flat rim, the
second was a 45 degree slanted rim, and the third was a flat rim with
concentric circular grooves cut into the surface (serrated rim). In some
tests the rim was coated with a barrier coating agent to make silicone oil
less wetting.
The container was made of plastic. It was filled with 10 cs silicone oil
which was lightly dyed wi th Sudan IV red dye to make the free surface
easily visible. The motion was recorded by a movie camera operated at 128
frames per second. The camera angle was set looking down slightly on the
liquid free surface. A light box behind the container produced diffused
light to illuminate the liquid surface. The movie film was analyzed frame
by frame by a motion analyzer to determine the amount of free surface
deformation.
The drop rig was placed in a drag shield which allowed the rig to fall
independently from the shield, thereby minimizing the aerodynamic drag.
The acceleration level was about 10- 5 g , which was much smaller than the
o
imposed g-jitter level. Half a second was allowed after a drop for the
free surface to reach equilibrium before the shaker table was turned on,
which left 1.7 seconds to study the effects of g-jitter.
177
Results and Discussion
The g-jitter aboard spacecraft usually changes its direction and magnitude
rather randomly with time. To simplify the analysis g-jitter was simulated
in the present work by a sinusoidal function of a constant amplitude and
its direction was either normal to the free surface or parallel to it.
When the container was vibrated normal to the free surface, it was a
surface stabi li ty problem in that the surface remained quiet except near
the natural frequencies. On the other hand, in the case of the parallel
excitation the free surface always moved back and forth. For that reason
the two cases are discussed separately herein.
g-jitter normal to the free surface (normal excitation)
The motion of the liquid subjected to gravitational excitation was

extensively studied during the early 1960s in connection with liquid
sloshing in liquid-fuel rockets (e.g., Abramson [2]). More recently,
Gollub and Meyer [3] and Ciliberto and Gollub [4] studied the problem in
connection with chaos.
Benjamin and Ursell [5] and others have shown that the small motions of an
inviscid liquid in a vertically vibrated tank are described by Mathieu's
equation,
- f coswt) A = 0 (1)
mn
where w is one of the natural frequencies of free liquid sloshing, A is

ron mn
the amplitude of the corresponding mode of the surface motion, w is the
excitation frequency and f is the amplitude of excitation. It is known [5]
that for a circular container with 90° contact angle the natural
frequencies are given by
O"k 3
w2 = (gk +~) tanh (k h) (2)
mn mn p mn
where g is the gravitational acceleration, 0" is the liquid surface tension,

p the density, h the liquid depth and k are the roots of J" (k R) = 0,
~ m ~
where R is the container radius. Eqs. (1) and (2) are obtained for the
condition of 90° contact angle with a non-fixed contact line, but in the
STDCE since the container is filled up to the rim, the contact line is
178
considered to be nearly fixed. Nevertheless, since the former condition is

the only case where the stability criterion is well known, the former is
considered herein as a reference. In fact it is not difficult to see that
the fixed contact line condition is more stable than the unfixed one.
It is known [2] experimentally that the most unstable mode is the

1/2-subharmonic mode in which the surface oscillation frequency is half the
excitation frequency. The Mathieu stability chart constructed from Eqs.
(1) and (2) for the 1/2-subharmonic mode and for 10 cm dia. container
filled with 10 cs silicone oil is presented in Fig. 2. Only the first 4
unstable regions are shown for clarity. The shaded regions in the figure
are unstable regions. As the figure shows, in the range of g- j i t ter level
desired for the STDCE « 10- 4 g ) the unstable regions are confined to small
o
frequency ranges centered around the natural frequencies. In a higher
frequency range than shown in Fig. 2 the natural frequencies become more
closely spaced so that the unstable region becomes nearly continuous.
Theoretically an infinitesimal g-level is sufficient to make the surface

unstable at the natural frequencies, but in practice the effect of
viscosity, neglected in the above analysis, can damp out small disturbances
so that a finite g-level is required to make the surface unstable. To
determine experimentally the minimum g-level near a natural frequency
requires a very fine control of excitation amplitude and frequency which
was beyond the capability of the drop tower experiment. Therefore it was
decided to correlate available experimental data on the minimum g-levels
taken by others ([3], [6]) in one-g tests which covered both gravity
dominant situations (pg/~k2 > 1) and surface tension dominant situations
mn
(pg/~k2 < 1). As discussed in [1], with the help of a scal ing analysis
mn
the following expression was obtained to predict the minimum g-level,
IlVk3 ).11
.33 [ mn (3)
pg + ~k2 pg + ~k2
mn mn
where (Aw2) is the minimum g-level (A, amplitude of excitation), 11 is

min
the fluid viscosity, and v the kinematic viscosity.
The minimum g-level computed from Eq. (3) for the present experimental
conditions are shown in Fig. 3. The region above the curve is the unstable
region. As seen in the figure the surface becomes more stable with
increasing frequency. It seems safe to require the g- jitter level to be
below 10- 4 g for the STDCE.
o
179
The conditions of the present drop tower tests are marked in Fig. 3. In
one series of tests the g-levels were just below the stability curve, while
in other tests the g-levels were either just above the curve or very much
above the curve. In the tests in the stable region no fluid motion was
observed during the 2.2 second drop. When the data were taken just above
the curve, a slow sloshing motion of relatively small amplitude (about
several percents of the container depth) was seen but the fluid stayed in
the container at least during the 2.2 second drop. When the g-level was
much above the curve, a very large fluid motion resulted. After a few
cycles of up and down motion, the fluid was suddenly ejected up from the
container in several streams. Based on those tests it seems that the
stability curve of Fig. 3 is reasonably accurate.
g-jitter parallel to the free surface (lateral excitation)
Recently Pline and Jacobson [7] investigated the containment of silicone

oil in open containers during lateral excitation as a part of the STDCE
design effort. The present work is directed more toward the determination
of the amount of free surface deformation. In order to conduct the STDCE
experiment when the free surface is nearly flat it is required that the
free surface deformation be within ± 1 mm from the flat shape during each
test. The objective of the present work is to determine the allowable
g-level to satisfy the requirement.
In the case of lateral excitation the dominant oscillatory mode was (1.1)
mode (simple sloshing). The natural frequency of that mode can be
calculated from Eq. (2) for a 90 0
contact angle with un-anchored contact
line,
W = ( gk
a-k
+~
3) 112 (4)
1,1 1,1 P
When the contact line is anchored as in the STDCE, the situation may be
approximated by setting k = 2rr/D (meaning one wavelength is equal to the
1,1
container diameter D). Then the natural frequency f in microgravity can
n
be calculated as
f w 12rr (5)
n 1,1
180
The natural frequencies measured under various conditions were found to be

close to the above f . For example, with D = 3.18 cm and 10 cs silicone
n
oil the measured natural frequency was 2.2 Hz while the computed f
n
= 2.0
Hz, and with D = 2.54 cm the measured frequency was 2.6 Hz compared to f
n
2.9 Hz.
From Eq. (5) the natural frequency for the large container (10 cm dia.) is
estimated to be 0.4 Hz. Al though the container was vibrated at higher
frequencies in the experiment, the vibration excited the natural frequency
oscillation as well as the imposed frequency oscillation. The former was
stronger in the transient period. The motion looked like a sloshing motion
in a given cross-sectional plane but actually the wave pattern rotated
around the container axis. Even then the measured frequency (0.4-0.5 Hz)
was close to the above estimate.
At the natural frequency the kinetic energy of liquid motion is balanced by

the surface energy to maintain a steady oscillation. If, then, the system
is externally excited at the natural frequency it breaks the balance and
the free surface deformation increases without bound. However. the effect
of viscosity does not allow the amplitude to become infinite. In any case
a lateral excitation near or at the natural frequency produces the largest
free surface deformation. As mentioned above, at the natural frequency the
fluid kinetic energy is balanced by the surface energy so the external
force, if applied, must be balanced by the viscous forces associated with
the fluid motion. By balancing the external excitation force and the total
viscous force along the wall Kamotani and Ostrach [1] obtained the
following expression for the amount of surface deformation at the sloshing
natural frequency
(6)
where a is the amplitude of surface deformation and C is constant of unit

order to be determined experimentally. With D = 2.54 cm, f
n
= 2.6 Hz, and
A = 0.25 mm, the measured ampl i tude was a/D .048, which gave C 0.15.
With D = 3.18 cm, f
n
= 2.2 Hz, and A = 0.25 mm, the amplitude was a/D = .05
so that C = 0.17. Although the data were quite limited, the best estimate
for C from the experiment was C = 0.16. Therefore, with D = 10 cm and f
n
0.44 Hz in the STDCE the amount of free surface deformation is estimated
from Eq. (6) to be 1.2 mm when g-level is 10- 4 g. Based on Eq. (6) the
o
181
relative amplitude of the surface deformation is shown in Fig. 4 as a

function of w for various viscosity fluids when Aw2 = 10- 4 g The
o
amplitude decreases with increasing viscosity and frequency. To see the
effect of surface tension Eqs. (5) and (6) are combined to obtain
a
(7)
D
Eq. (7) shows that a decreases with increasing ~.
In the present experiment the deformation amplitude was relatively small,

so the rim design did not have strong influence. When the deformation
became large and the fluid containment became a big issue, the rim design
and the barrier coating did influence the surface behavior as discussed in
[7].
Conclusions
1. For g-jitter normal to the free surface the stability curve was
obtained and verified by the experiment.
2. For g- jit ter parallel to the free surface a sloshing motion was the
dominant mode and its amplitude was largest near the natural
frequency. An expression was obtained to predict the ampl i tude when
the container was vibrated at that frequency.
3. For the STDCE it is ~ffe to require that g-level during the experiment
be no larger that 10 g.
o
References
1. Kamotani, Y. and Ostrach, S., J. Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, Vol.
1, No.1, 1989, pp. 83-89.
2. Abramson, H. N., Applied Mechanics Review, Vol. 16, 1963, pp. 501-506.
3. Gollub, J. P. and Meyer, C. W., Physica, Vol. 6D, 1983, pp. 337-346.
4. Ciliberto, S. and Gollub, P., Physical Review Letters, Vol. 52, 1984,
pp. 922-925.
5. Benjamin, I.B. and Ursell, F., Proc. Roy. Soc., London, Series A,
Vol. 225, 1954, pp. 505-515.
6. Dodge, F. T., Kana, D. D., and Abramson, H. N., AIAA Journal, Vol. 3,
1965, pp. 685-695.
7. Pline, A. and Jacobson, T., Metallurgical Transactions A, Vol. 19A,

1988, pp. 1883-1888.
182
Ii ghtbox
liquid container
mi rror
~~~~~~b-~:::'I-_ shalo:er table

high-speed camera
electrical
control
unit
electric motor
batteries
dig ita 1 clock
Fig. 1. Drop rig

183
10- 1 •
• EXPERIMENTAL
CONDITION
1O- 4 L-----------I---------.....L-
10-1 100 10
Frequency (Hz)
Fig. 3. Minimum g-level for surface instability

(axial excitation)
FIXED CONTACT LINE

CIRCULAR CONTAINER
FLUID DEPTH > RADIUS
10- L
a
IT
I:-------+--~--:-..-*
10- 3 .1 L 10
FREQUENCY (Hz)
Fig. 4. Amount of surface deformation at
natural frequency (lateral excitation)
Theoretical Investigation of the Rotating Disks
Flow of One and Two-Phase Fluids in Microgravity
A. Delgado, H.J. Rath
Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM)

University of Bremen, D-28OO Bremen 33
1. Introduction
The investigations presented in this paper have been motivated by problems related to the transport
and positioning of fluids in microgravity. In [1,2) a concept for handling fluids of different density p by
inducing a small centrifugal force with the aid of rotating disks was presented. Because of its high
importance, there is a large body of publications in which the flow of a pure, one-phase fluid generated
by rotating disks is treated, see e.g. [9-14). But only Delgado et al. [3,4,5) have investigated the range of
moderate Reynolds numbers, important when considering the handling of fluids in microgravity. These
authors developed a method for studying the flow induced by permeable or impermeable disks not only
of infinite but also of finite radii ('shrouded disks') .
In [3,4) the equations of motion are solved analytically for disks of infinite radii. For this purpose the
non-linear terms in the Navier-Stokes equations are linearized by perturbing the solution valid for the
creeping flow when the ratio of the angular velocities of both disks s ; W2 /W 1 takes on the value s ; 1.
This leads to equations of motion for the perturbation velocity vector and pressure which can be
translated into a system of linear ordinary equations by using the von Karman transformation [9,10,14).
The analytical solutions thus found are in excellent agreement with those ones obtained by Holodniok et
al. (14) for Re ; 275 and s ; 0.8, who solved the non-linear von Karman equations numerically.
The validity of the method developed in [3,4) is restricted to cases when s does not differ too
significantly from unity. An extension of the method to arbitrary values of s was studied in (5), starting
from a solution for infinite disks which satisfies the creeping flow equations and the boundary
conditions. The solutions found in (5) are of the Batchelor type (11) for s ; 0 and of the Stewartson type
(12) for s ; -1. A comparison with data of Brady & Durlofsky (13) for shrouded disks who used an
asymptotic method (which leads to parabolic equations of boundary layer type), has revealed an
excellent agreement for a large region of the radial coordinate r within the gap and for a wide range of s
values for Reynolds numbers (based on the gap width b) Re < 100.
An asymptotic formulation of the co-rotating disks problem and the interpretation of the results provided
by such methods pose some uncertainties as the solution obtained by integrating along the parabolic
H. J Rath (Editor)
Microgravity flUid Mechanics
186
axis (radial direction) must match the boundary conditions prevailing at the edge of the disks. In order
to avoid these problems the full Navier-Stokes equations have been solved numerically by using a
suitable difference scheme [15]. In [15] it is shown that results calculated by the method developed in
[5] approximate flow situations at moderate Reynolds numbers well when compared with solutions of
the full equations of motion especially when s deviates significantly from zero. Moreover, the method
has an added advantage in that numerical work required is substantially less.
Due to the permitted length of the present paper the analysis is focussed on some aspects of the two-
phase flow in the gap between co-rotating disks at low Reynolds number. In contrast to the extensive
bibliography available for one-phase flow, only a few works deal with the corresponding two-phase flow
[6,7,8]. The investigations presented in literature so far concentrate on the determination of the
surface/interface geometry for the case that both phases rotate as a rigid solid (s = 1). Here, an
approximate method (I) similar to that developed in [5] is proposed for calculating the flow situation
when s deviates from unity. The basic behaviour of the surface geometry without secondary motion is
studied very efficiently by using a further method (II).
2. Mathematical Formulation
The theory presented here allows the analysis of the steady, isothermal and rotationally symmetric flow
field of incompressible, immiSCible, non-pOlar, newtonian fluids produced by a pair of co-rotating disks
which are separated by a gap of the width b. In fig. 1 the flow situation studied is represented
schematically. Only the volume force due to a mean residual acceleration g in the negative axial
direction is considered. It is evident that s can be kept in the intervall lsi < 1 by selecting the angular
velocity of the disk which is rotating faster as reference quantity w1.
Fluid
B
Fig. 1. Scheme of the flow situation considered
For convenience, a cylindrical coordinate system r, Ip and z is employed. The flow fields of the both
fluids A and B are described by the continuity equation and the momentum equation. At the interface
z = TJ (r) both fluids have to fulfil the kinematic condition
187
YA/B • n=0 (1)
and the stress balance (the prime (') denotes differentiation with respect to r)
(2)
In these equations Y. = u ~r + v ~ + w ~z' p, I, a and n= - TJ' ~r + ~z represent the velocity vector,

the pressure, the stress tensor, the interfacial tension and the normal vector respectively. For the
newtonian behaviour of the fluids postulated, I depends linearly on the velocity gradient tensor
k= grad y. via the relation I = I-'(k + kT) . Here, I-' denotes the dynamic shear viscosity.
Equation (1) expresses the fact that no flow through the interface is permitted. In contrast to this,
equation (2) states that, at the interface, the tangential stress components are continuous but in the
normal component a jump occurs due to the presence of the interfacial tension. The sign (=t) in the
interfacial tension term in equation (2) indicates that two different regions have to be considered as
regards the location at which the fluid A takes on the maximum radius R, see fig. 1. The minus and plus
sign correspond to the upper and the lower part of the curve z = TJ (r).
At the rotating (impermeable) disks the non-slip condition has been assumed. The normal stress
balance in equation (2) is described by a second order, non-linear, ordinary differential equation which
requires two further boundary conditions. Here, it is assumed that the interface intersects the disks at
r = r10 and r = r20 with a given angle" (which is considered to be independent of the flow situation),
and that it has a vertical tangent at r = R, compare fig. 1.
A analysis based on considerations of similarity shows that, in general, the interface shape depends on
the Reynolds numbers ReA/B = (PA/B Wb2)/I-'A/B' the Weber number We = [(PA-PB)W 2R3]/(Ba), the
Bond number Bo = [(PA-PB) g R2 ]/a, the ratio of the angular velocities s, the wetting angle t'J, the
dimensionless radius ro * and the dimensionless gap width b* (lengths marked by (*) are made
dimensionless by the radius R).
For the creeping flow in the gap between infinite disks (Re .... 0) and vanishing residual accelerations
(Bo .... 0) Delgado & Rath [16] have found an analytical solution which fulfils the complete set of basic
equations and the corresponding boundary conditions. These authors assumed an intersection angle
t'J = 90° and showed the corresponding equilibrium interface shape to be perpendicular with respect to
the r~-plane at r = R. The velocity field of each phase coincides with that of the corresponding
monocomponent, one-phase flow. The disks induce a pure azimuthal motion i.e. motion in concentric
188
circles whereby the circumferential velocity depends Iinear1y on z. Furthermore. the pressure
discontinuity at the Interface agrees with that calculated for the fluids being at rest.
By perturbing this solution via the introduction of the small order quantities y. + = U + ~r + v + ~ + w + ~z.
p + and €+ • an approximate method (I) similar to that described in [3.4.5) for calculating the one-phase
flow of a pure fluid has been developed (€ + (z) represents the inverse function to 1'/ + (r)). Although this
procedure enables the treatment of more general flow fields. the following considerations concentrate
on the case for which the density PA and also the viscosity Jl.A are negligible with respect to that of fluid
B. Furthermore. constant pressure PA = Po is postulated. As a result of these assumptions. only the
flow field of the fluid B has to be considered.
The perturbation of the flow field obtained in [16) can be written as
r w{ 1 + (5-1) ~} ~ + Y+B (3)
a +
PB = Po - - - PB 9 z + PB (4)
R
€(z) = R + €+(z) (5)
Inserting (3) and (4) in the momentum equations and neglecting such products which consist of
perturbation velocities and their derivatives. one arrives at the linearized equations of motion for the
perturbation quantities (Oseen's approximation. see also [1.3.5]). The remaining convective terms in the
radial momentum balance are such which correspond to the centrifugal force. Further convective terms
are present only in the circumferential momentum equation and are due to local acceleration and fluid
motion along a curved path.
The non-slip condition requires all components of the perturbation velocity vector to vanish at the disks.
In the approximate method (I) used. the kinematic condition (1) and the stress balance at the surface
(2) are formulated to be fulfilled on the perpendicular interface. i.e. at r = R. From (1) it follows that the
radial component of the perturbation velocity has to vanish at the interface (uB + = 0). An evaluation of
equation (2) for r = R leads to the conditions aVB + jar + VB + jr = 0 and aWB + jar = O. Furthermore.
from the normal stress component in (2) the following equation for the calculation of €+ can be
deduced (here. the prime (') denotes differentiation with respect to z):
a
(6)
R
189
3. Discussion of results
The method (I) proposed offers the advantage that the equations of motion and the normal stress
balance in (2) for the perturbation quantities can be solved consecutively. But, in contrast to the case of
the creeping flow between infinite disks as treated in [16], no analytical solution has been found for
moderate Reynolds numbers. Therefore, the basic equations have been solved by a suitable difference
method which will be described elsewhere. Cases of large aspect ratio RS/b have been considered to
be of great interest, as the influence of the outer wall (which is assumed to be impermeable and
stationary, i.e. sE = WE/W 1 = 0) on the surface is then negligible.
In fig. 2 examples of results for the case of exactly counter-rotating disks are depicted whereby the
aspect ratio is RS/b = 5. As shown, for s = -1 a secondary flow which is symmetric with respect to
z = b/2 occurs. The fluid is forced to move outward in the vicinity of the disks. As a result of this in the
core region a motion against the centrifugal action must take place to ensure mass conservation. But,
even for the relatively high Reynolds number in question ReB = 100, the values of the secondary flow
velocities amount to no more than a few percent of the reference velocity v 1 = r W1. This suggests that
the influence of the meridional flow on the surface determination can be neglected particularly because
a similar ratio of magnitude has been found for other values of s studied.
Re=100 .0; SE = O.O; RS/b=5 .0; b = R

..s.-=--=-l.O.
t=+---R~_ Rs-----1.1
Fig. 2. Examples of numerical results
Therefore, a further approximate method (II) for the determination of the surface geometry has been
studied: in addition to the negligence of any secondary motion, the non-linear terms in the equations of
motion are approximated by expressing them using the creeping flow solution found in [16]. By doing
so, an expression is found in which the pressure balances the centrifugal force and the hydrostatic
190
distribution due to residual acceleration g. From the normal stress condition in (2) the following solution
has been found:
(7)
with
r*
Apo *r *-~
Bo J
e*h *(e) de - _*_ + We r*3
c*
r
rO
r* r*
+8
We(s-l)
**
I e3h*de * + 4We(s-1)2
*2 *
Ie3h*2 de *
b r b r
rO * rO *
This solution can be employed to investigate the basic features of the surface shape with very little
numerical work even when compared with method (I). The evaluation of (7) requires an iterative
Integration procedure similar to that employed in [17]. It is worth mentioning that, for the case of rigid
solid motion, the solution (7) satisfies the complete non-linear equations of motion with the
corresponding boundary conditions as well as the kinematic and dynamic surface conditions.
As only real functions are of interest, the solution (7) is restricted to such flow situations in which the
condition H*2;S;1 is fulfilled. The latter states that equilibrium shapes exist only for suitable values of s,
We, Re, Bo, rO * ' 6 and b * because of their influence on H* . Here, the existence of equilibrium shapes
which Intersect both disks at rO * at an angle 6 has been studied systematicaily for different values of
these influence parameters.
For rigid solid motion and vanishing influence of Bo as well as of We, a perfect spherical surface is
found If rO * = 0 or rO * = sin 6. Under the same assumptions but for arbitrary values of rO *, the surface
shape can be fully described analytically in terms of the hyperelliptlc integral of first and second kind
(this solution will be considered in more detail elsewhere). In contrast to this, no analytical solution has
been found when the inertia terms can not be neglected as compared with the effects of surface tension
(We < -1). But for vanishing rO * ' the minimum value Wemin = - 0.5 which fulfils the condition H*2 ;S;1
(the angle is automatically 6 = o· in this case) can be deduced from the solution (7), compare also [7].
191
The behaviour of the surface shape for different values of We is demonstrated in fig. 3. As can be seen
the shape becomes more and more cylindrical with decreasing value of We. However, when the
absolute value of We exceeds 0.5 the surface can no longer intersect the disks at r0* .
n.*jb * I. 0 r-r_=.,.-F9'==+.:::r:::,-r-------~
-~ ~K ;;:'. ---, We = 0 . 000
O. 9 l-t-+-t-+-r'i<""rl~..,:-f
: . --+-1
o.B1-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-"'\....:.. ,-:;:-
r\ : : . We
We
D - 0 . 450
• - 0 . 480
We = -0.500
O. 7 I-H-t-t-t--+--t--+-~ \.
0 . 6 1-+-+-+-1---+-+-+-+-~
~
0.5 /-j-+-t--+--+-+-+-+-t-l
0. 4 H-+-t--t--t-+-+-+-t-a
0. 3 I-l-t-t--t--t-+-+-+-.!f A rOM
· 0. 001
if V t het a
· 0 . 000
0
0.2 HH-t-t---t--+--t--1'-:'f--\
V ·' ·
80
s
· 0.000
1. 000
V ..·:·:::,
O . I I-~HHI-j~~/~-t---I
~<::..
i..<' '''':: •• ' ::., ,-- .,-
O. 0 L-1-;j~::.:....L..~..d=::±:::::c:.....L-l- _ _ _ _ _ _ _---1
0.0 0.2 0.4 0. 6 O.B 1.0
r*
. 3. Influence of We for small values of ro *
Fig.
In contrast to this, equiiibrium surfaces are possible even for very high (negative) We when rO * tends to
1. This is illustrated in fig. 4 which shows results for Bo = - 0.5. The curves depicted separate the region
10.0
~
- s = 0 .0
IWemin l
--- s =-1 .0
_.- s = 1 ,0
1.5 ,.!i
Ifi"
£'/
5.0
" =25 .0·

Bo =-0 .5 1/
l-
2,5
i!
0, 0
0,00 0. 25
---k4
--
0.50
0.0: ::-'
.....-
0. 75 1. 00
r •
o
Fig. 4. Limiting We numbers for the existence of equilibrium surfaces
192
of existence (below the curve) and non-existence of equilibrium shapes. For large values of rO * the
existence of equilibrium surfaces does not depend significantly on {J, whereas even a short deviation of
*2 *
this angle from 0° leads to a violation of the restriction H ~1 if rO is much smaller than unity. As fig. 4
demonstrates, the presence of residual accelerations (60 t- 0) can lead also to a considerable
restriction of the region of existence when compared with the minimum We number found for 60 = O. In
connection with this, a different behaviour is observed in the case of solid rotation (s = 1) and the
counter-rotating (s = -1) disks flow and when a disk remains at rest (s = 0). The presence of a gradient
of the centrifugal force in z-direction for s = -1 and s = 0 leads to a partial compensation of the
deformation caused by residual acceleration effects and, therefore, to an extension of the region of
existence of equilibrium shapes.
For better understanding It must be mentioned that the equilibrium surfaces studied above are assumed
to have the same intersection points at the disks but need not to enclose the same volume. The
situation when volume preservation is postulated for a fixed value of b has been investigated by using
the approximate method (I) as It also allows the study of the influence of secondary flow. Fig. 4 shows
examples of results corresponding to the configuration represented graphically in fig. 1, but for different
values of Re (in [18] a detailed discussion will be presented). In agreement with the secondary flow field
depicted In fig. 1, the surface is symmetrical with respect to b/2. This behaviour can be also predicted
when considering the symmetry of the terms in the left side of equation (6) (and furthermore from H* in
equation (7)). As fig. 5 demonstrates the secondary flow field has no significance in the range of Re
1.0
~
~ I"! - Re 1.000 -
.
We
0.632
1\,
I"! ~ ~-
0.8
• - Re - 10.000
- We -- 0.632
o - Re -100.000
o- We -- 0.630
0.6
E
Ct::
"-
N
)
0.1
Wem ~- O.SOO
lhelo~30.0o
/
0.2 --1.0
S
b - 1. 0
Rm - 1.000
0.0
/
0.1 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2
r/Rm
Fig. 5. Influence of the secondary motion i.e. of Re on a bubble of a constant volume 7r Rm 2 b (the
Weber number We m Is defined with the average radius Rm)
193
considered. This is especially so in the case when lWei takes on values smaller than 1, i.e. when the
effects of the surface tension dominate as compared with that due to Inertia. In contrast to this the
influence of the secondary flow becomes more significant for higher absolute We numbers and for
values of s which deviate strongly from unity [18].
In further work the methods proposed will be validated by comparing with data obtained in the Drop
Tower Bremen. Furthermore, they will be improved for other theoretical problems related to
microgravity for which the solution of the exact equations pose tremendous difficulties.
References
1. Delgado, A.; Fuchs, M.; Rath, H.J.; Schulz, U.: 'Quirt -Tank' - A device for management of liquids
under microgravitational conditions by small centrifugal forces. Appl. microgravity tech., I, 1, (1987)
37 - 49.
2. Rath, H.J.; Delgado, A.: Der Quirt Tank, ein Konzept zum Fluid- Management unter den
Bedingungen der Schwerelosigkeit. Jahrbuch der Deutschen Gesellschaft fiir Luft- und Raumfahrt,
Bd. II, (1988) 924-930.
3. Delgado, A.; Rath, H.J.: Handhabung von Fluiden in der Schwerelosigkeit mittels induzierter
Rotation. Z. Angew. Math. Mech., 69, 6, (1989) T614-T616.
4. Delgado, A.; Petri, B; Rath H.J.: Fluid Management in Space by Slowly Rotating Disks. Appl.
microgravitytech., 1,4, (1988) 188-201.
5. Delgado, A.; Rath, H.J.: Rotating disks flow under highly reduced gravity: infinite disks with different
velocities rotating at moderate Re, Archives of Mechanics, (1990) No.4-5.
6. Hung, R.J.; Tsao, Y.D.; Hong, B.B.; Leslie, FW.: Dynamical behaviour of surface tension on rotating
fluids in low and microgravity environments, Appl. microgravity tech., II, 2, (1989) 81-95.
7. Leslie, F.: Measurements of rotating bubble shapes in a low-gravity environment, J. Fluid Mech., 161
(1985) 269-279.
8. Hung; R.J.; Leslie, FW.: Bubble shapes in a liquid-filled rotating container, J. Spacecraft, 25, 1,
(1988) 70-74.
9. Von Karman, T.: Ober die iaminare und turbulente Reibung. Z. Angew. Math. Mech., 1, (1921) 233-
252.
10. Van Wijngaarden, L.: On multiple solutions and other phenomena in rotating fluids, Fluid Dynamics
Transactions, 12, (1985) 157-179.
11. Batchelor, G.K.: Note on a class of solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations representing steady
rotationally symmetric flow, Q.J. Mech. Maths, 4, (1951) 29-41.
12. Stewartson, K.: On the flow between two rotating coaxial disks, Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc., 49, (1953)
333-341.
13. Brady, J.F.; Durtofsky, I.: On rotating disk flow, J. Fluid Mech., 175, (1987) 363-394.
14. Holodniok, M.; Kubicek, M.; Hlavacek, V.: Computation of the flow between two rotating coaxial
disks: multiplicity of steady-state solutions, J. Fluid Mech., 108, (1981) 227-240.
15. Wu, J.; Delgado, A.; Rath, H.J.: Linearized numerical solution method for rotating coaxial disks flows
at moderate Reynolds number. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference in Laminar and
Turbulent Flows, Stanford, July 15-19,1991.
16. Delgado, A.; Rath, H.J.: Zur Zweiphasen-Scheibenspaltstromung nichtmischbarer Fluide unter
Schwerelosigkeit. To be published in Z. Angew. Math. Mech., 1992.
17. Delgado, A.; Rath, H.J.: The influence of the Bond number on the rod climbing phenomenon in
microgravity. Proceedings of the Forum on Microgravity Flows, 1st ASME/JSME Fluids Engineering
Conference, June 23-27, 1991, A. Hashemi, B.N. Antar, I. Tanasawa (Eds.), FED-VOL 111, (1991) 47-
51.
18. Wu, J.; Delgado, A.; Rath, H.J.: Approximate solution of bubble shapes between rotating coaxial
disks under microgravity. Proceedings of the 1st European Fluid Mechanics Conference,
September 16-20, Cambridge (1991).
Transient Convection Caused by Acceleration
Disturbances
Stefan Schneider, Johannes Straub
Lehrstuhl A fuer Thermodynamik, Technical University of Munich
Arcisstrasse 21, W-8000 Munich 2, Germany
Introd uction
Although the first microgravity experiments in materials processing have been per-
formed some years ago, the discussion about the influence of acceleration disturbances
on material specimens is still going on. Such interferences can result from both ex-
ternal (e.g thruster firings) and internal forces (e.g. crew activities). They induce
convection in the liquid samples and are thus responsible for inhomogeneities in the
solid material or the crystal structure, when such g-jitters occur during the solidi-
fication. Experimental investigations of such disturbances can only be performed in
the low-gravity environment of space vehicles or sounding rockets. whereas the onset
and the transient development of the flow field of g-jitter disturbances can be studied
in numerical simulations. Although the inhomogeneities to be expected in the solid
material cannot be predicted, numerical experiments may help to interpret them in
performed experiments, as well as to avoid them in the future.
Numerical model
Resorting to the experience of many years in numerically solving thermo-fluid dy-

namic problems, we developed a three-dimensional code for calculating laminar na-
tural convection in a cylindrical enclosure. Thus the effect of the angle between the
temperature gradient in the cylinder and the gravity vector could be investigated.
The initial conditions are no motion in the liquid due to low gravity, and a linear
temperature profile between the heated bottom and the cooled top walls due to pure
conduction. A non-slip condition is assumed at all rigid walls of the enclosure. The top
and bottom walls are kept at constant, but different temperatures, while the lateral
wall is perfectly insulated. The equations of conservation are solved numerically by
using a finite volume method with explicit time steps and a semi-iterative pressure-
velocity correction algorithm.
The influence of the fluid is considered by using silicon, water, air, and glycerin. All
properties are constant, except density, which is a function of temperature only. By
H J Ralh (Editor)
Mlcrogravlty FlUid Mcchanlc~
196
this means we werc able to study g-jittcr disturbanccs in liquids ovcr a wide range of
Prandtl numbers (10- 2 to 10 2 ).
Investigated disturbances
For the test of the numcrical code, the Rayleigh-Benard problem was studied for
cylinders of various aspect ratios (Fig. 1).
Ra > It",.".
IA \ 11.,,:::; 11.",,,.
\
\ \ ft." < Ra"".
7"
o
J
.~"""
' .",...:--- - --- -- - I
I
0.3 " . ..... - -:- .- - - - - - - -
- .
I
iJ.il:2 ii.l1li 0.10

i
Fa
Figure 1: Transient development of the maximum velocity afler an initial perturba-
tion in the Rayleigh-Benard problem
If the Rayleigh number is less than the critical value, the initial flow is damped out
after its activation by the perturbation. However. for supercri tical Rayleigh numbers
the maximum velocity increases again, after the initial perturbation has faded away,
and reaches a finite steady-state value after some time. Only in the case of the critical
Rayleigh number, a steady flow develops after the decay of the initial disturbance with
small velocities.
Moreover, several acceieration disturbances, such as
• step pulse,
• single rectangular pulse (representing external forces),
• sinusoidal pulse (representing internal forces), and
• a series of pulses of various amplitude, shape, and duration
were examined.
197
Results and Conclusion
Based on the results of our numerical study, general statements can be made about
the influence of acceleration disturbances on convection for materials processing under
microgravity:
• Accelerations perpendicular to the temperature gradient induce greater velo-
cities than those in parallel direction. Experimental facilities in an orbital lab
should be orientated in a way that the expected transient accelerations are
parallel to the temperature gradient in the fluid.
• The effects of residual acceleration can be reduced, if the experimental setup is
aligned in such a manner that the acceleration vector acts in opposite direction
of the temperature gradient.
• Disturbances of high frequency are insignificant.
• The maximum velocities are proportional to the Rayleigh number, i.e. the ve·
locities increase for a given acceleration with the third power of the dimension
in the direction of the acceleration vector.
• Fluids wi th a small Prandll number Pr « 1 (e.g. liquid silicon) are less sensi ti vc
to disturbances than fluids with higher Prandtl numbers.
• In the range of frequencies below the cut-otT frequency F/Pr ~ 10. a strong over-
shooting of the velocity occurs with increasing amplitudes Ra- and increasing
Prandtl number.
• A periodical series of positive and negative accelerations induce lower velocities
than a single pulse of the same duration for !"/Pr> 10.
• The geometrical shape, the aspect ratio, and the thermal boundary condition on
the lateral wall of the cylinder are not as significant to acceleration disturbances
as might be supposed.
• Characteristic features of the transient flow can be studied by examining the
flow caused by a single acceleration pulse.
• The velocities caused by superimposed acceleration pulses can be estimated by
overlapping different velocity graphs, as the velocities are directly proportional
to the amplitude of the interference.
It is obvious that only general statements and recommendations for planning space
experiments can be derived from these results. For very sensitive experiments, special
three-dimensional calculations have to be performed, where all parameters of influence
can be considered.
198
\ o
\ 6
\
\
\
I
\ co
I I o
\ 6
\ I I
\ I
\ I I
\ I I -.a
0
\ I . d
0
\ I I LL
\ I I
\ I .
........ ........ .....
.;: \
..j
0
u u u
\ I' 6
0 0 o
a:: a:: a::
1\ II v \
0 0 o
a:: a:: a::
('.j
/ o
d
/
/'
('.j o CX)
d
xow 'z
*A
Convection Induced by
Interface-Tension-G radients:
Marangoni Effects
Experimental Studies of Thermal
Marangoni-Effects
D. Schwabe
I. Physikalisches Institut der Universitat,
Heinrich-Buff-Ring 16, D-6300 Giessen
Temperature gradients in free liquid surfaces generate surface tension gradients which
drive fluid flow. Such convective phenomena are gravity independent. Many geometrically
different situations can occur in reality considering the free surface shape and the
orientation of the temperature gradient with respect to the free surface. Idealized
situations are the one with temperature gradient perpendicular to the free surface giving
rise to the Benard-Marangoni instability and the one with temperature gradient parallel to
the free surface giving rise to thermocapillary flow. One further Marangoni effect
considered in this paper is the migration of a gas-bubble due to a temperature gradient in
a large tank filled with liquid.
The magnitude of Marangoni-effects scales with the Marangoni number

Ma = - aa/aT • AT • D • 7)-1 • x-I with temperature dependence of surface tension
aa/aT, temperature difference AT, dimension D, dynamic viscosity 7) and thermal
diffusivity x which has to be compared to buoyancy-effects scaling with the Rayleigh
number Ra f3 • g • AT • D3 • v-I. x-I with thermal expansion coefficient f3 = - ap/aT
=
p-1, earth acceleration g and kinematic viscosity v. Marangoni effects can be made
dominating over buoyancy-effects by either reducing the earth accelaration or by reducing
the dimension to give Ma > > Ra. This condition is fulfilled for most fluids in experiments
under normal earth gravity for D in the order of millimeters. But even in such small scale
experiments the effects of buoyant and surface tension forces are coupled and pure
Marangoni effects can often be observed only under microgravity. Some experiments of
the author stressing this point are described now.
In a sounding rocket experiment TEXUS 21 a circular liquid layer of 50 cSt silicone oil
with 75 mm diameter free surface and 5 mm depth was heated from below to exhibit the
Marangoni instability. To reduce the effect of the lateral sidewalls the circular liquid layer
was surrounded by a liquid sidewall (not convecting because covered with a thin plastic
foil) /1/. A convection cell pattern with 1-6-12 configuration (the centre cell surrounded by
6 cells which again are surrounded by 12 cells) established under microgravity. In the 1-g
reference experiments a considerably smaller critical wavelength (more convection cells in
the liquid layer with smaller size of convection cells) was observed. This is due to impUlsive
heating from below: under normal gravity the convective instability will be more buoyancy-
H J Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogravlty FlUid Mechamcs
© Spnnger-Verlag Berhn Heidelberg 1992
202
induced because the heat wave and the instability will penetrate the layer from below;
impulsive heating under microgravity will not have this effect because the only motor for
the instability is in the free surface. Impulsive heating under normal gravity intensifies the
role of buoyancy for the instability, giving rise to a smaller wavelength, although Ma > >
Ra in this experiment.
In a rectangular cuvette of 20 mm x 20 mm x 20 mm dimension with free upper surface

(ethanol with Prandtl number Pr = 17 as liquid) heated from one side and cooled from the
opposite side Ra and Ma are of the same order of magnitude in experiments under normal
gravity. Coupled thermocapillary-buoyant convection is expected. But at larger driving
forces (AT> 4K) a separation of thermocapillary and buoyant vortices takes place /2,3/.
This is due to the facts that
(a) the flow speed of thermocapillary convection is larger than that of buoyant convection
because thermocapillary convection has not to overcome the non-slip condition at a heated
wall and,
(b) thermocapillarity scales with dimension D whereas buoyancy scales as D3; once a
separation of thermocapillary and buoyant vortices has taken place both will occupy a
certain space in the liquid volume and hinder each other because the space is restricted.
The thermocapillary vortex gains importance for increasing driving forces over the buoyant
vortex because any increase (",D) of the former is at the much more dramatic expense (_
D 3) of the latter.
Thermocapillary forces dominate over buoyant forces in small floating zones (cylindrical
liquid bridges between solid cylindrical end plates held at different temperatures) with
radius r = 3 mm and length I < 6 mm. For Pr = 7 and A = I • r- 1 = 1 the steady
thermocapillary flow becomes oscillatory when exceeding a critical Marangoni number
MaC = 7 • 103 /4/. The author has conducted experiments under microgravity on this
transition from steady to oscillatory flow and found only small differences between
microgravity - and ground epxeriments in MaC and in the frequency f of the oscillations
/5/. In recent experiments under normal gravity floating zones have been studied
systematically under heating from above (with counteracting thermocapillary and buoyant
forces) and under heating from below (with thermocapillary and buoyant forces acting in
the same direction) /5,6/. Surprisingly MaC was smaller under heating from above with
counteracting forces (buoyancy giving rise to a stable stratification). The direction of
gravity was also very important for the spatio-temporal structure of the time-dependent
flow at higher Ma /6j. Moreover, especially in zones with Pr = 49, the transition to chaotic
203
states was never reached in heating from below whereas it was already reached for some A
when Ma/Mac > 2.
The discussed examples show the need for further experiments on Marangoni effects
under precisely controlled boundary conditions. Experiments on the pure Marangoni
effects under microgravity are essential for our detailed understanding.
Acknowledgements
The work of the author on Marangoni effects was supported by the Bundesminister fiir
Forschung und Technology (BMFT) under the management of DLR and DARA.
References
/1/ D. Schwabe, o. Dupont, P. Queeckers, J.C. Legros: Experiments on Marangoni-

Benard instability problems under normal and micro gravity conditions, Proceed. VII
th Europ.Sympos. on Materials and Fluid Sci. in Microgravity, Oxford, UK, 10-15
Sept. 1989,ESA SP - 295 (1990) 291 - 298
/2/ J. Metzger, D. Schwabe: Coupled buoyant and thermocapillary convection,
Physicochem.Hydrodyn. 10 (1988) 263 - 282
/3/ D. Schwabe, J. Metzger: Coupling and separation of buoyant and thermocapillary
convection,J. Crystal Growth 97 (1989) 23 - 33
/4/ F. Preisser, D. Schwabe, A. Scharmann: Steady and oscillatory thermocapillary
convection in liquid columns with free cylindrical surface, J. Fluid Mech. 126 (1983)
545 - 567
/5/ D. Schwabe, R. Velten, A. Scharmann: The instability of surface tension driven flow
in models for floating zones under normal and reduced gravity, J. Crystal Growth 99
(1990) 1258 - 1264
/6/ R. Velten, D. Schwabe, A. Scharmann: The periodic instability of thermocapillary
convection incylindricalliquid bridges, Phys. Fluids A J (1991) 267 - 279
Upper Layer Flow Phenomena in Two Immiscible
Liquid Layers Subject to a Horizontal Temperature
Gradient
H. AZUMA, S. YOSHIHARA, M. OHNISHI
T.DOI
National Aerospace Laboratory, Tokyo
National Space Development Agency of Japan, Tokyo
Summary
Flows in two liquid layers in a cavity subject to a horizontal temperature
gradient are observed on the ground by visuali:tation of the flow. Flow
veloci ty and temperature distributions are measured and compared to the
mathematical model. They show a good agreement. Some peculiar flow
phenomena which are dependent on Marangoni number are obtained. Benard-like
cells in a special combination of two layers are also obtained.
Introduction
Marangoni convection often dominates convective motion in microgravity
conditions. To control Marangoni convection, a second layer, which has a
free surface, can be put on the first layer as a liquid encapsulant. The
driving force is the surface tension gradient which is caused by either
temperature or concentration gradients on the surface and the interface.
The liquid motion of the first layer can be suppressed or enhanced by
choosing a liquid encapsulant with suitable physicochemical properties.
The analysis of the flows of two infinite immiscible layers done by

J.N.Koster and one of the authors(T.D.) clarified suppressive conditions of
the Marangoni convection in the lower layer[1]. The first condition is that
the width of the second layer should be infinitesimally thin( H2/H,--O ). The
second is that the ratio of viscosities of the upper layer to the lower one
should be infinite( JL 21 JL ,-+= ). The third is that the ratio of temperature
derivatives of the interfacial tension between both layers to the surface
tension of the second layer should be half ( d a ,/dT=l/2 d a ,/dT ). Subscripts
1,2 and i mean a first layer, a second layer and an interface.
There have been a few experiments conducted so far in a two immiscible

liquid system[2,3]. But the results have been inconclusive, because natural
convection is dominant to Marangoni convection on the ground, making a
separation between them difficult.
H 1. Rath (EdItor)
MlcrogravlIy FlUid Mechamcs
I UTAM Symposium Bremen 1991
206
The aim of this study is to demonstrate experimentally flow phenomena of

both layers which are dominantly caused by interfacial flows in a cavity.
During the experiment, more detailed observation was made about the second
upper layer's flow which showed more complex and interesting phenomena.
Some of the experimental results are compared in the paper to the
mathematical model and computer simulation to prove their validity.
Fundamental Description
a) Definition of Marangoni number
Marangoni numbers are defined here as followings.
Ma = I da ,/dT I ~T/L HI' Ma,-! d a ddT I ~ TIL H,'

1 fl I I'C 1 • tL,/C,
where ~T is a temperature difference between both walls apart from each

other by L, and /C is thermal diffusivity.
b) Marangoni and Rayleigh flows on the ground

When the experiment is conducted on the ground, natural convection could
not be avoided. The non-dimensional flow velocity U(the velocity scale
/C I H ) in a planar horizontal layer with free upper surface is given by
some modification of [4] as follows.
U= -Ra(~ y'- ~ y'+ ~ y) + Ma(~ y'- ~2 y) . Ra= a g ~ TIL H4

6 16 8 4 /C Jj
where y is vertical coordinate (y=O is bottom and y=1 is free upper

surface), a is thermal expansion coefficient, g is gravity and Jj is
kinematic viscosity.
This equation indicates that near a free surface (y=l) the intensities of
the two flows are comparable when the Rayleigh number is ten times the
Marangoni number. The Marangoni flow is dominant when these two numbers are
on the same order. Since these two numbers depend on the thickness of the
layer, the Marangoni flow becomes dominant as the thickness decreases.
Experimental Results and Discussions

Our experimental apparatus was a cavi ty of 2cm by 10cm which was
sandwiched between a heater and a cooler. Fluid flow inside the cavity was
observed by the aluminum tracer's movement in the slit of laser. The range
of Marangoni number Ma 2 of the upper layer's flow was varied from 7 to
1260. The physical properties of the liquids are shown in Table 1.
207
Table 1. Physical properties of liquids

Silicone Oil(KF96) Fluorinert Mercury
2sct 10cst 50cst FC-70 FC-75
----- -- - ----------
p ( g/cm") O. 872 O. 935 O. 96 1. 936 l. 763 13. 56
fl (g/cm sec) 0.0174 0.0935 O. 48 O. 387 0.0152 0.0150
lJ (em' /scc) O. 02 O. 1 O. 5 O. 2 0.0086 0.00111
/( (cm'/scc) 0.00085 0.00094 0.00105 0.00034 0.00033 0.0480
i'r 23. 5 106 474 583 25. 4 0.0231
11 (T I) 0.00105 0.00108 0.00106 0.000997 0.0014 0.000182
a) Typical flow
a-I The case of one layer(Silicone oil KF96. 5mm depth). Ra/Ma=5
An experimental velocity profile is shown in Fig.]. compared to
numer i ca II y pred i cted prof'i les. The result indicates a fairly good
agreement between both velocity profiles.
t>T/L = S·C lem 0.5
Ra = 3475
Ma =1030
THERMAL + MARANGONI
CONVECTIONS
MARANGONI CONVECTION ONLY
- 0.1 0.1
U (em/s)
Fig.l. Experimental velocity profile compared to numerical ones
a-2 The case of the two layers

(Fluorinate FC70(20cst). Silicone oil KF96(lOcst). 5mm/5mm).
Ral/Ma1=]O(FC70). Ra 2/Ma 2=5(KF96). ~T/L=5°C/cm. Ma 2 =835
Fig.2-a shows a typical combined flow in a cavity due to Marangoni and
Rayleigh convections. A clear intermediate flow region is formed in the
lower side of the upper layer. The computer simulated flow is shown in
Fig.2-b. which is in good agreement with the experimental result. Measured
flow velocity profile from Fig.2-a is shown in Fig.2-c.
H c
Fig.2-a. Flow in a vertical cross section. KF96/FC70. 5mm/5mm. ~T/L=5°C/cm

208
d (] ./dT=-O. 07
(dyn/cmOC)
H C
d (] ,/dT=-O. 03
(dyn/cmOC)
Fig.2-b. Computer simulated flow KF96/FC70.~T/L=5°C/cm
f1T/L = 5°C/em h( em)

1
KF96(10est) I FC70
- 0.1 o U(em/s) 0.1

Fig.2-c. Flow velocity profile measured from Fig.2-a
The vertical and horizontal temperature distributions are shown in Fig.2-d.
We see temperature boundary layers near both walls. which is a feature of a
high Prandtl number liquid flow. Two small vortexes at both sides of the
interface are thought to be caused by the steep temperature gradient. The
bent of vertical temperature distribution indicates the existence of an
intermediate flow and the interface's movement to the cold side.
t.T I L == 5'C I em
0.75 30 KF 96(lOcst) I Fe 70
28 NEAR FREE SURFACE
P 26
0.5 ~
24
22
o 25 26 27 28 TeC)
200
1 L(cm)
2
Fig.2-d. Measured vertical and horizontal temperature distributions

209
a-3 The case of the two layers (FC70(20cst), KF96, 2.5mm/2.5mm),

Ra 1/Ma 1 =2(FC70), Ra 2/Ma 2 =1(KF96)
Since the ratios of Ra to Ma are very small, Marangoni convection is
dominant in the following cases.
1) 10cst(KF96), ~T/L=5°C/cm, Ma 2=210

Fig.3 shows a typical flow which has a thin intermediate flow region in
the upper layer. Generally at a lower temperature gradient(l°C/cm), a
vortex is formed on the cold side in the upper layer. Intermediate
vortexes are not clearly formed at both sides. As the temperature gradient
increases, however, a thin, but clear, intermediate flow region appears.
H c
Fig.3. Flow in a vertical cross section (KF96(10cst)/FC70),~T/L=5°C/cm
2) 2cst(KF96), ~T/L=5°C/cm, Ma 2=1260

As shown in Fig. 4, the features of this flow are four cat' s eyes in the
upper layer and two big vortexes in the lower layer. At low temperature
gradient(l°C/cm), a small vortex is formed near the hot side in the lower
layer and the flow in the upper layer seems unstable. When the horizontal
temperature gradi ent increases, the cat' s eyes and the two vortexes are
gradually formed. At the same time, an intermediate flow region appears. By
viewing the cavity from the top, the vortexes are three-dimensional.
H c
Fig.4. Flow in a vertical cross section (KF96/FC70),~T/L=5°C/cm
3) 50cst(KF96), °C/cm, Ma 2 =7
~T/L=l
In the upper layer, as shown in Fig. 5, three vortexes are formed. At a

smaller temperature gradient(l°C/cm) also, two big vortexes and a small one
are seen. At higher temperature gradient(5°C/cm) , however, a usual typical
flow is realized.
210
H c
Fig.5. Flow in a vertical cross section KF96/FC70,~T/L= 1°C/ern
b) The case of the existence of evaporation from the surface

(Silicone Oil(KF96)/ Fluorinert(FC75))
The combination of KF96 and FC75 is different from above mentioned other
combinations. A little amount of FC75 melts into KF96 and evaporates from
the surface of KF96. When the depth of KF96 is 3.5mm, 0.51 mg/ cm 2min
evaporation of FC75 was measured with a balance. 0.02 cal / cm 2min is lost
from the surface of KF96. The latent heat of vaporization at 25°C is about
40 cal/g. When the two new liquid layers are used, no flow is observed.
When a liquid surface is disturbed by touching it (such as a touch by a
thermocouple), Benard-like cells occur and are maintain ed without a
horizontal temperature gradi ent. The threshold width of the upper layer
under which the unstable flow occurs is about 3.2 mm. Measured vertical
temperature distribution along the center of source is shown in Fig.6. The
vertical Marangoni number Ma v can be defined as Mav = a T /3 d 2/ J1 K following
D.A.Nield (5). In this case, Ma v in the upper layer is calculated to be
about 20, which is thought to be too small to cause Benard cell flow. This
flow is thought to be due to the variation of surface tension with
temperature and concentration.
~ 0.75 KF 96(10cst) I Fe 75 ~ 0.75 KF 96(10cst) I Fe 75
5 5
:<: 0.5 :<: 0.5
o o 24 25 26 Tce)
Fig.6. Vertical temperature Fig.7-c. Vertical temperature
distribution along the center distribution along the center of
of source,~T/L=O°C/cm source,~T/L=2.5 ° C/cm
When we apply a small horizontal temperature gradi ent, th e Benard-like

cells seem to be strengthened . A vertical cross sectional flow and a top
view of the flow are shown in Fig. 7-a and Fig. 7-b. Th e liquid on the
interface moves from the hot wall toward the center. Th e bottom of the
upper layer becomes hotter than the top of the layer as shown in Fig.7-c.
211
This enhances the Benard-like convection. It should be noted that these

Benard-like cells are not observed in a single FC75 liquid layer
with/without a horizontal temperature gradient.
Fig.7-a. Flow in a vertical cross section, H1 =5mm, H2=2.5mm,~T/L=2°C/cm
c
Fig.7-b. Top view of Benard-like flow, H1=5mm, H2=2.5mm,~T/L=2°C/cm
c) Mercury / Silicone oil(lOcst), ~T/L =5°C/cm, Ma 2 =210

As shown in Fig.B, the upper layer flow shows clear separate vortexes near
both sides, of which the cold side is stronger and appears at first at a
weak temperature gradient(~T/cm=lOC). (Ferrite 52/7 is used as tracer to
avoid making amalgam.) A different point from high Prandtl number lower
layer is that no vortex is observed at both sides of the interface. This is
due to a nearly equal temperature gradient on Mercury surface. An
intermediate flow region is observed on the flat surface of Mercury without
vortexes of both sides.
H c
Fig.B. Flow in a cross section, Mercury/Silicone oil,~T/L=5°C/cm
Measurement of interfacial tension

Measurement of the interfacial tension between two liquids are conducted.
The liquids are kept in a homoiothermal basin and the temperature of the
liquids are controlled by temperature regulated water. Variation of
interfacial tens i on by the temperature is measured with a balance whose
last digit is milligram. The measured interfacial tension shows a negative
212
dependency on temperature (Fig.9). which supports the observed result that

the liquid on the interface moves from the hot wall toward the cold wall in
the present experiment.
8'u 6
KF96(10est) I FC70
dO" /dT=-O. 033(dyn/cm·C)
,.,
c
~
o 4
KF96(10est) I FC75
dO" /dT=-O . 04 (dyn/e.·C)
2
o 10 20 30 40 50
Fig . 9. Measured change of interfacial tension with temperature
Conclusions
1. Flows in two liquid layers are successfully observed where Marangoni
convection is dominant.
2. Typical flow patterns which are dependent on the Marangoni number are
observed.
3. Analytical and numerical solutions are in good agreement with the
experimental results.
4. Benard-like cell in two liquid layers is observed .
References
1. Doi. T and Koster. J. N.. "Marangoni Convection in Two Immiscible Layers
subject to a Horizontal Temperature Gradient". 7th International PCH
Conference. MIT. June 1989
2. Villers.D and Platten.J.K . • "Thermal convection in superposed immiscible

liquid layers". Applied Scientific Research 45. 145-152. 1988
3. Prakash.A .• Peltier.L.J .. Fujita.D .• Koster.J.N . and Biringen.S.. AIAA

91-0313. 1991
4. Birikh.R.V .• Thermocapillary Convection in a Horizontal Layers of Liquid"

.J.Applied Mechanics and Technical Physics. January 1966. pp.43-44
5. Nield.D.A .• "Surface Tension and Buoyancy Effects in Cellular

Convection". J.F.M .. 19. pp341. 1964
Surface Waves in a Free Liquid-Gas Interface
by Oscillatory Marangoni Convection
D.Schwabe, U.Moeller, J.Schneider and A.Scharmann

LPhys.Inst.Univ.Giessen, H.-Buff-Ring 16,D-6300 Giessen
In our experiments thermo capillary convection is driven by a temperature gradient applied

parallel to the free liquid-gas interface of a thin horizontal liquid layer (depth d= O.6mm
to 3mm, Prandtlnumber Pr = 16) in an annular gap with inner radius r= 20mm and outer
radius R= 72.5mm. The liquid layer is entirely flat and is heated from the inner side and
cooled from the outer side and the bottom. The thermocapillary forces are dominating in
this experiment the buoyant forces because of small d, and the surface-tension-gradient-
driven flow becomes time-dependent (oscillatory) when exceeding a certain temperature-
difference b.T (Marangoni-number Ma= - ~~ d~~:) between heated and cooled sidewalls.
The flow- and temperature oscillations of the time-dependent flow state are coupled to
small wavy motions of the liquid-gas interface thus constituting a formidable coupled
hydrodynamic-capillary free boundary problem. The observed unstable flow state can
be described by wavelike disturbances of the temperature- and flow field in the form of
travelling waves with azimutal and radial components superimposed on the basic steady
2D-temperature- and flow field. We have analyzed the spatio-temporal structure of oscil-
latory flow by Fourier analysis and correlation analysis of temperature signals from three
different places in the fluid. Moreover we have visualized the dynamic oscillatory state
by a shadowgraph-method and by interferometry of light reflected from the liquid-gas
interface. By these methods we could measure the wavelengthes and periods and could
estimate the surface amplitudes and the direction of propagation of the travelling waves.
We report these data and the critical Marangoni-number for various liquid depth d and
present a 16mm motion picture film showing the dynamic surface deformations.
Two different types of thermocapillary instabilities with different wavelength and phase-
H.1. Rath (Editor)

Microgravlty Fluid Mechantcs
214
Figure 1: Shadowgraph-picture: (a) short wave instability (d =1.4mm, t:J.T = 28K); (b)
long wave instability (d =2.2mm, t:J.T =32K)
speeds exist in the investigated d-range. The fig.1 shows shadowgraph pictures of the
two instabilities detected. The pattern of small stripes is produced by interference of the
reflected light from the two sides of a transparent lid that covers the fluid and protects it
from dust and impurities of the surroundings. The small wavy deformations of the black
circular area in the middle are caused by the inclination of the light reflected from the
liquid-surface deformation near the heated inner side-wall which is covered black at its
top.
The first photograph shows a so-called short wave instability which shows 13 wave-
trains travelling in azimutal direction. This kind of instability depends only on d, not
t:J.T. The frequency-dependencies are shown in fig.2.
1.2
)(
0 .8 x x 0 .8 )(
x
\)
" \)
x
0 .6 )(
0 .4 0 .4-
0 .2
0 0
25 30 35 40 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
f\.T/K d/mm
Figure 2: Short wave instability: Frequency v versus (a) t:J.T; (b) d

215
2.4 2
x 1.5
x x
1.6 x
\)
x \) x
x
x 1 x
x x
0.8 x
0.5
0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3
6T/K d/mm
Figure 3: Long wave instability: Frequency II versus (a) t:,.T; (b) d
The short wave instability shows a surface-amplitude that is about IJlm. The amplitude
of the temperature-oscillations is about 0.3K. The second kind of instability we detected
is the so-called long wave instability (see fig.l(b)), that shows wavelengthes of 6mm to
60mm, which means twenty to two wavetrains over the circumference at the heated inner
side-wall of the annulur gap. The surface-amplitude near the hot wall is up to 10Jlm and
the temperature-amplitudes are about 0.5K. The wavelength and frequency both depend
on t:,.T and d. We show the frequency versus t:,.T and d for the long wave instability in
fig.3. For higher Ma-numbers these instabilities exhibit both an azimutal and a radial
component of propagation, looking like a spiral. We measured the angle of propagation
near the heated inner gap relative to the radial direction. The measured angle is about
40 0 to 50 0 for all t:,.T and d. The form of the wave can be understood in terms of an
azimutally travelling point-source near the hot side, periodically deforming the surface
and thereby inducing a wave that is radially travelling outwards.
The critical Marangoni-numbers for the onset of the two instabilities versus dare
shown in figA. The short waves exist therefore in pure form for d smaller than 1.3mm,
whereas the long wave instability is the more dangerous mode for d greater than 1.5mm.
216
60000 I
+ +
50000 + x
x
40000 + x
Ma x
x x
x
30000 l-
xx x + x x
x +
20000 + -
+++
10000 I- -
0 _1 1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
d/mm
Figure 4: The critical Marangoni-numbers Ma versus d: (+) short wave instability; (x)
long wave instability
Thermocapillary Convection in a Magnetic Field
*I.V.Barmin, A.S.Senchenkov,**Yu.M.Gelfgat, M.l.Sorkin
*Glavkosmos USSR, Technical Center "Splav",
109497, 9, Baikalskaya str., Moscow, USSR
**Institute of Physics Latvian Academy of Sciences
229021, Salaspils-1, Riga, Latvia, USSR
1. Introduction
The floating zone method has been widely used for high puri-
ty single crystal crystal manufacturing. But its application on
Earth is limited due to the destabilizing action of gravity. Since
hydrodynamic processes are more stable in a microgravity environ-
ment, one can obtain large diameter single crystals by container-
less zone melting (the ClM method) during experiments in Space.
Such experiments were already planned in early 70s.
It should be taken into account that in this situation the
temperature and concentration gradients on the free surface of
the melt induce a capillary convection which can be intense. The
convective flows in the melt may affect essentially the proper-
ties and structure of a growing crystal. For instance, convec-
tion in the melt may lead to a striation in the doping impurity
distribution, morphological instability, structural defects and
so on.
Indeed, a striation pattern and non-uniform distribution
of impurity have been observed along the crystal diameter in
practically all crystals obtained by the ClM method under micro-
gravity. Therefore, in order to obtain crystals with the regui-
red properties the melt flow parameters should be specifically
adjusted.
Practically, thermocapillary convection can be fully sup-
pressed by coating an ingot with an oxide film. This technigue
has been demonstrated by professor Nitsche [1J. It should be kept
in mind, however, that the convection does not always have a nega-
tive effect. For expample, a convective mixing can reduce a longi-
tudinal and radial macrononuniformity in the doping impurity dis-
tribution, especially at low growth rates.
One of the methods used to control convection intensity is
the application of a steady magnetic field. This method is used
H. J Rath (EdItor)
Mlcrogravlty FlUid Mechamcs
© Sprmger-Verlag Berlin HeIdelberg 1992
218
successfully in ground-based technology for manufacturing some

types of highly perfect semiconductors. Semiconductor growth ex-
periments in a magnetic field in Space were first carried out on
board the automatic satellite Cosmos- 1841 in 1987.
The purpose of this report is to present the main results
of a theoretical study of the effect of an axisymmetric steady
magnetic field on the thermocapillary convection parameters, and
impurity distribution within a floating zone during crystal
growth by the CZM method. In order to exclude the effect of other
factors on the fluid flow paramet let us consider a case of a
full weightlessness in which capillary convection induced by the
concentration effect is also neglected.
2. Problem formulation.
Let us consider a melt zone in the form of a cylinder of
length L and radius R with flat regions. Heat input to the la-
teral surface of the zone is provided by radiation from a heater
at a specified temperature. The melt is subjected to the effect
of a steady, uniform, externally imposed magnetic field of induc-
tion B and directed along the zone axis. The molten zone moves
along the ingot with constant speed V. The following assumptions
are made: the fluid is Newtonian, the melt properties, except for
the surface tension, are constant, the melt flow within the zone
is considered to be axisymmetric, laminar and quasy-steady throug-
hout, the zone motion rate is low, so its influence on the flow
field may beneglected. as well as the crystallization heat mag-
nitude; the viscous dissipation and Joule heating are small; the
crystal is non-conducting; the melt surface is not deformed.
The surface tension 0' is a linear function of the temperature T~
where a suffix m refers to the melting temperature and o;:~ fJO/ar.

Let us introduce a cylindrical coordinate system with z -
axis, which coincides with the melt zone axis and the origin on
a crystallization plane (Fig.1). It can be shown that the mag-
net i c Re y n0 Ids n umbe r for t y pic a I mel t sis: Rm = f erv0 L « 1, whe-
re f is the magnetic permeability, (J" the melt electrical con-
ductivity, Vo the reference flow rate, and L the reference length.
Thus a noninductive approximation mode may be used for solving
the given problem.
219
- --- -----
HEATER
SOLI 0
r
-
MELT
SOLI 0
(
)
-
B e:::
0 Z N
1 (
Fig.1. Schematic diagram of the problem
In this case a system of equations of non-dimentional variables,

vorticity w , stream function 'V '
temperature T and impurity
concentration Care
z~( ffr ~: - tt ~~)-i (Z3 ~~)-

- a8z ( Z3dW\
ai! ) = Ha
!l,
t
IT
g z. !l, (3)
fl"fi J1/r JT _.i;}vr dT);; J. ~ (~ dT) + a T

~
~z a~ di! 2, dl d'l. Z J~ 8>z- Ji!~ (4)
SC (J.~ J1Jr de _ .i
J'Z. aZ. ~
a1/r de) =-1.2.
dZ. a~ z J~
de) + J c
(z a~ 2
JZR.
(5)
In these equations quantities have been made dimensionless

with respect to the length R, velocity vIR where ~ is the kine-
matic viscosity, the temperature difference Td along the zone
length and co' the impurity concentration in a source ingot.
The Hartmann number is defined by the expression:
where is the melt density.

220
The boundary conditions for equations (2) to (5) are:

on the free surface of the melt (r = 1)
along the axis (r = 0)
= de =0
~
at the crystallization front (z = 0)
~c
dZ + PeU-k)C =
0
at the melting front (Z L)
Here, Mn, Mn d are the thermal and concentration Marangoni num-

bers, respectivelY, Sk the Stark number, Pe the Peclet num-
ber calculated by a crystallization rate, k the segregation co-
efficient
u _ 1';' AT R.
,',n - .f ~ a. '
where a is the thermal diffusivity, ~ the Stefan-Boltzmann
constant, and ~ the thermal conductivity.
The system of equations (2) to (5) has been solved by an ite-
rative method [2J. During derivative approximation a non-symmet-
ric scheme directed against the flow was used. The non-dimensional
parameters varied in the following ranges: Mn ~ 656, Ha ~ 22,
Mn d = O. In all calculations the length of the melt zone was as-
sumed to be equal to that of the diameter. The parameter variation
ranges were chosen according to the conditions of the Ge doped
crystal growth experiments performed aboard the satellite Cosmos-
1841.It should be pointed out that for Mn > 300 the solution is
unstable. This result agrees with the Kobayashi's data [3J, who
suggested that calculation instability corresponds to physical
fluid flow instability. Dr B.Roux came to the same conclusion when
analysing the problem of buoyancy driven flow [4J.
221
3. Results and discussions

In the parameter range discussed two toroidal vortices are
formed in the melt zone. The imposed magnetic field retaines the
bivortex flow pattern, but reduces flow intensity. The vortex
centers are displaced to a crystal-melt interface when the Hart-
mann number is increased (Fig.2).
0.8
0.7
0.6 0 10 20
Ha
Fig.2. Displacement of the vortex center, Zc' along Z axis as

a function of the Hartmann number.
The fluid motion in each vortex may be presented as a central co-

re and boundary layers near the free surface and crystal-melt in-
terface. The vorticity in the flow core depends on the axial co-
ordinate z in the absence of a magnetic field, and the stream
function written as:
As a result of a magnetic field imposing this relationship

disappears. As seen from equation (3) at high values of the Hart-
mann number in the flow core d1yr/az"~0, i.e. Y:!f1(r)z . Our
numerical calculations show that this form is realised approxima-
telyat Ha ~ 20 (Fig.3).
The change of flow velosity depends on heat and mass trans-
fer in the melt. Let us consider the magnetic field effect on the
222
radial distribution of doping impurity in a growing crystal.
4 r • 0.81
(V) ~ 0.59
I
o • 0.66
3
o
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
z z
Fig.3. The influence of the magnetic field on the vorticity.
Figure 4 shows that a magnetic field allows the growth of crystals

with a more uniform impurity distribution. In this case minimum
non-uniformity is reached at Ha = 7.4. Further increase of the
Hartmann number leads to an increase of radial non-uniformity con-
nected with the flow rate decrease near the crystallization front
and the "stagnation region" formation near the melt zone axis.
Calculations made for other values of the Marangoni number show
that impurity distribution crystal differs from that shown in
Fig.4, but the presence of an optimal magnetic field is confirmed.
The reduction of convection velocity should in general lead
to the decrease of the melt zone length. The model described here
does not consider this effect. One may, however, evaluate the ef-
fect of a magnetic field on heat transfer from the melt to the
growing crystal. The variation of heat flux with radius is shown
in Fig.5. It can be seen that the uniformity of heat flux distri-
bution is improved when the Hartmann number increases, hence, one
can expect that the crystallization front will be more flat with
a magnetic field.
For practical purposes the possibi I i ty of the evaluation of
the magnetic field effect on crystal growth process from the point
223
of view of criterion relationship is of interest.
1.0 1.0
0.8 0.8
r
r
0.6
0.4
0.6
0.4
I
0.2 0.2
0
0.95 1. 00 1. 05 1. 10 1. 15 0 2 4 6
q
c
Fig.4. Effect of the Hartmann number on the dopant distribution

at the interface.
Fig.5. The influence of the magnetic field on the heat flux tran-
sfered from the melt to the growing crystal.
Let us estimate the influence of the magnetic field on the refe-

rence flow velocity in a melting lone. The surface tension gra-
dients are the moving forces resulting in a thermocapillary con-
vection. In the absence of magnetic field the reference flow ve-
locity, V*, in Marangoni boundary layer and the boundary layer
thickness value, 0 , are [5J:
1.~ (§)-~
L P"&
In the presence of magnetic field the magnetic forces Fm and vis-
cous forces Fv have the order of magnitude
!l. ;f
F. ~ 0 B Va
m f
From the boundary condition at the free surface we have:
VB ':! ~ AT
!fa fV L
224
Equating the magnetic forces to the viscous forces we obtain
Mn
P?' Ho..
Then
(6)
It is clear that this estimation based on the relationship of the

acting forces gives only an order of magnitude. Its comparison
with the numerical calculation results is shown in Fig.6.
1.0
./lo
t:. M- Mn
- Pr-
o
~ + 0
,0.5
+ 0
~ 0 M ~ 38
~
.~ + = 380
t::.. : 38000
a 2 4 6
.1
Ha/M 3
Fig.6. Comparison of the numerical and the order of magnitude eva-

luation results.
formula (6); A, 0 + numerical results.
The agreement of one order of magnitude has been found to be good,

and expression (6) can be used in the first approximation for eva-
luation of the longitudinal magnetic field effect on the thermo-
capillary convection. But one can see also that this estimation
can probably be improved. A condition for an appreciable magnetic
field influence on the convection can be found from equation (6)
namely:
Ho.. ~ (Mn / pz ) ~
If we consider the conditions at which the doped Ge growth
225
experiments were conducted on board the satellite Cosmos-1841,

we get: Mn ~ 230, Pr = 5.95 -1 0- 3 and then we must have Ha>34.
This value corresponds to the magnetic induction B > 0.07 T. The
actual value of the magnetic induction of the Zona facility was
equal to 0.03 T, which was determined by a free volume for plac-
ing the magnetic system under these conditions, a considerable
magnetic field influence on macrononuniformity of the impurity
distribution has been observed. Moreover, there was a tendency to
the decrease of micrononuniformity. In this case a crystal grown
in the absence of a magnetic field at micrononuniformity in a seed
Os 4.4%, we get Dc = 1.9 to 3.5% for the regrown crystal
while for a crystal grown in the magnetic field 0.03 T we have
0'11 = 5.4% in the seed and tc
= 1.1 to 2.1% [6] in the cry-
stal, respectively. In this connection it would be of interest to
conduct experiments at higher field strength. At present the mag-
netic system of one of the heaters of the Zona facility has been
modified, and a value of the magnetic induction of 0.11 T has been
obtained.
References
1. Croell A., Mueller W., Nitsche R. : Floating-zone Growth of Surface-coa-
ted Silicon under Microgravity. J.of Crystal Growth 79, n.l/3 (1986)
65 - 70.
2. Barmin I.V., Gelfgat Yu.M., Senchenkov A.S., Smirnova I.G. : The influen-
ce of the magnetic field on semiconductor materials crystallization by
floating zone method (Russ.). Magnitnaja gidrodinamika 4 (1988) 110 - 114.
3. Kobayashi N. : Computer simulation of the steady flow in a cylindrical flo-
ating zone under low gravity. J.of Crystal Growth 66, n.l (1984) 63 - 72.
4. Ben Hadid H., Roux B. : Oscillatory buoyancy-driven flow in horizontal li-
quid-metal layers. Proc. 6th European Symposium on Material Sciences under
microgravity conditions, Bordeaux, Erance, 1986 (ESA SP-256).
5. Napolitano L.G. : Marangoni boundary layer. Proc. 3rd European Symposium
on Material Sciences in Space, Grenoble, France, 1979 (ESA SP-142).
6. Barmin I.V., Verezub N.A. et al : On some factors influence on semiconduc~
tor materials properties produced by floating zone method under microgra-
vity conditions (Russ.). Gidromekhanika i teplomassoobmen v nevesomosti,
Novosibirsk, 1988.
Experimental Investigation of the Management
of Large-Sized Drops and the Onset
of Marangoni-Convection
M. TREUNER, A. DELGADO, H.J. RATH
ZARM, University of Bremen, 2800 Bremen 33
U. DUDA, J.A. SZYMCZYK, J. SIEKMANN

Institute of Mechanics, University of Essen, 4300 Essen 1
Abstract
This paper presents results concerning thermal Marangoni-
convection in large-sized drops. The Experiments have been
carried out during KC-135 parabolic flights. Generation and
management of drops with diameters up to 15 rom are described.
Flow and temperature distribution inside the drops were visua-
lized by using liquid crystals. Marangoni-convection was ob-
served under defined thermal boundary conditions. The evident
flow agrees well in its basic features with theoretical
calculations available.
1. INTRODUCTION
The investigation of the thermal influence on Marangoni con-
vection offers opportunities to reduce this disturbing effect
for material processing and manufacturing in a microgravity
environment. The fact that the undisturbed natural shape of a
free fluid volume is a spherical drop, requires experimental
investigations to be carried out on spherical configurations.
In the steady state case the dynamical flow behaviour is char-
acterized by the following dimensionless numbers:
Reynolds Re = U·R with (1)

V
Marangoni Mg= U·R = Re.Pr (2)
a
Prandtl Pr = L
a
(3 )
Here U is a characteristic flow velocity, R the radius of the

drop, AT is the maximum temperature difference applied, V the
kinematic vicosity, ~ the dynamic viscosity, a the thermal
.
diffusivity and the temperature dependence of the surface ten-
sion is denoted by ~r
In the literature, steady flow cases have so far only been
treated numerically. Furthermore the temperature distribution
on the surface has been assumed to be known when defining the
boundary conditions.
H J Rath (EdItor)
\11crogra\,lt~ Fluid MechaniCS
IUTAM S}mposlum Bremen 1991
s Springer-Verlag Berlin HeIdelberg 1992
228
Assuming an undeformed spherical surface, analytical solutions

are available for vanishing Reynolds numbers in [5]. Petri et
al. [1,2] found an analytical solution for the thermal bound-
ary condition T=0,5,cos9 valid for arbitrary Reynolds num-
bers. Numerical solutions for different boundary conditions in
the range of 0<Re<5000, 0<Mg<1000 are discussed in [1,2,3,6].
Further solutions which take into account the temperature de-
pendence of the physical data and the surface deformation are
given in [3,4].
All the investigations on Marangoni-convection in spherical
systems reported in literature have so far been theoretical;
no experimental data are available.
In the following sections the experimental realization of Ma-
rangoni flow in drops and the evaluation method are described.
2. EXPERIMENTAL CONSIDERATION
2.1 Experimental environment
The experiments presented here have been carried out aboard a
KC-135 aircraft. To enable an adequate flow visualization,
drops with diameters of 15 rom were generated. The residual
acceleration during the ~g-periods is in the order of 10- 2 g o
(go: gravity of earth). In order to ensure that the generated
drop remains in the test section, a mechanical positioning
system has been constructed which consists of two wettable
hollow stemples, compare figure 1.
In contrast to the theoretical assumption of a free drop, this
wetting contact leads to disturbances; these have been kept as
low as possible by using stemples with small diameter. An ad-
vantage in this respect is the fact, that the smallest flow
velocities occur at the poles of the drop. The ratio of the
drop diameter to the stemple diameter is about 3.
The wetting area (2) ends with a sharp edge and has a nonwett-
able coating on the reverse side. This prevents a drift of the
drop for most ~g-disturbances.
The thermal boundary conditions were realized by heating the

positioning stemples. Therefore a heating coil (8) is imple-
mented at the upper stemple and an peltier-element system (6)
at the other. By cooling the lower stemple below the ambient
229
temperature, a temperature gradient is established over the

surface of the drop.
Injection through the drillholes of the positioning stemples
creates the drops. For big sized drops, two additional in-
jectors are applied traversable to reduce the injection ve-
locities. Figure 2 illustrates the injection process. After
the drop was released by the additional injectors, the drop
remains between the positioning stemples as demonstrated in
Figure 3.
Fluid InJ"t1on
mIl:lll!H-----5
'G!II~--- 9 HN' In$u/ollon
a HMlling coif
(cOtrStan'an 5 WJ
3
2
, rest Ilu l tl
i3F~- 5 Stwnple holder
"""Il'<t-_ 6 &,,,://rz :r:~::,!S 5.'WJ

~:~~
Fig.1. Experimental Fig.2. Drop generating

environment Process
Fig.3. positioned drop of 80% glycerin/

water-mixture and a diameter of 15 rom.
230
2.2 Optical diagnostic system

The flow visualization is achieved by the use of transparent
test fluids with liquid crystals as tracer-particles. For il-
lumination a light-sheet supplied by a Xenon-arc-lamp (300W)
with uniform visual spectral distribution was used. By em-
ploying a white light source it was possible to excite the
temperature dependent colourplay of the liquid crystals. This
method renders the simultaneous determination of the tempera-
ture and velocity fields [9].
The observation is performed along a common axis with CCD- and
photo camera at the same time.
2.3 Discussion of results

Generating 15 mm drops with up to four injectors works very
reliably in a ~g-environment of 10- 2 g. The minimum processing
time required is between one and three seconds.
The mechanical positioning system works satisfactorily for pa-
rabolic flights. During 162 parabolas 75% of the spherical li-
quid drops remained stable.
Figure 4 shows the drop on which the analytical observation
and the method of evaluation is demonstrated. In this figure a
slightly oval-shaped 15 mm drop of 80% glycerin/water-mixture
is shown. with an applied temperature-difference of 40K, a
characteristic fluid motion is observable in spite of the
vibrating deflections caused by ~g-disturbances.
The multiple exposure technique (3-times exposure of O,25s
with O,25s interruption time) indicates the flow paths of the
tracer particles. They are measured on an amplified print and
represented graphically in figure 5. The flow direction is
determined from an analysis of the video recordings.
The different coloured tracer particles allow to recognize
isothermal lines in the region above the lower stemple, see
figure 5.
Image scale and optical distortion of the illuminated cross-
section are determined experimentally with a thin-walled
hollow sphere filled with the test fluid. Figure 6 shows the
correction curve of the visible radius for a drop diameter of
14,9 mm. As can be seen in figure 6, the curve is distorted
abruptly at a real scale radius of about 5 mm. For a larger
231
radius no observation is possible due to optical refraction.

This point determines the maximum detecting area.
Assuming a completely spherical drop the measured tracer co-
ordinates have been recalculated on a real linear scale. The
resulting flow field is represented in figure 7. In the same
way the isothermal boundary lines are transformed (figure 9).
With the physical data presented in table 1 the dimensionless
numbers are Re=62, Pr=170 and Mg=10531.
ambient
temperature
7;,=26,1. ·c
15mm
T> 30'C
T<26,5 ·C
7k =17'C
Fig.4. Observed fluid motion Fig.5. Evaluated tracer
in multiple exposure technique particles
L.
(reference temperatur)
/ 1)( Test data
L d- 14,9 DUD
,I tB 35°C
/ 9 1200 kg/m 3
/
J.l. 21. 5 ' 10- 3 kg/ms
V
I ~= -0.08 . 10- 3 N/mK
L:.T 40 K
V 18.10- 6 m2 /s
o V a = 0.106.10- 6 m2 /s
o Z 3
Real scale radius fmmJ o 63.2'10- 3 N/m
Fig.6. Experimental determined Tab.1. Physical data of

correction curve the test liquids
232
Because of the short experimental time available, and the pre-

sence of ~g-disturbances during the parabolic flight, a full
steady-state flow cannot be assumed in the observed case.
However there is a significant flow in evidence which agrees
qualitatively well in its basic features with the theoretical
calculations available.
Petri [19] determined the flow field for the temperature
boundary condition T=cos69, (0<9<TI/6) and T=-l, (rr/6<9<rr). The
streamlines of this solution and the measured flow field are
presented in figure 7. The corresponding vector field is shown
in figure 8.
As a result of the limited area of observation which is pos-
sible, only the backflow of the convection in the middle re-
gion of the drop is observable.
The measured flow field at Re=62 relates to the theoretical
solution (Re=100) qualitatively well. with reference to the
theoretical case the observed velocities are reduced.
For the discussion of the isothermals in figure 9 (represented
by dashed lines) a numerically determined temperature field of
a similar boundary condition is depicted in figure 10. Due to
the resolution of the liquid crystals the isothermals in the
measured case are visible only in the lower portion of the
the drop. According to the theory in [3] they are curved into
flow direction.
As the related fluid movement can lead to significant dis-

turbances in a wide range of microgravity processes such as
material processing and biotechnology, future investigations
planned will be concerned with the reduction of the thermal
Marangoni-convection by using a transient heat source.
We acknowledge gratefully the financial support by the

Minister of Research and Technologie (BMFT) of the Federal
Republic of Germany.
The authors appreciate very much the high engagement of Dipl.-

Ing. R. Mairose for the construction of our excellent elec-
tronic equipment and his support during the experiments.
233
pole
\
(/~.-"
,',' . . ~
"
\.'
theoretical
"" , . "" . ....
\ \ \." '
,
\
.'
\
solution .... ~
..
,\ ."
\ \ '\' . '
'. ' ' , .

I' . ....
Maximum ..'
t
, ,'.
o-----trdetecting I.
.
t •• • •• •• ' . . .
area
. •• , .
:.'
,0'· ••
,' ..
" _.... Re=62

------ Pr=170
Vmax=O.71 rr;.m
!
- - - - - - - _ ____ _ __ J
,cold pole
~I
Fig.7. Comparison of the flow Fig.8. Theoretical flow field
field with the streamlines of for Re=100; T=cos6e , O<9<Tt/6
the theoretical solution T=-l , Tt/6<9<Tt
,:-------------"'1,
ambient
","
------- - ......... temperature . ...........
/'
.,'" '" , fu=26.I.°C
I
I \
\
Maximum
"
... ...
,,
I \
I \ ........
detecting
, area
I
\
------ ...
\ I~' ,,"" - - - - - - ... ....
\. 'I' Pr=170
" '( Mg=I0531
',\ \
,\
.... - _----
.....
T>30°C
T<26.5°C
,, ,,
... - - - - - - - - - - - ___ .....J
~= f7°C
Fig.9. Observed temperature Fig.l0. Theoretical tempera-

field at Re= 62, Mg=10531 ture field for Re=100, Mg=100
T=O.5 cos29+0.5; O<9<Tt/2
T=O ; Tt/2<9<Tt
234
References
1. Petri, B., Rath, H.J.: Thermische Marangonikonvektion in

spharischen Tropfen bei verschiedenen Reynoldszahlen unter
Schwerelosigkeit, ZAMM 70 (1990)
2. Petri, B., Delgado, A., Rath, H.J.: Marangoni-Convection

in Spherical Drops Driven by Rotationally symmetrical
Temperature Fields under Microgravity, Proceeding of the
VII European Symposium on Materials and Fluid Sciences in
Microgravity, Oxford, UK, 10-15.9.1989, ESA SP-295,321-330
(1990)
3. Petri, B.: Marangonikonvektion in Tropfen unter Mikro-

gravitation, Dissertation, Universitat Bremen (1990)
4. Petri, B., Delgado, A., Rath, H.J.: Thermische Marangoni-

konvektion in Tropfen unter Mikrogravitation bei Beachtung
der Tropfendeformation, Ingenieur-Archiv (1990)
5. Bauer, H.F., Eidel, W.: Marangoni-Convection in a Spheri-

cal Liquid System, Acta Astronautica Vol. 15, No.5, 275-
290 (1987)
6. Saghir, M.Z., Choma, C.T.: Numerical Simulation of Thermo-

capillary Convection inside a Liquid Drop, Preprints
of "Space bound '87", First Canadian Workshop on R&D
opportunities on Board the Space Station, May 6-8, 1987
Ottawa, Canada (1987).
7. Schwabe, D., Scharmann, A.: Marangoni and buoyant

convection in an open cavity under reduced and normal
gravity. Adv. Space Res. 8, 175-185, 1988.
8. Szymczyk, J.A.: Interaction between thermocapillary and

buoyant driven convection under normal gravity, Exp. in
Fluids (in press) 1991.
9. Szymczyk, J.A., Siekmann, J., Chun, Ch.H., Wozniak, K.:

Liquid crystal tracers as a method for thermocapillary
flow diagnostics, Archives of Mechanics 1990.
10. Petri, B. : unpublished calculations 1989

Interface Phenomena II,
Convective Processes, Solidification
Bubble Migration under the Combined Action
of Buoyancy and Thermocapillarity
Randy M. Merritt' and R. Shankar Subramanian
Department of Chemical Engineering

Clarkson University
Potsdam, New York 13699-5705
U.S.A.
Summary
The migration of a gas bubble under the combined action of buoyancy and a downward
temperature gradient is analyzed. Inertial effects are considered negligible, but allowance
is made for convective transport of energy in the model. Results from a numerical solution
of the governing equations are presented and discussed.
1 Introd uction
A gas bubble, when placed in a liquid, will rise due to buoyancy. However, this rise can
be moderated or reversed altogether by the application of a downward temperature gra-
dient. The variation of temperature on the surface of the bubble induces a corresponding
variation of surface tension which results in a tangential stress acting on the neighboring
fluid in the direction from the warm pole to the cold pole since surface tension normally
decreases with increasing temperature. In the absence of any other forces, the bubble
drags the surrounding fluid in this direction so that the reaction propels the bubble in
the opposite direction, namely, that of the temperature gradient.
The literature on this subject has been reviewed elsewhere [1, 2]. The velocity of an iso-
lated bubble subjected simultaneously to the action of gravity and a vertical temperature
gradient was first predicted by Young et ai. [3]. These authors analyzed the problem
subject to several assumptions, the most notable of which is that convective transport ef-
fects are entirely negligible. In this paper, we consider a situation wherein inertial effects
are negligible. However, we permit convective transport of energy in the model. This
allows the use of a formal analytical solution for the velocity field. The energy equation
is solved numerically using the method of finite differences. We present limited results for
the bubble velocity as a function of the governing parameters and discuss them. Space
limitations preclude the inclusion of all the details, and the interested reader is referred
to Merritt [4] for more information.
* Present address: Exxon Production Research Company, Houston, Texas 77252
H. J. Rath (EdItor)
Microgravity fluId Mechamcs
© Springer-Verlag Berlin HeIdelberg 1992
238
2 Analysis
(;onsider the quasi-steady motion of a single gas bubble in a large liquid body in which
a constant downward temperature gradient, VT00, is imposed. We assume the viscosity,
density, and thermal conductivity of the gas to be negligible compared to the correspond-
ing properties in the surrounding liquid. We further assume these properties to be constant
in the liquid. The only physical property which is allowed to change with temperature
is the surface tension, and the rate of change, (TT, is assumed negative. Inertial effects
are assumed entirely negligible in the momentum equation. Under these conditions, the
deformation of the bubble shape can be ignored provided the variation of surface tension
around the periphery of the bubble is negligible compared to the value of the surface
tension.
g!
z
Fig. 1. Sketch of the System
A reference frame translating with the center of mass of the bubble is used, and the origin
of coordinates is chosen as this center. Figure 1 is a sketch of the system. Lengths are
scaled by the bubble radius, a, velocities are scaled by vo , and temperature is scaled by
subtracting the temperature in the undisturbed fluid at z = 0, and dividing by I VT00 I a.
The reference velocity v o , is defined below.
(1)
Here 11 is the viscosity of the liquid. The scaled steady velocity field, v, satisfies the
creeping flow equations with suitable boundary conditions which include the approach to
a uniform stream -U iz as r -+ 00, the kinematic condition and the tangential stress
balance at the bubble surface, and necessary boundedness conditions. Here, iz is the
239
unit vector in the z-direction. The solution is obtained in a straightforward manner, and
the velocity components in the rand () directions are given below. Here, r is the radial
coordinate, and s = cos().
12 1 1 n( n - 1) 1 1
vr(r,s) = s[-(l - "3)
2 r
+ G(l - -)]
r
L
+ n=3
00
4
In[-l
r n-
- --:tl]Pn-1(s)
rn
(2)
2 1 12 1 1
vo(r,s) = -(1- s )2[-(1
2
+ -)
2r 3
+ G(l- -)]
2r
+ f _1
n(n - 1) I [_n_-_3 _ _n_-_1]_C_n_2,,-(s:...,..) (3)
n=3 4 n r n- 1 r n+1 (1 _ S2)!
_1
where C n 2 (s) is the set of Gegenbauer Polynomials [5]. The parameter, G, represents the
relative importance of the gravitational force to the thermo capillary force.
G = a 6p 9 (4)
3 I (TT II \IT I 00
In the above definition, 6p is the difference in density between the liquid and the gas and
9 is the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity.
The constants, In, depend on the surface temperature field as shown below.
In = - 1 +1
-1
Pn_1(s)t(1,s)ds,n 2: 2 (5)
Here, Pn represent the set of Legendre Polynomials. Thus, the velocity field v is known
formally in terms of the unknown surface temperature field. After an initial transient
period, the steady scaled temperature field, t(r, s), will satisfy the energy equation given
below.
Ma[U + v· \It] = \l2t (6)
The Marangoni number, M a, represents the relative importance of convective transport

of energy when compared to conduction if motion is predominantly driven by the tem-
perature gradient.
Ma = Vo a (7)
a
where, a is the thermal diffusivity of the liquid. Note that the unknown scaled bubble
speed, U, appears in the energy equation. It is given by
12
U=-[G+-] (8)
2
The temperature field must satisfy suitable boundary conditions which include the ap-
proach to the undisturbed (linear) temperature field rcos(} as r -+ 00, and the vanishing
of the normal heat flux into the bubble since the conductivity of the gas is negligible.
240
Since a finite difference scheme is used, we also used symmetry conditions at () = 0 and
7r which require that the temperature gradient in the () direction must vanish at those
boundaries. V'/e actually solved for the disturbance temperature field T(r, s) = t(r, s) - rs
in order to improve the precision in the calculations.
3 Details Regarding the N urnerical Solution Proce-

dure
It is not possible to give all the details regarding the numerical procedure here. Suffice
it to say that this is not a straightforward problem. While at first glance it might ap-
pear that the disturbance temperature field should vanish as r -+ 00, all that one can
demand is that it not grow as rapidly as r. For small values of the Marangoni number,
we attempted an analytical solution of the energy equation by the method of matched
asymptotic expansions adapting the technique used by Subramanian [6] in a similar prob-
lem in the absence of gravity. Difficulties arise in developing such a solution because of
the interaction of the slowly decaying Stokeslet in the velocity field with the temperature
gradient field far from the bubble; this Stokeslet is a direct consequence of including a
body force in the problem [4]. The principal result from our attempt at analysis is that
the disturbance field far from the bubble Too appears to be of the form given below.
where
p = Ma· r (10)
,= 2G-l (11)
1,1
0'0=4 (12)
Note the singularity which arises along the rear stagnation line s = -1 (() = 7r). This is
one of the reasons why the analysis is incomplete since any correct solution must be free
of such singular behavior. However, we found that numerically the above result describes
the temperature accurately in the far field at all locations except those very close to the
rear stagnation line.
The numerical solution was obtained basically using the same procedure followed by
Shankar and Subramanian [7]. They solved a similar problem neglecting gravitational
effects. We modified the code to include the appropriate velocity fields given in Equations
(2) and (3). A transformation to ~ = log(r) was used to resolve the temperature field
sufficiently in the vicinity of the bubble and yet provide an adequately precise solution
far away. Equally spaced grid points were used in the ~ and () coordinates. Most of the
calculations were performed with an 81 x 81 mesh, but for comparison, some calculations
were performed with a mesh of 51 x 51, and the differences in U values were found to be
less than 0.5%.
241
An upwind difference scheme was used to represent the convective terms and central
differences were used for all the other derivatives. After discretization, the nonlinear
terms were linearized by using an iterative scheme wherein the temperature field at the
bubble surface calculated from the previous iterate was used to calculate the velocity field.
Successive over-relaxation was used to solve the linear set of equations which resulted from
this process, and 32-point Gaussian quadrature was employed to evaluate the integrals
In appearing in Equation (5). The calculated bubble migration velocity U was relatively
insensitive to the precision of the temperature field solution. Thus, we judged convergence
by summing the absolute values of the differences in the values of T(1, s) at the nodes
on the bubble surface between successive iterates, and requiring this sum to be less than
10- 4 . For the largest values of the Marangoni number for which we were able to get a
solution, At a = 5, we had to relax this to 10- 3 to prevent the solution from oscillating
between two different sets. Convergence of the temperature field in the entire domain was
assumed when the absolute difference between successive iterates, when summed over all
the nodes, was less than 10- 2 .
The boundary condition as r -+ 00 had to be replaced by one at a finite r-value. We

e
chose = 6 in all of the calculations reported here which corresponds to a location 400
bubble radii away from the center. Calculations also were performed with the boundary
e e
at = 5, corresponding to 148 bubble radii, and = 7, corresponding to 1096 bubble
radii. The calculated bubble velocities were within 0.5% of those calculated using = 6 e
as the outer boundary. For the actual boundary condition at this location, we first tried
setting the disturbance temperature to zero. It was observed that this led to solutions
for the temperature field which shifted in values as the outer boundary was moved, but
the temperature gradient field and the bubble velocity were completely unaffected. We
then used the far-field solution given in Equation (9) to prescribe the outer boundary
e
condition at all points on the boundary except on = 7r. At that node, we arbitrarily
set the temperature to zero. This naturally resulted in a solution which was well-behaved
everywhere except near this node. In particular, the behavior of the solution in the far-
field corresponded to Equation (9) everywhere except very near the outer boundary on
e = 7r. The solution changed rapidly at the neighboring nodes to meet the incorrect
boundary value prescribed at this node. The outer boundary was then moved inward by
a sufficient amount, typically 5 radial grid points, and the new domain was sub-divided
into a mesh. At this new outer boundary the above solution, which was well-behaved,
was used to prescribe the boundary condition at all grid points including e = 7r. The final
solution resulting from this process was smooth everywhere. Finally, the bubble velocity
values and surface temperature fields calculated this way agreed, to within the numerical
precision of the results, with those calculated by using the simple outer boundary condition
of setting the disturbance temperature field to zero everywhere. Thus, the bubble velocity
values reported here appear trustworthy.
4 Results and Discussion

In Figure 2a, the scaled bubble velocity is presented as a function of the parameters G
and M a. The parameter G measures the relative importance of the gravitational force.
242
The value G = 0 corresponds to purely thermocapillary motion, the case studied in [7],
and the results naturally reduce to those of [7]. The value Ma = 0 corresponds to the
case analyzed by Yuung ei al. [3]. The scaied velocity in Figure 2a reduces to the proper
result, (0.5 - G), in this case. Positive values of U correspond to downward motion of the
bubble, and negative values indicate upward motion.
o.6o.-------,------,-------r-----,----,
G=O
G=O.I
________J
-
O.4°r-~~-
; 0.20 1__ ~G~=~0::..:.3:..._ _ _ _ _~
(.)
o 0
~ G=0.7
"C -0.20
CD
c(.)
en -0.40
2 3 5
Marangoni Number
Fig. 2a. Scaled bubble velocity U plotted against the Marangoni number M a
The most important feature demonstrated by Figure 2a is that the inclusion of convective
transport of energy in the model reduces the scaled velocity of the bubble, whether it
moves upward or downward. At first sight, this result appears straightforward, but it
is actually intriguing. Note that the thermo capillary contribution to the velocity forces
the bubble downward while buoyancy tries to move the bubble upward. Therefore, when
thermocapillarity dominates the motion (downward migration), a reduction in the velocity
implies a reduction in the thermo capillary driving force, namely the temperature difference
across the bubble. For upward migration, when buoyancy dominates, a reduction in the
bubble velocity implies a stronger thermocapillary influence. This would correspond to an
increase in the temperature difference across the bubble. Finally, we should mention that
where the curves terminate abruptly, we could not get the solution to converge beyond
that value of the Marangoni number. The solution oscillated between two distinctly
different sets. Attempts to refine the mesh to 161 X 161 did not eliminate this behavior
or significantly change the values at which oscillation of the solution was observed. Also,
the convergence criteria were relaxed by up to three orders of magnitude without success.
We might add that when we attempted calculations near the region U = 0, that is near
G = 0.5, we encountered severe convergence problems, and could not get meaningful
results. Clearly further work, both via analysis and numerical techniques, is in order.
Figure 2a only goes up to G = 1.0. It is possible for G to take on larger values, all the
243
way up to G = 00 which corresponds to the purely buoyant rise of a bubble. In this

limit, of course, even though the motion of the bubble distorts the temperature field, the
temperature gradient has no influence on the motion of the bubble. In order to cover
the range of values 1 :s: G :s: 00, we have defined a new parameter f3 = 11G, varying
f3 from 1 to o. In this case, the motion of the bubble is dominated by buoyancy, with
thermocapillarity gradually becoming a minor influence. In recognition of this fact, we
have used the new velocity scale v~ defined below. Also, instead of the Marangoni number,
we have used the Peclet number, Pe, based on this new velocity scale, also defined below,
as a measure of the relative importance of convective energy transport.
, a 2 /1pg
v =--- (13)
° 3Jl
av'
Pe=_o (14)
Q
-0.30
,8 =1.0
--
'::::> - 0.4 0
,8=0.8
-
>-
C3
0 -0.50
~
"'C
G) ,8=0.2
c -0.60
() ,8=0.1
en
=0
-0.70 0
2 3 4 5
Peclet Number
Fig. 2b. Scaled bubble velocity U' plotted against the Peclet number Pe
Figure 2b shows a plot of this new scaled velocity, labelled U', against the Peclet number,
with f3 serving as a parameter. As one would expect, the bubble always moves upward in
this instance, and the velocity decreases in magnitude as the Peclet number is increased.
Also noteworthy is that the slopes of the curves decrease with increasing Peclet number,
demonstrating that the sharpest changes are brought about in the early stages as convec-
tive transport of energy just becomes important. Finally, as noted earlier, U' is unaffected
by changes in the value of the Peclet number when f3 = 0, a case that corresponds to zero
thermocapillary influence.
244
5 Concluding Remarks
It is clear that the Stokeslet in the velocity field which arises because of gravity causes
interesting and intriguing difficulties in obtaining a numerical solution of the present
problem. Therefore, we have been limited in our numerical explorations to relatively
modest convective energy transport effects. However, the problem is sufficiently important
that further work would definitely be in order. We also have noticed interesting topological
features in the flow fields; space restrictions preclude us from presenting details here, but
they will be included in the actual poster.
6 Acknowledgment
The work described here was supported by NASA's Microgravity Sciences and Applica-
tion Division. Support for R. M. Merritt was provided by the NASA Graduate Student
Researcher Program which is gratefully acknowledged.
References
[1] Subramanian, R.S.: The Motion of Bubbles and Drops in Reduced Gravity, in
Transport Processes in Bubbles, Drops and Particles, eds. R.P. Chhabra and D.
DeKee, New York: Hemisphere 1991.
[2] Wozniak, G.; Siekmann, J.; and Srulijes, J.: Thermocapillary Bubble and Drop
Dynamics Under Reduced Gravity - Survey and Prospects. Z. Flugwiss. Weltraum-
forsch. 12 (1988) 137-144.
[3] Young, N.O.; Goldstein, J.S.; and Block, M.J.: The Motion of Bubbles in a Vertical
Temperature Gradient. J. Fluid Mech. 6 (1959) 350-356.
[4] Merritt, R.M.: Bubble Migration and Interactions in a Vertical Temperature Gra-
dient. Ph. D. Thesis, Clarkson University, 1988.
[5] Happel, J.; and Brenner, H.: Low Reynolds Number Hydrodynamics, Leyden: No-
ordhoff 1973.
[6] Subramanian, R.S.: Slow Migration of a Gas Bubble in a Thermal Gradient. AIChE
J. 27 (1981) 646-654.
[7] Shankar, N.; and Subramanian, R.S.: The Stokes Motion of a Gas Bubble Due to
Interfacial Tension Gradients at Low to Moderate Marangoni Numbers. J. Colloid
Interface Sci. 123 (1988) 512-522.
Effects of the Natural Convection
on Fuel Droplet Evaporation
Hiroshi Nomura. Michikata Kono

University of Tokyo. Hongo. Bunkyo-ku. Tokyo 113. Japan
Jun'ichi Sato
IHI Research Institute. Toyosu. Koto-ku. Tokyo 135. Japan
GUnther Marks. Heinrich Iglseder. Hans J. Rath

ZARM. University of Bremen. 0-2800 Bremen 33. Germany
Introduction
Operating pressures in engine combustors tend to increase and.
for some engines. exceed the critical pressures of their fuel.
However. there are few useful basic data on high-pressure spray
combustion for designing combustors. Droplet evaporation time is
an important parameter for the design of combustors. because the
evaporation time of the largest droplet in a spray determines the
residence time required for the complete droplet evaporation in
the combustion chamber.
Some experimental studies have been performed on droplet

evaporation [1-7]. Most of them are for low-pressure. low-
temperature conditions and/or forced flow conditions. On the
other hand. many theoretical and numerical studies have been
performed on high-pressure droplet evaporation [8-13]. In order
to verify theoretical and numerical results, the experimental
data on the droplet evaporation in high-pressure and high-
temperature environments are required.
The droplet evaporation under a normal gravity condition is

affected by natural convection. Its effect becomes dominant as
the ambient pressure is increased. Studies on its effect are
important for explaining the high-pressure droplet evaporation.
In order to explore the effects of the natural convection. it is
H 1. Rath (EdItor)
Microgravity Fluid MechanIcs
246
necessary to observe the droplet evaporation which is not

affected by that. One method to suppress the effects of the
natural convection is to use reduced gravity conditions.
Recently, GOkalp et al. performed experiments under such
conditions and investigated droplet evaporation in stagnant air
and forced flows [14]. Their experiments were carried out in
room temperature and atmospheric pressure environments. There
are no data on the high-pressure and high-temperature droplet
evaporation without the effects of the natural convection.
The purpose of this work is to explore the effects of the natural

convection on droplet evaporation. Experiments were performed
with a suspended fuel droplet at high-pressure under normal and
microgravity conditions .
Experimental Apparatus
Figure 1 is a schematic of the experimental apparatus .
Free-fall aSSUCly
Drao stlJel(]
Fig.l. Schematic of experimental apparatus .

247
Evaporation experiments were performed within a high-pressure

chamber (inner diameter: 80 mm; inner height: 260 mm). This
chamber was equipped with four windows of 20 mm in diameter to
allow observation of the evaporating droplet. Nitrogen gas fed
from a cylinder was used as an ambient gas.
A droplet was generated at the end of a horizontal quartz

suspender (diameter: 0.15 mm) outside of an electric furnace. At
the beginning of the observation, the suspended droplet was
introduced into the electric furnace and placed at the
evaporation position, so that it was rapidly exposed to a high-
temperature atmosphere. The initial droplet diameters ranged
from 0.6 to 0.8 mm.
Since the furnace must be preheated under normal gravity

conditions, an electric heater was fitted in the top of the
furnace to suppress natural convection during the preheating
period. The ambient temperature Ta was measured at the
evaporation position with a chromel-alumel thermocouple of
0.13 mm in diameter.
The evaporation process was recorded by a video recorder. A

background light was employed to make shadowgraphs. Droplet
dimensions were measured from the image on a monitor. The
droplets took an ellipsoidal shape due to the suspender. Droplet
diameter was defined as the diameter of the sphere which has the
same volume as the ellipsoid.
In order to eliminate natural convections from the droplet

evaporation, experiments were conducted under microgravity
conditions within a free-fall assembly. This method is
essentially the same as that employed by Kumagai and Isoda for
droplet combustion experiments [15-16]. The 5 m drop tower and
the 110 m drop tower (Bremen Drop Tower) were used for
microgravity experiments.
Results And Discussion

Temperature gradients were made intentionally in the electric
248
~
ee
0 Pa, 1.00 HPa
c:
-
~
V;
0
-
_.-
- TO' 73~ K
Q TO= 487 K
c:
0
~
-10
~
0
Q
'">
e
~ -20
~
.r::;
01
OJ
:I:
-28 L -_ _--II._L-_...L.-_ _ ---l
o 0.5 1.0 1.5

Temperature TIT a
Fig.2. Temperature profiles near the evaporation position.
furnace to suppress convection disturbances. However, too large

temperature gradients may change the evaporation phenomena. In
order to estimate the influence of it, the temperature profiles
were measured along the symmetry axis of the electric furnace
(Fig. 2) . The temperature TO was measured at the evaporation
position . For this study, an ambient temperature Ta was defined
as TO '
With increasing the ambient pressure and the ambient temperature,

the temperature gradient increases. In the case of the maximum
gradient, ~T/TO was 0.0047. Here, ~T is the temperature
difference between the top and the bottom of the droplet. This
value is so small that the effect of temperature gradients on the
phenomena was neglected in the present study.
Figure 3 shows sequential shadowgraphs of evaporating droplets.

An evaporating droplet establishes a vapor layer around it. In
this layer, mixing occurs between the fuel vapor and the ambient
gas. The behavior of the fuel vapor can be observed in Fig. 3.
Under a normal gravity condition, the vapor layer is affected by

249
buoyancy and then natural convection occurs. Figure 3a shows

behavior of the fuel vapor. On the upper hemisphere of the
droplet, the high-density mixture moves downwards along the
surface of the droplet. On the lower hemisphere, it falls a
short distance along the surface and then separates from the
surface.
Under microgravity conditions, the axisymmetric convection occurs

instead of the natural convection (Fig. 3b). This fact supports
that the convection disturbances in the electric furnace were
reduced successfully and that, in the tests under microgravity
conditions, the buoyancy effects were negligible. The vapor
layer changes as follows. In the first stage, a vapor layer is
formed around the droplet and its thickness increases gradually.
In the second stage, the strong outward-convection appears on the
left part of the droplet surface, and the position from which the
convection ejects moves toward the right of the droplet . In the
last stage, it reaches the middle of the droplet surface and
remains there. The vapor layer is supposed to be quasi-steady.
The pictures of Fig. 3b show these tree stages respectively.
Tlme------------------------------________~~~
Fig.3. Shadowgraphs of evaporating n-heptane droplets at

1.00 MPa. (a) Normal gravity (T a =755 K), (b) microgravity
(Ta=721 K).
250
Figure 4 shows the time variation of the squared droplet

diameter. The origin of the abscissa is the time when a droplet
was placed at the evaporation position. In the initial period.
the droplet diameter decreases slowly. This period of time is
spent in heating up the droplet. After the heat-up period. the
variation becomes approximately linear with time in keeping with
d 2 -Law . This period corresponds to the last stage of vapor layer
n· Heptan n-HeotM
"'.
PaR 0.101
Ta" 37~ K
"'.., PaR 1.00
Ta" ~58 K
~
i
~
j • Hor..,1 gravl ty (k " 0.0679 .. 2'50<1
o~ICr09ravIIY (k " 0.0683 .,,2'sec l ;;
• Hor oal gravlly (k" 0.207 _2150<>
;; (k" 0 .1 57 ~'sec)
., 0.5 ., 0.5
0.
~
~ "
~
0
'0
'"
l'
~
)
0
T IIIC sec 'Ille sec
Fig . 4. Variations of the square of droplet diameter with time .
5
n-Heptane n-HePtane
Per ' 2 .74 MPa
u Ter ' 570 K u
'"en
..... Pa , 0 .101 MPa '"
en
.....
N 0.5 N 0.5
e
"
-
e e
;:: c:
!3
en
0. 1 !3 0.1
VI
c: c:
8 0.05 0
u 0.05
-'"
c: c:
0 0
• Normal gray I ty
'"g 0.01
• Normal gray I ty \..
0 0 .01
o II lc rogravl ty Q o llierograyity
'">
u.J 0.005 '">
u.J
0.005
0.001 0.001
0 2 a 2
Ambient temperature TalTer Ambient temperature TalTer
Fig.5. Dependence of the evaporation constant on the ambient

temperature.
251
behavior (the third pictures in Fig. 3a and 3b). That is, the
quasi-steady evaporation period corresponds to the quasi-steady
vapor layer period.
Evaporation constant was defined as the slope of the variation of

the squared droplet diameter in the quasi-steady evaporation
period. It is regarded as a characteristic parameter of droplet
evaporation. Measurements of the evaporation constant were made
for various ambient temperatures at ambient pressures of 0.101
and 1.00 MPa under normal and microgravity conditions. Figure 5
shows plots of evaporation constants as a function of ambient
temperature. With ambient temperature increased, the evaporation
constant increases monotonically in all cases. At an ambient
pressure of 0.101 MPa, the effects of natural convection on the
evaporation constant are so small that the normal and the
microgravity data lie on one curve. At 1.00 MPa, the normal
gravity data shows substantial difference from the microgravity
data. The normal gravity evaporation constant is, on the
average, 1.5 times as large as the microgravity one.
Conclusions
Droplet evaporation in high-pressure high-temperature atmospheres
has been studied experimentally under normal and microgravity
conditions. A suspended droplet (n-heptane) was employed for
experiments. Some conclusions are as follows:
1. An axisymmetrical vapor layer was observed around horizontal
axis of the droplet at a pressure of 1.00 MPa under
microgravity conditions.
2. After the vapor layer became quasi-steady, the square of the
droplet diameter decreased linearly with time.
3. At a pressure of 0.101 MPa, the natural convection did not
affect the evaporation constant.
4. At a pressure of 1.00 MPa, the natural convection increased
the evaporation constant. The evaporation constant under
normal gravity conditions was about 1.5 times as large as
that under microgravity conditions.
252
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Special coordination Fund for
Promoting Science and Technology through the Science and
Technology Agency of the Japanese Government and by a grant from
the German Space Agency (DARA), Funding No. 50QV89633.
References
1. Katto, Y.: Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineering:
preprint 1960.
2. Law, C. K. and Williams, F. A.: Kinetics and convection in
the combustion of alkane droplets, Combustion and Flame,
19 (1972) 393-405.
3. Law, C. K.: Recent advances in droplet vaporization and
combustion. Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 8 (1982) 171-201.
4. Sirignano, W. A.: Fuel droplet vaporization and spray
combustion theory. Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 9 (1983)
291-322.
5. Kobayasi, K.: A Study on the evaporation and combustion of a
single droplet. Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineering:
preprint 1949.
6. Ranz, W. E.; Marshall, JR., W. R.: Evaporation from drops.
Chemical Engineering Progress. 48 (1952) 141-146.
7. Nishiwaki, N.: Kinetics of liquid combustion processes:
evaporation and lag of fuel droplets. Fifth Symposium
(International) on Combustion 1954.
8. Spalding, D. B.: Theory of particle combustion at high
pressure, ARS J. (1959) 828-835.
9. Rosner, D. E.: On liquid droplet combustion at high pressure.
AIAA J. 5 (1967) 163-167.
10. Kotake, S.; Okazaki, T.: Evaporation and combustion of a fuel
droplet. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 12 (1969) 595-609.
11. Rosner, D. E.; Chang, W. S.: Transient evaporation and
combustion of a fuel droplet near its critical temperature.
Combustion Science and Technology 7 (1973) 145-158.
12. Curtis, E. W.; Farrell, P. V.: droplet vaporization in a
supercritical microgravity environment. Acta Astronautica,
12 (1988) 1189-1193.
13. Curtis, E. W.; Hartfield, J. P.; Farrell, P. V.: Microgravity
vaporization of liquid droplets under supercritical
conditions. Proc. Third International Collopuium on Drops and
Bubbles: prepress 1988.
14. GOkalp, I.; Chauveau, C.; Richard, J. R.; Kramer, M.;
Leuckel, W.: Observations on the low temperature vaporization
and envelope or wake burning of n-heptane droplets at reduced
gravity during parabolic flights. paper presented at the
Twenty-Second Symposium (International) on Combustion, 1988.
15. Kumagai, S.; Isoda H.: Combustion of fuel droplets in falling
chamber. Sixth Symposium (International) on
Combustion 1957.
16. Isoda, H.; Kumagai, S.: New aspect of dropletcombustion.
Seventh Symposium (International) on Combustion 1959.
Thermal Convection in Microgravity during
a Slow Rotation
V. I. POLEZHAEV. M. K. ERMAKOV
Institute for Problems in Mechanics

USSR Academy of Sciences
Abstract
Convection in an enclosure for the case of slow rotation of the
microacceleration vector is studied with the help of a new PC-
based dialog system on the basis of the unsteady Navier-Stokes
equations. Temporal behavior of flow patterns and temperature
fields are analyzed in the vicinity of the maximum intensity of
convection.
1. Introduction
Numerous peculiarities of convection in microgravi ty do
not appear in terrestrial conditions (see. for example. overvi-
ew and classification in [1-4]). One feature is the residual
gravitational convection due to the time and space dependency
of microaccelerations induced by dynamics of the spacecraft and
its internal systems (gravity gradient phenomena. vibrations.
rotations etc.). Several authors have payed attention to and
studied this problem (see. for example [5-11]).
Most popular have been the vibrational convective process-
es. Average equations of convection. stability and direct inte-
gration of the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations have been used
for sol ving this problem [6-9]. Conclusions about resonance
frequency for convective motion (maximum of stream function)
[6.7] or most important in practice. inhomogeneities of concen-
tration fields in semiconductor's melts [9] have been studied.
Recently inhomogeneities induced by vibrations with different
but fixed in time orientations of microacceleration for Bridg-
man growth have been investigated [12].
The next step in the study of convection in microgravi ty
is an analysis of convection with time variation of the micro-
gravi ty vector direction. Such phenomena are used usually in
H. 1. Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogravity Fluid Mechanics
254
biology experiments for the modelling of microgravity in terre-

strial conditions (clinostats [13]). Slow rotation is also very
efficient for the elimi.."1ation of the lOYl~i tudinal inhomogenei-
ties of concentration in the liquid phase epitaxy technique
[3,14]. Gravitational concentrational convection is the main
type of motion in this case. Thermal convection for a circle
and square enclosures in microgravity under rotation of the re-
sidual acceleration vector are considered in [10,11]. In this
case a phenomenon similar to the "resonance" effect of convec-
tion has been found. But the structure of the convection and
origins of this phenomenon together with other characteristics
(temperature stratification induced by convection, initial da-
ta) are not so well understood.
This paper deals with a study of the inner structure and
origins of the so called "resonance" phenomenon in a slow rota-
tion of the residual acceleration vector in microgravity with
the help of new dialog system on a personal computer, developed
in the Institute for Problems in Mechanics [15, 16]. Technique
of analysis of the convective interaction follows paper [17]
which is used for this case to give a knowledge of "elementary"
convective processes: side, bottom and top heating (see also
[18-20]) .
2. Mathematical model
The governing equations for thermal, gravitational convec-
tion with the Boussinesq approximation in microgravity consi-
dered in this paper can be written in form, [14,15],
au au au ap ap
+ u + v + v Au + gx(t)--(T-TO)/p, (1 )
at ax ay p ax OT
av av av ap ap
--+ u -- + v -- + v Av + gy(t)--(T-TO)/P, (2 )
at ax ay p ay aT
au av
-- + = 0, (3)
ax ay
aT OT aT
= a AT,
+ u -- + v -- (4)
at ax
ay
where t is the time, (u, v) is~ the velocity vector, p is the
255
pressure, T is the temperature, V is the kinematic viscosity, p

is the density, and a is the thermal diffusivity.
The components of the microacceleration vector gx(t) and
gy(t) are written in the form
~(t) ~o+ gs + gt sin( 01 t » sin( 02 t + ~O

(5 )
gy(t) gyo+ gs + gt sin( 01 t » cos( 02 t + ~O
where ~O' gyO are components of the constant microaccelerati-

on, gs' gt are the constant and variable components due to ro-
tation in the case when it exists, 01' 02 are the frequencies
of vibration and rotation, and ~O the initial angle of inclina-
tion. The forms (5) contain all of the cases of spatial and
temporal variation of microacceleration vector consided previ-
ously [6-12]. In this paper we consider only the case of rota-
tion, so gO=gt=O, 01=0, gs=g and 02=0=2~/ti' where ti is the
period of rotation.
The nondimensional governing parameters: Grashof, Prandtl
and frequency of rotation, will be written in the form
Gr=g~L
3AT/v,
2 pr=v/a, w=OL2 /v (6)
where ~= -~ g~, AT=T 2-T 1 .
Test results have been published in [15,16]. For more detailed
analysis of the spatial and temporal behavior of flow and tem-
perature fields the postprocessor possibilities of the dialog
system [15,16) have been extended. A uniform mesh size (31,31)
and second order spatial finite difference schemes are used in
these calculations.
3. structure of thermal convection for slow rotation of the

microacceleration vector
Let us consider thermal convection in a square cavity with
temperatures T2 and T1 imposed on two surfaces, and two insula-
ted surfaces. In the case of slow rotation of the body force
vector well known elementary processes when equilibrium does
not exist (side heating), unstable equilibrium (bottom heat-
ing), stable equilibrium (top heating) in principle appear. We
study convection in a square (H/L=1) for Pr=1 with a different
256
frequency of rotation w and initial angle of inclination ~O.

3.1. Tempora~ behavtor Fig. 1a-c shows the time dependence
of the main variables namely the stream funotion, tiussel t num-
ber and temperature difference between the insulated walls for
different initial values of ~O (side, bottom and top heating).
We started in all cases from a zero velocity field and linear
temperature profile between the cold and hot walls. A Grashof
number 1.7.10 5 have been chosen for comparison with the results
[11 ] .
One can see from this figure two temporal regimes: transi-
tion and quasi steady. For the second one initial values do not
affect the frequency and amplitude of oscillations which are
regular. The reason for the oscillations is the difference bet-
ween convection for the different cases of orientation (side,
bottom and top heating). For this case the nondimensional peri-
od of oscillation is close to the induced period t i =2'1tL2 /VO.
Dimensional values of t i , if for example, L=10 cm, for water
V~10-6 m2 /s will be near 2 minutes, and velocity near 0.05
cmls, so the Coriolis forces will be negligible (see more deta-
iled estimation in [5]). The length of the transition period
differs for IDm' Nu, A8 t~.So for the change of rotation in spa-
ce the transition period will be important and one can see from
Fig. 1 a-c, that during this period temporal behavior is a very
strong function of the initial state of rotation.
3.2. Frequency dependence of parameters and "resonance"
phenomena. Let us consider some peculiarities of the quasi ste-
ady regime.One can see from Fig. 1 a-c that maximum, minimum
and average time behavior functions will be of interest in ap-
plications. Fig. 2 shows that the dependence of maximum, mini-
mum and average stream function values upon the frequency ware
different, but that there is a maximum of these functions near
the frequency Wm=396, which is as predicted in [11]. This phe-
nomenon is named in [10.11] as "resonance " but the origin of
this phenomena is very far from the "resonance" phenomenon in
the vibration case [6.7]. because the difference between the
maximum and minimum of the maximum stream function reachs a mi-
nimum near W=Wm (Fig. 2). For to.}+O this parameter follows to
the steady state convection for each value corresponding to ~O.
257
For W>Wm the intensity of convection is reduced. The difference

between the transition time for different type of convection
(side t s ' bottom tb and top heating tt) can explain this ef-
fect. Really our calculation shows, that ts<tb<tt and in the
case when ti<ts convection cannot rise inside the period of os-
cillation.
3.3. Structure of convection and temperature fie~ds. Figs.
3,4 show streamlines and isotherms for different values of W
and different times in the quasi steady regime. Arrows show the
local direction of the body force vector, so one can recognize
different elementary convection structure if we note that for
all figures bottom is hot and Wmax is realized in the case c),
a) ,b) correspond to W>Wm and for d) W<Wm • In the case W<Wm
(Fig. 3) one can see "cat's eyes" type typical of side heating
and rolls typical of bottom heating. For W>~m only weak convec-
tion exists because the period of oscillation is too short for
the total convection development. In the vicinity of ~m the
main feature is the interaction of both convection mechanisms
which is very close to the steady state case of the intermedi-
ate body force inclination (see, for example, [19]). The non-
uniformity of temperature fields can be seen in this case with
more uniformity in Fig. 4a for W>Wm•
4. Conclusions
1. The origins of the maximum intensity of convection with
the slow rotation of the microgravity vector is not of "reso-
nance type" but is due mainly to interaction between elementary
convection mechanisms. This can explain the dependence of the
intensity of convection upon frequency of rotation and identify
the convection patterns in time.
2. For material science jn space the local behavior (max,
min, etc.) and transition phenomena of convection and tempera-
ture field characteristics (temperature differences, Nu number)
are interesting. Some of them have no maximum in the region of
Wm• Slow rotation may be efficient for elimination of the tem-
perature (concentration) inhomogeneities. More detailed analy-
sis of slow rotation for variations of Ra, H/L and Pr numbers
may be of interest.
258
1.tJO Mu.
f\
I'
Fig. 1. Time dependence of temperature difference on the walls

in the central section (a), Nussel t number (b) and spatial
maximum of stream function (c). Solid and dashed lines
correspond to different initial positions of enclosure. Solid
line corresponds to initial right heating. small-dashed line -
initial bottom heating and dashed line - initial top heating
Fig. 2. Dependence of stream function from frequency of

rotation of acceleration vector W. Solid lines correspond to
maximum. average and minimum values in the time of the spatial
maximum of stream function. Dashed lines correspond to the same
values of spatial average of stream function
259
- ~ - t
a) cJ
CS
~~\
" ~e,
m~ ~O'
~\...~
b)~ ~ 0 ,~'
0) a\ (I Df. '- c:s ~ V
d)/W] _~
Fig. 3. streamlines in the quasi steady regime with frequency

of rotation of acceleration vector w equal 502 (a), 452 (b),
396 (c) and 251 Cd). The arrows denote the current direction of
acceleration vectors. the isolated walls are vertical, hot and
cold walls - horizontal (bottom is hot)
260
a)
b)
c)
d)
Fig. 4. Isotherms in quasi steady regime with frequency of

rotation of acceleration vector w equal 502 (a), 452 (b), 396
(c) and 251 (d). The arrows denote the current direction of
acceleration vector. The isolated walls are vertical, hot and
cold walls - horizontal (bottom is hot)
REFERENCES
1. Ostrach S. Convective phenomena of importance for material
processing in Space. In: Mater. Sci. Space. Appl. Space
Processes. N.Y., (1977), 3-32.
2. Polezhaev V.I. Investigating convection and heat and mass
transfer under zero-gravity conditions. Izv Akad. Nauk SSSR.
Ser. Fiz., (1985), v.49, No.4, 635-642.
3. Polezhaev V.I., Bello M.S., Verezub N.A. et al. Convective
261
processes in microgravity. M., Nauka, 1991 (in press). (In

Russian) •
4. Fluid Sciences and Materials Science in Space. Ed.
H.U.Walter, Springer-Verlag, 1987.
5. Polezhaev V.I. Influence of gravity gradient on the
temperature stratification in a cylinder vessel. "Cosmiches-
kie issledovania", 1972, XII, No.6 (In Russian).
6. Gershuni G.S., Zhukovitskii E.M., Nepomnyaschy A.A.,
Stability of convective flows. M., Nauka, 1989 (In Russian).
7. Jurkov Ju. S. Vibrating thermal convection in square cavity
in weightlessness(finite frequencies). In: Convective Flows,
Perm, 1981 (In Russian).
8. Kamotani Y., Prasad A., Ostrach S. Thermal convection in an
enclose due to vibrations aboard spacecraft. AlAA J., 1981,
v.19, No.4, 511-516.
9. Polezhaev V.I., Lebedev A.P., Nikitin S.A. Mathematical
simUlation of disturbing forces and material science
processes under low gravity. Proc. 5th European Symp. on
Material Sciences under microgravity, 1984.(ESA SP-222).
10. Avduevsky V.S., Korolcov A.V., Kupcova V.S., Savichev V.V.
Investigation of thermal gravity convection in variable fi-
elds of small acceleration vectors. PMTF, 1987, No.1, 54-59
11. Ermakov S.V., Feonychev A.I. Convection under variable body
forces acceleration and impurity microseregation in
crystals. In: Hydromechanics and heat masstransfer under
microgravity. Novosibirsk, 1988, 20-34. (In Russian).
12. Alexander J.I.D., Ouazzani J., Rosenberger F. Analysis of
the low gravity tolerance of Bridgman-Stockbarger crystal
growth. J. Crystal Growth, 1989, v.97, 285-302.
13. Biological investigations on biosatellietes "Cosmos". M.,
Nauka, 1979 (in Russian).
14. Verezub N.A. Investigation of heat and mass transfer in
liquid phase epitaxy semiconductors growth. In:
Hydromechanics, hea t and mass transfer during material
processing. M., Nauka, 1990, 49-56 (in Russian).
15. Grjaznov V.L., Ermakov M.K., Nikitin S.A., Pavlovsky D.S.
Solving convection problems on a personal computer. Prepr.
Inst. for problems in Mechanics, M., 1990, N 481.
16. Ermakov M.K., Grjaznov V.L., Nikitin S.A., Pavlovsky D.S.,
Polezhaev V.I. Specialized software for modelling of
convection in microgravity. XXVIII COSPAR Meeting, 1990,
Advances in Space Research (in press).
17. Polezhaev V.I. Convective interaction in a cylinder vessel
partially filled with liquid and heat supplied to the side
surfaces, free surfaces and bottom. Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR,
Mekhan. Zhidk. i Gaza, 1972, No.4, 77-88.
18. Ostrach S. Natural convection heat transfer in cavities and
cells. In: Heat transfer, Proc. Vllth Int. Heat Transfer
Conf., Munich, Hemispere Publ. Co., 1982.
19. Polezhaev V.I. Flow and heat transfer with natural
convection of a gas in a closed region after loss of
hydrostatic equilibrium stability. Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR,
Mekhan. Zhidk. i Gaza, 1968, v.3, No.5, 124-129.
20. Gercenshtein S.Ya., Rahmanov A.I. Convection in plane fluid
layer rotating round horizontal axis. Doklady AN SSSR
1983, v.269, No.3, 561-564.
Stability of a Spherical and a Catenoidal Liquid
Bridge Between Two Parallel Plates in the Absence
of Gravity
Dietel' Strube
Institut fur Raumfahrttechnik

Universitdt del' Bundeswehr Munchen
Summary
We consider a 1 iquid bridge with a free surface held together by surface
tension and with prescribed volume and contact angle between two parallel
plates in the absence of gravity. Using necessary and sufficient stability
criteria, it is shown that the 1 iquid bridge is stable if its shape is
spherical and unstable if it is catenoidal.
1. Introduction and statements of results

This work deals with the stabil ity problem of a 1 iquid bridge with a free
surface held together by surface tension between two equal parallel plates
in the absence of gravity. The present paper is an abbreviated version of a
paper of Strube [1]. The abbreviation consists of omitting most proofs.
The stabil ity of a 1 iquid bridge between two parallel circular plates with
anchored edges which we call a fixed system (the contact 1 ine is fixed) has
been calculated by Erle et.al. [2] and by Gillette and Dyson [3] from an
equation due to Howe [4] using methods of the classical calculus of
variation [5]. For numerical data one may consult the paper of Martinez
and Perales [6]. Up to now 1 ittle attention has been given to the
stability of so-called free liquid bridges, i.e. of liquid volumes between
two parallel plates with free edges and prescribed contact angle.
Only recently Vogel [7] developed necessary and sufficient stabil ity
criteria for such a 1 iquid bridge with a free boundary. He appl ied these
criteria to the special case of contact angles equal to n/2 and found that
unduloids (one of the Plateau surfaces with constant mean curvature) are
unstable and that the cyl inder is stable if the ratio of plate separation
to the radius of the cyl inder is less than n and unstable for greater
ratios. This latter result is also in accordance with a dynamical theory
developed by Bauer and Eidel [8]. We stress that for the above mentioned
system with fixed boundaries the corresponding critical ratio for the
H. J. Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogravlty FlUId Mechamcs
264
cyl inder is 2n: [3]. It is the aim of the present paper to investigate the
stabil ity of the free 1 iquid bridge for two further special cases of the
Plateau surfaces, namely the sphere and the catenoid which have nonperpendi-
cular contact angles. Using a necessary and sufficient stduility criterion
derived by Vogel [7] from an energy principle, we show that the sphere is
stable and that the catenoid is unstable. For the fixed 1 iquid bridge we
recall that the sphere is also stable, which is a special result of the
work of Gillette and Dyson [3] and that the catenoid is unstable for
ratios of plate separation to neck diameter greater than 2.239 ... , and
stable for smaller ratios [2]. Thus, for the system with fixed boundaries
instabi 1 ity occurs for larger volumes than in the case of the system with
free boundaries. The paper is organized as follows. In section 2 we review
the main results of the work of Vogel [7] consisting of stability criteria
which are derived from an energy principle. Here, the main step consists in
transforming the original minimum problem to the investigation of a
corresponding Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem. Section 3 is devoted to
the application of these stability criteria to the special cases of the
sphere and the catenoid.
2. The energy principle and stabil ity criteria

In this section we formulate the energy principle and 1 ist the main
results of the paper of Vogel [7]. We consider only situations where
gravitational effects are negl igible, the system is isothermal, and the
surface tension is constant. The two end plates are situated such that
the I ine joining their centers is perpendicular to each plate.
According to the principle of virtual work the system is in a stable
equi 1 ibrium if the total potential energy of the free I iquid bridge is a
local minimum [9]. If h is the plate separation and if the symmetry axis
with origin at the centre of one plate is the x-axis such that f=f(x)
describes the shape of the free surface of the 1 iquid bridge, then the
total energy of the system is given by
Here, a denotes the surface tension of the 1 iquid, that is the interfacial
tension between the 1 iquid and the air, ~ and ~ are the interfacial
tensions between plate 1 and 2 respectively and the 1 iquid and Sl and S2
are the interfacial tensions between plate 1 and 2 and the air respectively.
265
The first therm describes the energy of the free surface and the two other
terms describe the wetting energy of the two plates (A constant
contribution has been omitted in the total energy).
In the fol lowing we assume for simpl icity equal plates, then
In the variational formulation we have the fol lowing isoperimetric problem

with free end points. We want to minimize the energy functional I(f)
subject to the constraint of volume conservation,
h Z
J(f)=nffdx=V for some prescribed V.
o
Such isoperimetric problems are treated by the method of Lagrange

multipl iers considering an auxil iary function K: = I+HJ, where it turns
out that the Lagrange multiplier H is proportional to the mean curvature
of the rotational surface. From the first variation 6K=O we obtain the
Euler-Lagrange equation
(Z.1)
with boundary conditions
f' (0) f' (h)

a J 1+f'(o)Z a-i3=-a
J l+f' (h) Z
(Z. Z)
The first relation is Laplace's capillarity equation and the second

relation is Youngs equation corresponding to prescribed contact angles.
Due to (Z. I) the extremals are rotational symmetric surfaces of constant
mean curvature which were called by Plateau [10] unduloids and nodoids.
These surfaces were first studied by Delaunay and Sturm [11] and are
known to be obtained by tracing a focus of a conic section which is rolled
without sl ipping along aline and revolving the resulting curve around
that 1 ine. Special cases of these Delaunay surfaces are sphere, cyl inder
and catenoid. After taking into account the criterion for a solution to a
Lagrange multipl ier problem to be a relative minimum [12] an expl icit
calculation yields the following necessary and sufficient stability
condition.
266
Theorem 2.1:
h
If f(x) is a solution to (2.1) and (2.2), ifn:I f 2 dx=Vand if the
o
quadratic from
B (1f!)
is positive definite on the space of functions
h
f.L: = {1f!: f 1f!fd x= 0 }, where 1f! is an arbitrary smooth function, then
o
f is stable, i.e. a local minimum of the energy functional r(f) subject to
the constraint J(f)=V. If B(1f!) <0 for any 1f!Ef.!., then f is not a local
minimum and thus unstable. Since by an integration by parts,
B (1f!) =
the condition that B(1f!) is positive definit on the subspace f.Lwi II

involve the eigenvalues of the Sturm-Liouvil Ie problem
(2.3)
with boundary conditions
1f!' (0) =1f!' (h) =0. (2.4)
The sequence of eigenvalues {\}, i=0,1,2, ... of this regular Sturm-

Liouvi lie system is strictly increasing. Since B(1f!) is negative for 1f!" 1,
it follows that there is at least one negative eigenvalue. If we have
A 1<0 one can conclude that B(1f!) is not positive definite on fJ. (see case 3
of section 3 in [7]). In the interesting case Ao<O<Al the following
stabil ity criterion can be proven.
Theorem 2.2:
Assume that the first two eigenvalues of the Sturm-Liouville problem (2.3)
and (2.4) satisfy Ao <0<A 1 • Let o(x) solve L(il»=f with 0' (o)=il>' (h)=O.
267
Then the following are equivalent:
i) B(W) is positive definite on f.L
h
i i) f <l>fdx <- O.
o
3. Stability of the sphere and instability of the catenoid
In this section we continue the stability analysis of Vogel [7] for two
further special cases of unduloids and nodoids having non-perpendicular
contact angles, namely the cases of the sphere and the catenoid where the
latter are surfaces which are generated by rolling parabolas.
3.1. The case of the sphere
Let f describe a spherical I iquid bridge, i.e.,

2 2 h 2 h
f (x) =r - (x -"2) with r>"2 where r is the radius of the sphere.
The corresponding Sturm-Liouville problem reads in this case
(f4(y)W'(Y))1 +].lW(Y) =0 and
h
and ].l=r
2 3
+r A.
whe re y=x -"2'
This eigenvalue problem can be solved expl icitly with the result
h
r+"2
A=-2. and (rA )1/2=rr(2n-l)/ln --h- n=1 ,2,3, ...
o r n
r--
2
which shows that Ao <0<A 1 . Therefore one can apply Theorem 2.2 of the
previous section which yields after some elementary calculations the
stability of a spherical liquid bridge.
3.2. The case of the catenoid

h
x--
2
The shape of a catenoidal I iquid bridge is given by f(x)=c ch
c
268
where c is the neck radius of the catenoid. Again one has to consider the
corresponding Sturm-Liouville problem which reads in this case
(WI(Z))I+ W(z) +CAW(Z)=0

2 -2-
ch Z ch Z
and
W'( -z ) =W'(Z ) =0
o 0'
where
h
x -"2
Z : = 1. -
c c
Using methods developed by Quade [13], from a transcendental A-equation we

can find a negative upper bound for the second eigenvalue A1 for this
problem. Thus, A1 is negative and from the previous section we get
instabi 1 ity of a catenoidal 1 iquid bridge.
It is a pleasure to thank H.F.Bauer and W.Eidel for their current interest

and some helpful comments. The reported theoretical investigations have
been sponsored by the German Bundesminister fur Forschung und Technologie
(contract number 01QV8876).
269
References
1. Strube,D.: Stability of a liquid bridge between two equal parallel

plates in the absence of gravity - The case of the sphere and the
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revolution with constant surface tension - The case of the catenoid.
Chem.Eng.J. 1 (1970) 97-109.
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revolution between equal sol id circular plates. Chem.Eng.J. 2 (1971)
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graBe ein magi ichst groBes oder kleines Volumen enthalten.
Dissertation, Univ.Berl in 1887.
5. Bolza, 0.: Vorlesungen Uber Variationsrechnung. Leipzig, Berl in:

Teubner 1909.
6. Martinez, I.; Perales, J.M.: Liquid bridge stabil ity data.

Journal of Crystal Growth 78 (1986) 369-378.
7. Vogel, T. I.: Stability of a 1 iquid drop trapped between two parallel

planes. SIAM J.Appl.Math. 47 (198]) 516-525.
8. Bauer, H.F.; Eidel, W.: Nonl inear oscillations of an inviscid 1 iquid

column under zero gravity. Ingenieur Archiv 58 (1988) 276-284.
9. GauB, C.F.: Principia general ia theoriae figurae fluidorum in statu

aequil ibri i. Comment.soc.reg.scient. Gotting.recent. 7 (A German
translation appears in Ostwald's Klassiker d. exakten Wiss., 135).
10. Plateau, J.: Statique experimentaJe et theorique des 1 iquides soumis

aux seules forces moleculaires. 2 Vols., Gand 1873.
11. Delaunay, C. with a not of Sturm, M.: Sur la surface de revolution dont
la courbure moyenne est constante. Journal de Mathematiques 6 (1841)
309-320.
12. Strubecker, K.: EinfUhrung in die hahere Mathematik. Bd. IV.

Oldenb.Verl.Munchen 1984.
13. Quade, W.: Schranken fUr die Eigenwerte der Sturmschen Randwertauf-
gabe zweiter Ordnung. Math.Z. 51 (1949) 92-125.
Equilibrium Shapes, Stability and Dynamical
Behaviour of Liquid Captive Menisci under
Gravitational, Centrifugal and Electrical Fields
A. Ganan, I.G. Loscertales, A. Barrero
Dpto. Ingenieria Energetica y Mecanica de Fluidos, Universidad de Sevilla,

Spain
H. Gonzalez, A. Ramos, F.M.J. McCluskey, A. Castellanos
Dpto. Electronica y Electromagnetismo, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
ABSTRACT
A linear analysis of the free oscillations of captive drops or bubbles surrounded by an

immiscible liquid or gas undergoing rotation in the presence of gravity has been carried
out. Using spectral analytical methods, the natural frequencies corresponding to the sym-
metric and non-symmetric vibration modes have been calculated for any combination of
the Bond and Weber numbers. The method uses normal mode decomposition and Green's
function to reduce the linearized Navier-Stokes equations and boundary conditions to an
eigenvalue problem. Both the Green's function and normal velocities at the interface are
expanded in the orthogonal functional space generated by the Sturm-Liouville problem
associated with the homogeneous part of the interface equation. The effect on the vi-
bration modes of the density and geometrical parameters of the captive drop and the
surrounding medium has been analysed. The case w = 0 which determines the stability
boundaries has also been considered. It is shown that the elliptic vibration spectrum
presents two different and unexpected features depending on the Weber number range
and the geometrical parameters. Finally, experimental results for the no-rotation case
have been obtained and they show a good agreement with the calculated frequencies.
In addition, we have performed theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies of

liquid bridges and drops under the influence of an a.c. electric field. Experimental results
on the cylindrical liquid bridge stability have been obtained using a Plateau tank facility.
The stability boundaries as a function of the bridge slenderness, the ratio of permittiv-
ities and a dimensionless voltage parameter, have been determined by means of a statical
analysis based on normal mode decomposition. Experimental and theoretical results are
in good agreement.
Finite elements and separated variables methods have been used to obtain the equi-
librium shapes and bifurcation points for axisymmetric non-cylindrical bridge and drops
of arbitrary volume subjected to an electric field.
H, J. Rath (EdItor)
Microgravlty Fluid Mechamcs
IUTAM Symposium Bremen [991
272
1 Analysis of capillary menisci

The study of the behaviour of liquid menisci under effects such as gravity, rotation, and
electromagnetic fields is a difficult fluid mechanical, or electro-fluid mechanical problem,
of great interest for its potential technological application to several industrial processes.
An excellent review on this field can be found in Myshkis et al. [1].
Here we present both theoretical and experimental results on the inviscid free vibra-
tions of axisymmetric floating liquid zones (liquid bridges) and pendent or sessile drops or
bubbles surrounded by an immiscible incompressible fluid under the combined influence
of both gravitational and isorotational (the drop and its surroundings are assumed to be
rotating as a rigid body) fields. In addition, equilibrium shapes and their stability under
the influence of an intense a.c. electric field are also given.
Let us consider the small amplitude free vibrations of a liquid captive drop or bubble
which forms an axisymmetric system together with its surrounding medium and cylindri-
cal container (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Liquid bridge, and both pendent and sessile drop configurations.
The liquid or gas volume V may be held between two parallel, coaxial disks (liquid
bridge configuration), or be in contact with a single coaxial support (pendant or sessile
drop configurations). When an a.c. potential difference U is applied to the boundary
(electrodes) the non-dimensional electric field and Navier-Stokes equations for the in-
viscid motion of both inner and outer incompressible fluids are, after the appropriate
simplifications (Ganan and Barrero [2], [3], Ganan [4], Gonzalez et al. [5]):
V'. Ei =0 (1)
(2)
273
D yi
- - - -V
Dt -
( i
- B
pi +p1---pO
- z -p1-_- pOW
- (k A2 X)2 - fo ~ xE2)
-fi_-fi
-
pi
(W)
-2 - - -
p1 _ pO
t kAy}.
'
(3)
where superscripts j = 0 and i refer to outer and inner fluid respectively, f is the electrical
permittivity and ~ = '5 U~)T is the electrostriction parameter.
The whole system is assumed to be rotating as a rigid body, and the drop dynamics
is then described in a coordinate system solidly rotating with both inner and outer fluids.
In what follows we will use cylindrical coordinates x(r,<p,z). The acceleration due to
gravity g and the rotation constant speed Ok are taken along the z-axis (see figure 1).
Only positive rotation speeds are considered since, owing to the symmetry, no additional
results can arise for negative rotation. All variables in (1), (2), and (3) and figure 1 have
been non-dimensionalized using a reference density p = p1 + pO, a characteristic length
flo which is either the bottom radius for bridges or the support radius for drops, and
a characteristic time tc = (p R~ 0-- 1) t, where
0- and p1 are surface tension and density
respectively. The Bond B == g(p1 - pO)R6 0--1, Weber W == 02(p1 - pO)R~ 0-- 1 and the
dimensionless electrical X = (fo - fi)U 2 2- 1 0-- 1 k;;t numbers stand for the ratios of grav-
itational, rotational and electrical forces, respectively, to surface tension. Our analysis
(Gaiiein [4]) represents the first-order approximation to the dynamics of captive drops of
liquids of very low viscosity (e.g. water, water-based solutions, most melted metals and
minerals, many organic liquids, blood, etc.).
Equations (1) and (2) must be solved subject to the following boundary conditions:
(i) The normal component of the velocity must be continuous across the interface and
vanish on the solid surfaces.
(ii) The interfacial surface behaves as a fluid surface, i.e. if the interface is described
using a function f(r,<p,z,t) == F(<p,z,t) - r being equal to zero at the surface, it
must satisfy the equation
Df of
-=-+y}·Vf=O
.
(4)
Dt at
(iii) The tangential component of the electric field is continuous across the interface.
(iv) The normal components of the electrical displacement fi Ei must be continuous

across the interface since there is no superficial charge there.
274
(v) The pressure jump across the interface is balanced by surface tension. Furthermore,
applying conditions (iii) and (iv) one obtains the equation:
·2·2 W 2
\7 . n + x(E~ / f3 + E; ) = .6.II - Bz + 2r (5)
where n the outward unit normal on the interface, E~ and E~ are normal and
tangential components of the non-dimensional electric field for the inner liquid at
the interface, and .6.II is an eigenvalue for the following condition (vi):
(vi) The liquid volume V of the bridge or captive drop is kept constant.
(vii) The voltage is fixed at the electrodes.
Equations (1)-(5) with conditions (i), (ii), (v), (vi), and (vii) define a boundary prob-
lem whose solution determines the interface position as a function of the space coordinates
and time.
2 Methods of solution and numerical results

The high viscosity of most of the liquid dielectrics used in practical applications makes
renders unrealistic an inviscid analysis as a first approach to the dynamics of dielectric
liquid menisci. Nevertheless, almost-inviscid liquids are present in many other technical
processes involving surface tension and microgravity conditions. Therefore, we shall split
our study into two main parts. In the first one we present results obtained by means of
a modal analysis of the small free oscillations of rotating liquid bridges and drops. In the
second one, results on menisci equilibrium shapes (v = 0) and their stability under the
influence of intense a.c. electric fields are reported.
2.1 Free vibrations of liquid menisci

To analyse the small free oscillations of system (1 )-(5) in the absence of an electric field,
we use the classical normal mode decomposition and, consequently, expand the solution as
a small perturbation from the equilibrium (Lamb [6], Rayleigh [7], Greenspan [8], Myshkis
et al. [1], etc.). Therefore, each dependent variable will be written in the form:
:E
00 00
1/J(r.p,z,t)=1/Je(z)+ :Ellm,n(z).exp[i(mr.p-wm,nt )] (6)

m=-oo n=l
where subscript e refers to the axisymmetric equilibrium conditions. The perturbation

quantities 11lm,n I are much smaller than 1/Je. As customary, m stands for the azimuthal
275
wave number and Wm,n is the n-th natural frequency of the system for a given m.
Introducing expansions (6) in expressions (1)-(5) and conditions (i)-(vii) we arrive, to

first order, at the equations governing the equilibrium configuration of the meniscus. The
second order terms give the equations for the small oscillations around the equilibrium.
A method for finding the solution to the dynamical problem has been presented in
Ganan and Barrero [2], [3], and Ganan [4]. In the following, focusing our attention on its
applications, we report theoretical results obtained using the above mentioned method.
Some experimental results are also given for comparison.
" r--------===~
Figure 2 shows the first natural frequencies
~
Wm,l of liquid bridges as a function of the
" Bond number (no rotation) for different slen-
dernesses Ho. The volume of these bridges
.., is that for which their equilibrium shapes
'" are cylindrical when B = 0 (V = 7rHo).
The dashed line represents liquid bridges
whose axisymmetric (m = 0) and trans-
verse (m = 1) modes have the same fre-
quency, so that the two modes may be simul-
... taneously excited. There exists a particular
bridge for which WO,1 = WI,1 = 0 correspond-
ing to a slenderness Ho = 1.9528. Notice
that more slender bridges have an axisym-
metric break up while shorter ones behave
Figure 2: non-symmetrically.
The influence of the Bond number on the natural frequencies of drops attached to a
circular support is given in figure 3 for different drop volumes and two support geome-
tries (flat disk or tube end). These volumes may be written as V = 7r(2 + 3 cos a -
cos 3 a)/(3 sin 3 a) when B = O. Short dashed and dot-dashed lines represent liquid drops
with the same axisymmetric and transverse frequencies. As in the previous case, there is
also a transition between the symmetric and non-symmetric breaking. Also, increasing
the tube depth has the same effect on the frequency as decreasing the drop volume.
276
Figure 3: First frequencies Wi for the symmetric and transverse modes of a non-
surrounded drop (either sessile or pendent) vs. the Bond number B, for different values
of the dimensionless volume V = 7r(2 + 3 cos 0'- cos 3 0')/3 sin 3 a and the two geometrical
configurations shown in the insert. For a given volume, a is the angle of the equilibrium
(spherical) profile in the absence of gravity (B=O). Drops having m = 0 and m = 1
modes with the same first frequencies are given in short dashed line [for configuration (a)]
and dot-short dashed line [for configuration (b)].
Tables 1-3 Experimental measurements of natural fre-
quencies in both symmetric and transverse
Liquid Brid,e (m=l) cases of liquid bridges, and pen-
".117,& m.m 3 , It _ e.f mm, B _ 0 .10:
... .."
m.O m_1 dent and sessile drops have been performed
,-I
... Theor.
i ."
Exp. e-rr . Theor-.
11 .2'
E..p.
10.t
en.I")
' .T
(Gaiian and Barrero [3]). These results are
~
... '2'.7'
U . i8
2'.0
.502.3
U
2. 1
28 .61
SO.IT
27.'
~O . 7
U
• .2
given, for comparison with the theoretical
'" .st.tt 10.2 U 10.1IS0 7& .• 3.1 frequencies, in tables 1-3. As it may be
P~lIIderl.l Drop
V = lOS mm 3 I ~ :;:; !o mm, B _ !I.57 seen, the maximum discrepancy is below 4%.
m _ 0
m_1
These discrepancies may be due to: 1) er-
~
,-I
. T~cor .
le,22
U.2;t
£Jl:p.
18.2
"" ,I
ur. (")
0.1
LO
Thur .
7 .06
2,5..&41
Exp.
7,3
25.18-
......
m ,(")
rors in the optical determination of the reso-
".. 79.3) 77.1 2 .• 51.9' S&.S 1.1 nant frequency (maximum amplitude vs. fre-
". U3. 2 U.s.S 2.0
Sellile Drop
33.72 152.$ 1.'
quency); 2) non-linear effects associated to
Ii _ 33 . 12 ornm 3 , Ro _ 2 mm, B _ o.le
m;;o: 0 m _ 1 larger oscillations in the neighbourhood of
.. ThifloCo'_
71.72
ElEp_
n .•
IIltf.(,,)
0 ,3
Thcor .
lIU6
E.p.
15.5
.rr.(")
3 .•
the resonant frequency; 3) evaporation of a
....... IfJ3.1
:nS.2
lI!" .6
:271 ,0
0 .'
1.1
&2 .07
118 . 1
&1.6
UT.'
0,'
0 ,2
small fraction of the drop volume during the
experiment; 4) variation of surface tension
'" 37t.2 3,gO ,2 U 1" .0 111 .1 1 ,3
due to heating by the light source and sur-

face contamination.
Results taking into account the influence of rotation on the small oscillations of liq-
uid captive drops will be given in the following. For W #- 0 the frequency spectrum
277
4W
{wm,n} is split into two sets corresponding to the elliptic w2 > -.--) and the hyper-
p' _ pO
bolic w 2 < .4W ) regimes (see also Myshkis et al. [ID.
p' _ pO
Figure 4 shows the first and second frequen-

cies of the axisymmetric (m = 0) and asym-
metric (m = 1, m = -1) modes of a liq-
uid bridge between two equal diameter disks,
slenderness Ho = 2.5, volume V = 2.51l",
Bond number B = 1, and surrounded by an
outer fluid of density pO = 0.35, for different
values of the vessel radius R 2 • The verti-
cal dashed-dot line represents the maximum
Weber number ( or the stability limit ) for
this particular bridge. It should be stressed
that the equilibrium problem (i. e., the equi-
librium shape) has to be solved for each W
value. In the case of this particular bridge,
the limit is firstly reached by an asymmetric
forward mode (m = 1). The character of the
O.l 0.< 0.6
wt
0.8 1.2 1.4
stability limit depends on the values of Ho,
Figure 4 Rb and V (Vega and Perales 1983).
In the elliptic region (w 2 >.4W), one may observe the splitting of frequencies
p' _ pO
corresponding to the forward (m = 1) and backward (m = -1) modes, while both have
the same value for non-rotating menisci. Furthermore, the frequency of the first mode
decreases for m = 1, and increases for m = -1 as W increases. In fact, this effect is a
characteristic of the first modes m = 1 and m = -1 for all captive menisci.
One of the most interesting features discovered for the elliptic spectra is that two
different modes (m = -1, n = 1; and m = -1, n = 2) eventually collapse into a single
one when the value of the rotation speed is increased. Above the value of the rotation
speed for which this happens, both disappear from the elliptic spectrum (see figure 4 for
the first and second m = -1 modes and R2 ::; 1.5). This phenomenon is described in
figures 5a-b. The right half of each graph shows the instant of minimum amplitude of
the interfacial motion ( maximum amplitude of the velocity), and the left half shows the
interface at a time ~ later.
2w
278
.. ,
(0) 10)
---c·.. ······
,-,~ ........ (I)
..., .•!.'
- I
~
~-.,...,.",.4:.·"'· ·· ····1
- -_ ..... , i·:· .··:~:.:: .:.\::~:~.:~

'. ---.,.
. . . . . . .. . . ,t .
---.~ : •• 4 .... _ _ .... ~
_. -->..\_---------------.---
Figure 5: Surface deformation and velocity fields for a) the first and b) second oscillation
modes m =: -1 for the liquid bridge of Fig. 4, for (I) W~ = 0.3, (II) W~ = 0.65, and
(III) W~ = 0.80.
To illustrate the effect of the vessel radius R 2 , figure 6 shows how the first backward
mode is modified for this bridge when R2 increases from R2 = 1.5 to R2 = 2 (W = 0.8).
A similar behavior may be observed for most of the capillary menisci under rotation as a
rigid body inside a cylindrical container.
t -- _ J f £ / I I I I I ••
!-_ _-¥~./" " ..

+----~';.'~",·· l ..
Figure 6: Surface deformation and velocity field for the first backwards mode (m = -1,
n = 1) of the same liquid bridge of Figs. 4-5 for W = 0.8, a) R2 = 1.5, b) R2 = 2.
The influence of rotation in the asymmetric oscillations m = 1 and m = -1 of a
non-surrounded captive drop in the absence of gravity and in contact with a circular flat
279
support (disk) has been also calculated. The contact line is fixed at the edge of the disk.
If the frequencies WI,1 and W-I,b and the rotation speed f! (which is IWI t in this case) are
normalized with the frequency of a drop with the same volume in the absence of rotation
one finds that all the curves W±l,l(f!) collapse for values of the drop volume ranging
W~,l'
from V ~ 0.4 to V ~ 50. The following general formula holds for the first frequency
m = 1 and m = -1 of a rotating liquid captive drop with B = 0 (Gaiian [4]):
W±l,l =1T ~ (7)

W~,l W?l
The influence on the oscillations of a cap-

tive drop of both the isorrotational and the
gravitational fields has been analyzed in the
case of V = 2.3. Figure 7 shows the first fre-
quency of the axisymmetric modes m = 0 for
different values of the Bond number B . The
dashed-dot line represents the stability limit
(due to the first non-symmetric m=l mode).
One observes that, although the oscillation
frequency decreases when B increases, the
stabilization effect due to rotation increases
Figure 7 Figure 8 (the slope of the curve w(f!) increases). On
the other hand, the slope of WO,n tends to 0
when f! --+ O.
In figure 8 the non symmetric m = 1 and

m = -1 modes of the same drop are repre-
sented as a function of both the Bond and
Weber numbers Band W. It is of interest to
notice that for low and negative Bond num-
bers, the lower value of the Weber number W
given by the stability criterion corresponds to
the first m = 1 mode, and for positive higher
values of B (B > 1. 78), it corresponds to the
first axisymmetric m = 0 mode.
In general, the isorrotational field was found to stabilize the meniscus when pi < po.
However, when / > po this effect may reverse depending on the geometry of the meniscus,
the Bond number and the oscillation mode under consideration. Finally, notice that the
oscillation modes corresponding to the lower wave numbers are the most affected by the
280
isorrotational field because the characteristic times of rotation and oscillation are of the
same order.
2.2 Dielectric liquid menisci in the presence of a.c. electric

fields
The influence of an axial a.c. electric field upon the shape and stability of axisymmetric
menisci has been investigated.
2.2.1 Cylindrical solution and its stability.
The cylindrical solution is the only analytical one known in closed form for all values of A,
x, and f3 (A = Ho /2). Its linear stability is examined by means of a static modal analysis
in the azimuthal coordinate (Sanz [9]), which determine an infinite set of nested surfaces
of bifurcation points (Gonzalez et al. [5]). A dynamical study for W =0 (Gonzalez et al.
[10]) shows that the stable region is bounded by the surface with the minimum value of
A. Continuity arguments lead to the same statement for all W. In figure 9 the stability
map for three selected values of the Weber number Wand f3 = 0.55 is presented.
Two different ways of destabilization are possible: the axisymmetric mode m = 0 (solid
lines), and the C mode (m = 1), with dashed lines. The strongly stabilizing effect of the
applied electric fields, as well as the destabilizing role played by the rotation is readily
apparent from the figures. There is no theoretical limit for stabilizing a cylindrical liquid
bridge with a given slenderness and angular velocity by means of an electric field, the
only practical limit is the breakdown strength of the dielectric liquid. On the other hand,
the more different the permittivities, the lower the necessary field is in order to stabilize.
2.2.2 Arbitrary axisymmetric shapes.
Here we will restrict ourselves to axisymmetric deformations. Since in this case the equi-
librium and Laplace equations cannot be solved in analytical form, numerical methods
have to be used (Ramos and Castellanos [11]).
To solve this problem, the equilibrium equation (5) was discretized using a centered
finite difference scheme of second order for z-derivatives, the potential was obtained using
linear finite elements on the functional
281
I
I
I
I
Qxisymmetric mode ,/
c-mode ,"
, ,I
,,
x I
,•
,,•
I
5
,,
+ ,,
,,
I
,
,,
I
,, ,, ,
,,
I
, ,
, I
,,
w.... 33/ ,, ,
,, ,,
O~~~~~~~~~'~~~~~~~~
2 3 4 5
Figure 9: Bifurcation curves in the X - A plane for f3 = 0.55 and three values of the
Weber number: (a) W = 0; (b) W = 0.2; (c) W = 0.33. Solid lines correspond to
bifurcation to an axisymmetric shape, and dashed lines to a C mode.
which was minimized, and finally the volume constraint was discretized using linear
finite elements for F(z). This leads to a system of nonlinear equations whose solution is
obtained by the Newton-Raphson method.
An alternative method for finding the solution of the equilibrium shape is an iterative
integration of the equilibrium equation written in intrinsic curvilinear coordinates along
the interface profile. The separation of variables is used to solve the Laplace equation for
the electric potential. Results are in close agreement with those reported by Ramos and
Castellanos [11) and will be presented in a forthcoming paper.
Equilibrium shapes. Since the Newton method has safe properties only if the initial
guess is close enough to the real solution, a continuation method in the parameters X,
T = V (If it was used to reach the desired ones. We present in figure 11 a bridge with
f3 = 0.5, T = 2.0 and Ho = Hoi Ro = 3.0 subjected to two different electric field intensities
X = 0.01 and X = 6.25. We also present the contribution of the polarization charge to
the potential. It may be easily shown from this figure that the main effect of the field
is to align the interface with the applied electric field except for a small region near the
fixed contact lines. The same behaviour was obtained for different permittivity ratios and
volumes.
282
b)
z z
Figure 10: (a) Equipotentials of \II ( polarization charges contribution to the potential)
for a liquid bridge with T = 2.0, f3 = 0.5, A = 3.0 and X = 0.01. (b) Equipotentials of \II
for the same liquid bridge with X = 6.25.
Bifurcation and stability. At each step the Jacobian of the Newton method was
computed in order to evaluate the possibility of bifurcation. To determine the set of
bifurcating points we started from a known stable equilibrium shape for a given X and A
and increased the parameter A until the Jacobian of the Newton method went to zero.
This method was used to determine the bifurcation curves in the X - A plane for a
fixed relative permittivity, f3 = 0.55 and a set of different values of the parameter T. These
curves are plotted in figure 13. The value of f3 was chosen to compare with theoretical
and experimental data reported in Gonzalez et al. 1989. Notice that the curve for T = 1
is the same as the one given in figure 9a. Due to the relationship between bifurcation
and neutral stability, these curves delimitate the region of stability. From the continuity
of physical properties and the well known fact that for a cylindrical bridge the region
below the curve in the X - A plane is unstable (Gonzalez et al. 1989), it may be deduced
that the same will be true for each curve of given T. That is, bridges with given Tare
only stable if the set of parameters (X, A) belongs to the upper region delimited by the
corresponding curve. When X = 0, the results of minimum volume are coincident with
those given by Martinez and Perales [12J.
As a conclusion, the effect of an applied electric field, X f= 0, is to shift the criterium

of minimum volume in a such way that, for a given A, the minimum volume decreases.
In other words, the stability region is augmented.
283
T=0.7
0.8
O.
1.
x
.5
3.5 4 4.5 5
A
Figure 11: Graph in X-A plane of liquid bridges bifurcation curves for a set of different
T= V/ 7r A values when f3 is fixed to 0.55.
REFERENCES
[1] Myshkis, A.D.; Babskii, V.G.; Kopachevskii, N.D.; Slobozhanin, L.A.; Tyuptsov, A.D.:
Low-gravity fluid mechanics. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Verlag 1987.
[2] Gaii an , A.; Barrero, A. 1986. Equilibrium shapes and free vibrations of liquid captive
drops. Physicochemical Hydrodynamics. (Ed. Velarde, M. G.). Plenum Press 1986, pp.
53-69.
[3] Gaiian, A.; Barrero, A.: Free oscillations of liquid captive drops. Microgravity Sci.
Technol., ITI (2) (1990) pp. 70-86
[4] Gaiian-Calvo, A. M.: Oscillations of liquid captive rotating drops. J. Fluid Mech 226
(1991) pp. 63-90.
[5] Gonzalez, H.; McCluskey F. M. J.; Castellanos, A.; Barrero, A.: Stabilization of
dielectric liquid bridges by electric fields in the absence of gravity. J. Fluid Mech., 206
(1989) pp. 545-561.
[6] Lamb, H.: Hydrodynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1932.
[7] Rayleigh, J.W.: The theory of Sound. Dover 1945.
[8] Greenspan, H.P.: The theory of rotating fluids. Cambridge University Press 1968.
[9] Sanz, A.: The influence of the outer bath in the dynamics of axisymmetric liquid
bridges. J. Fluid Mech. 156 (1985) pp. 101-140.
[10] Gonzalez, H.; McCluskey, F. M. J.; Castellanos, A. and Gaiian, A.: Small oscillations
of liquid bridges subjected to a.c. fields, in Synergetics, Order and Chaos (Ed. Velarde,
M.G.) Singapoore: World Scientific 1988.
[11] Ramos, A. and Castellanos, A.: Shapes and stability of liquid bridges subjected to
a.c. electric fields. J. Electrostat. (submitted 1991).
[12] Martinez, I.; Perales, J. M.: Liquid bridge stability data. J. Crystal Growth, 78
(1986) pp. 369-378.
Linear Stability of Marangoni-Hartmann-
Convection
*
K. Nitschke, A. Thess , G. Gerbeth
Central Institute for Nuclear Research Rossendorf

P.O. Box 19, 8051 Dresden, Germany
Summary
The Marangoni instability in an electrically conducting fluid
layer subjected to a homogeneous magnetic field is studied by
means of linear stability theory. He have found a suppressing
influence of a vertical magnetic field on both types of primary
Marangoni instabilities. One observes a constraining of the flow
to a shallow Hartmann layer below the free surface with increa-
sing magnetic field. The wavelength of the first unstable mode
decreases thereby. A comparison between the stationary and the
oscillatory Marangoni instabilities shows that the latter is
more sensitive to an application of a magnetic field. The unde-
sired decrease of the instability threshold under reduced gravi-
ty can be counteracted by the presence of a magnetic field.
Introduction
Microgravity provides the unique opportunity of studying fluid

dynamical effects and instabilities which are not or hardly ac-
cessible under terrestrial conditions. The surface tension
driven instability is due to its practical importance (e.g. in
crystal growth technology) a potential example among them. From
liquid metal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) it is known that stabil-
ity properties of flows of electrically conducting fluids are
dramatically changed by an external magnetic field a. In spite
of the increasing interest in Harangoni instability there are to
our knowledge only a few works (/2/-/5/ to the primary instabil-
ity and /6/ to the secondary instability) devoted to the influ-
ence of a on this instability. In the present paper we analyse
the influence of a uniform magnetic field on stationary and os-
cillatory surface tension driven instability in an electrically
conducting fluid layer with free deformable surface which is
*present address: Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon

46, Allee d'Italie
67364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
H. J Rath (EdItor)
Mlcrogravity FlUId Mechamcs
IUTAM Sympos1Um Bremen [991
if' Spnngcr-Verla~ Berlin HCLdclherg 19q2
286
heated or cooled. respectively. from below. We shall call the in-

stabilities occurring in such a layer "Marangoni-Hartmann insta-
bilities" where the term "Hartmann" is used as synonym for maa-
netic field influence. Lateral confinement and nonlinear effects
as examined in /7/ and /8/ are outside the scope of the present
study. The paper is organized as follows. In chapter 2 we formu-
late the stability problem as a linear eigenvalue problem into
which the magnetic field enters as a dimensionless parameter. the
Hartmann number. Section 3 contains the neutral curves and the
critical parameters for an onset of Marangoni-Hartmann instabili-
ty under various gravity levels. The spatial structure of the
first unstable modes is examined. In section .. we discuss the
obtained results and give some estimations concerning the possi-
bility of an experimental verification of the studied effects. A
brief summary follows in section 6.
Mathematical formulation
Consider an infinitely extended layer of an electrically conduct-

ing fluid confined by a solid wall at Z=O and bounded by a free
deformable surface at z= d +2 (x.t) (f1g.1). A linear temperature
distribution T(z)=Tl-~z (~=(TI-Tz)/d) across the layer is main-
tained by heating (~>O) or cooling (~<O) from below. The surface
tension 0 is assumed to vary with temperature linearily. The lay-
er is subjected to a homogeneous maanetic field a=&a z . Onder the
assumption of negligible buoyancy forces which is admissible for
very shallow layers under terrestrial conditions or for arbitrary
layer thickness in microgravity the problem is governed by the
following set of equations
C> tV + tll:V)Y = - .:::Lvp +)1 Ll Y + 1/(~oW (\l x a) x a (1)

~o
OtT + (YV)T = <e~T (2)
Ot a + (y·v>a = (a,'i7)Y + 1/~~l.)..6a (3)
v·y = 0 (4)
v·a = 0 (5)
for the velocity field y. the temperature field T and the mag-
netic field a. '?o.» • ~ • ~L' ~o denote fluid density. kinematic
viscosity. thermal diffusivity. electrical conductivity and maa-
netic permeability. respectively. and are assumed to be constant.
Equations (1)-(5) are supplemented by appropriate boundary condi-
287
tions. At the bottom z=O we impose the no-slip condition, the

continuity of the maanetic field and the isothermal condition
(constant temperature). At the deformable surface z=d+~ (x,t) we
require the balance of normal and tanaential stresses, the conti-
nuity of the maanetic field and thermal isolation. The boundary
conditions are transferred to z=d by use of Taylor expansion for
I~I« d. Our interest is directed to the investiaation of the
stability of the basic state
y = 0 (6)
T = Tl -pz (7)
a = ~ (8)
~ = 0 (9)
p = ~oa(d-z) (10)
with respect to two-dimensional infinitesimal perturbations ha-
vina the form of normal modes
(v&,®,b&,~,p) = (-W(z),G(z),K(z),N,P(z» exp(ik.x + st) (11)
(s = A ~ i w , w : frequency). For the sake of conciseness we

shall avoid the presentation of cumbersome expressions on the way
to the linear stability equations. We rather refer to the compre-
hensive works 110/, 1111 for the nonmaanetic case aivina here
our final result only. Linearizing the aoverning equations around
the basic state, introducina dimensionless variables and elimina-
tina the equation for the perturbation of the maanetic field
under the assumption w/Pr.« 1 (O(Pr.) = 10 5 for liquid metals,
the maanetic Prandtl number is defined as Pr.=l/~~,~), we find
that the modes with zero arowth rate s = iw (neutral modes) are
the solution of the linear equations (D=d/dz)
«D 2 _ a 2 - iw/Pr)(D 2 a 2 ) - 8a 2D2) W(z) = 0 (12)

(D 2 a 2 - iw) G(z) = W(z). (13)
The boundary conditions take the form

W = 0, DW = 0, G = 0 (14)
at z = 0, and
W = -iwN (15)
C(3a 2 + 8a 2 + iw/Pr - D2) DW = a 2 (a 2 + Bo)N (16)
(D 2 + a 2 ) W a 2Ha(G-N) = 0 (17)
DG = 0 (18)
at z = 1.
288
The two physical control parameters of the problem, namely the

temperature eradient and the streneth of the maenetic field,
enter the stability problem (12)-(18) in form of the dimension-
less Haraneoni and Hartmann numbers defined by
Ha = -(d6'/dT)~ d 2/(,?ovce) Harangoni number
Ha = BdV%l/~))' Hartmann number.
The microgravity aspect of the problem is contained in the Bond
number (e : gravitational acceleration)
2
Bo = "oed / % Bond number
which typical values are in the order of 10- 2 under terrestrial
and 10- 4 - 10- 7 under microgravity conditions. Horeover, the sta-
bility properties are influenced by the material parameters
Pr = )J / ae Prandtl number
C = ~o V ~ /%d Capillary number.
Finally, a=k.d is the dimensionless wavenumber of the perturba-
tions. The eeneral solution of (12) and (13) can be written in
the form
:z
W(z) =~(WeiCOSh(AiZ) + W.isinh(Aiz» (19)
,-.-(
L,.:"" (We i/(::>'i 2-a2-iw)cosh(::>.i z)

'2.
2 2
G(z) = + W.i/(Ai -a -iw)sinh(Aiz»
+ Gecosh(~z) + G.sinh(~z) (20)
The Ai are the positive complex roots of the characteristic equa-

tion of (12) whereas ~ = (a + i w)1/2.
The six unknown parameters Wei' W. i , Ge , G. (i=1,2) are deter-
mined by the boundary conditions (14)-(18). The resultine linear
system has a solution if its determinant is equal to zero. The
real part of this equation yields an explicite expression for the
Haraneoni number Ha{a,w,Ha,Pr,C,Bo). The imaeinary part which has
to vanish therefore is an implicite equation for the frequency of
the unstable modes.
The considered problem is a complex interplay of thermocapillary,
electromaenetic and surface wave phenomena and we make no attempt
to completely explore the six dimensional parameter space
(Ha,a,Ha,Bo,C,Pr). We confine ourselves to the fixed values
Pr=0.02 and C=10- 5 typical for liquid metals and semiconductor
melts. We have performed spot check for differine values of C and
Pr in order to understand the tendency of change in system
behaviour and to get a comparison with existine computations.
289
Results of the numerical computations

Stationary Hara~i-Hartman~ instabil1 ty
The obtained curves Ha(a,Ha,Bo,C,Pr) for several Hartmann numbers

are represented in fiS. 2. The 80nd nuaber is fixed to 80=10- 2
(terrestrial conditions). As known froa previous studies (/12/ ,
/13/) Haransoni instability sets in as stationary convection if
the liquid layer is heated from below. PiS. 2 illustrates the
stabilizins influence of the masnetic field in fora of an in-
crease of the Haransoni number for any fixed wavenumber with
increasins Hartaann nuaber. Our curves for the ranse of saall and
moderate wavelensth are in asreement to those obtained by Pearson
/9/ (nonmasnetic problem) and by Haekawa /4/ (maanetic problem).
The points ac(Ha) at which the Haransoni number Ha(Ha) attains
its minimum (threshold of Haransoni instability and wavenumber of
the first unstable mode) are listed in table 1.
TABLE 1. Dependence of the critical values on Hartmann number

(stationary Haransoni instability, C=10- 5 , 80=10- 2 )
Ha Hac ac H&(a-+O)
o 79.5 1.99 666.97
1 82.16 2.01 677.39
5 138.07 2.38 810.95
10 284.17 2.96 900.08
20 769.85 3.89 950.00
For the normalized critical values Hac/Ha o and ac/a o (Ha o and
are the critical values of the nonmasnetic problea (Ha=O»
obtain the followins numerical fits (error < 5%):
Case (i): Ha < 10 (small aasnetic fields):
Hac/Ha o 1 = 0.037 Ha1.858 (21)
ac/a o 1 = 0.017 Ha 1.508 (22)
Case (11) :15 < Ha < 30 (moderate masnetic fields) :
Mac/Mao 1 = 0.044 Hal. 783 (23)
ac/a o 1 = 0.076 HaO. 84O (24)
The spatial structure of the first unstable modes is shown in the
fisures 6 - 9.
290
OscQlatory -.!arangoni-Hartmann J:!lstabilit~
Admitting surface deflections an onset of oscillatory Marangoni

instability takes place by changing the direction of heating
(cooling from below or heating from above). The computed curves
for Ha~O and higher Prandtl numbers are in accordance to those
obtained by Takashima /12/. The behaviour of oscillatory insta-
bility in the presence of a magnetic field is qualitatively simi-
lar to that found for stationary Marangoni instability. The drift
of the neutral curves to higher values of Marangoni number with
increasing Hartmann number is documented in fig. 3. The critical
values ae(Ha), Mae(Ha) together with the frequency of the first
unstable mode are listed in table 2.
TABLE 2. Dependence of the critical values on Hartmann number

(oscillatory Marangoni instability, C=10- 5 , Bo=10- 2 )
Ha Mae ae we
o -969.11 0.19 2.11
1 -1124.02 0.21 2.33
3 -2418.28 0.25 3.51
5 -5603.14 0.32 5.69
1 -11161.45 0.44 10.18
For the normalized critical values Mae/Mao and ae/a o at small

magnetic fields (Ha<10) we get here the following numerical fits
(error < 5%):
1 = 0.095 Ha 2 . 445 (25)

1 = 0.044 Ha 1 . 711 (26)
Marangoni-Hartmann instability under reduced gravity

-------------------
A lowered gravity level modelled here by the variation of Bond
number results in characteristic changes of the stability proper-
ties. While the location of the neutral surface of the oscillato-
ry Marangoni instability is affected at whole (decrease of Ma and
for a given wavenumber a, fig. 4) the neutral surface for the
stationary Marangoni instability remains unchanged with exception
of a long wavelength region. The critical Marangoni numbers for
~x~oo are considerably lowered. Fig. 5 shows the decrease of the
critical Marangoni number (normalized with respect to its zero-
291
gravity value) for oscillatory Marangoni instability at two dif-

ferent Hartmann numbers in dependence on the gravity level.
Discussion
The mechanism of suppressing the onset of Marangoni instability

in the presence of a vertical magnetic field consists in the fol-
lowing: A motion of surface fluid with a velocity component vz>O
due to a surface tension gradient induces an electrical current
with density jy = 0elvzBO' As result of the interaction between
jy and B a Lorentz force fz = -jyB appears. This force brakes the
fluid motion by diminishing the net traction which the surface
fluid layer experiences. The system reacts to this additional
force by searching an optimal state between the opportunities:
(i) The system remains the wavelength of the unstable mode un-
changed. Then only considerably higher temperature gradients
across the layer are able to create local temperature gradients
(surface tension gradients, respectively) required for an onset
of Marangoni instability.
(ii) The system lowers the distance between the roll cells. Then
already smaller temperature differences across the layer compared
to that in case (i) are sufficient to create the necessary sur-
face tension gradient. One has to to take into account that an
additional energy input is necessary for the stronger surface
deformation and to compensate the higher shear stress production.
The system response is clearly shown in the obtained numerical

fits (21)-(26). Stronger magnetic fields require higher critical
temperature gradients for an onset both of stationary and of os-
cillatory Marangoni instability. The distance between the roll
cells decreases thereby and in the case of oscillatory Marangoni
instability the frequency increases. From (21)-(26) it is to con-
clude that the oscillatory Marangoni instability is influenced
more sensitively to an application of a magnetic field.
The effect of a reduction of the gravity level mainly influences

the long wavelength region for both types of Marangoni instabili-
ties and consists in a lowering of the critical temperature gra-
dient due to smaller forces restoring the deflected surface. Its
relative influence on the critical temperature gradient becomes
more and more smaller as the magnetic field is increased as shown
292
in fig.5. The localization of the oscillatory Marangoni instabil-

ity in the long wavelength range and its drift with a changing
gravity level clearly indicates its origin lying in gravity
waves.
The spatial structure of the first unstable modes and their modi-
fication in the presence of a is shown in the figures 6 -9. Be-
cause of the more complicated nature of the oscillatory modes (no
closed streamlines) we have restricted ourselves to the unstable
stationary modes. With increasing Hartmann number the maximum of
W{z) is shifted towards the free surface. The formation of a
Hartmann layer with decreasing thicknessd=l/Ha is clearly vi-
sible in the figures 6 and 7. The change of Vx and vz , respec-
tively, takes places in a more and more smaller subsurface
region. Its formation has the reason in the growing suppression
of the bulk fluid motion due to prevalence of the electromagnetic
forces over the viscous forces. The compression of the roll pat-
tern is illustrated in fig. 6. For the sake of completeness the
first unstable modes for temperature and magnetic field are shown
in the figures 8 and 9. Upstreaming fluid transfers heat from the
bottom to the surface. Due to the thermal isolation of the sur-
face there are no heat losses. The heat is completely available
for feeding the surface tension gradient. A warming of the sub-
surface region takes place. As a consequence of the constraining
of the flow in the Hartmann layer with increasing magnetic field
the extension of this region has to decrease, too (fig.8). The
perturbation of the magnetic field in z-direction is caused by
the fluid motion via Eq.(3). Fig. 9 shows the expected relation.
The analysis performed above is no adaquate instrument for draw-
ing conclusions concerning the behaviour for Ha » 1. An asymp-
totic analysis is necessary to get an insight into the fluid be-
haviour in this parameter range.
Eventually some remarks concerning the experimental verification
of the studied effects. Some relevant data for gallium (at 30°C)
and mercury (at 20°C) are summarized in tab. 3 for terrestrial
conditions. In conclusion the effect of an external magnetic
field on the critical values of stationary Marangoni instability
is in an order of magnitude well suited for an experimental ver-
ification. In addition, under reduced gravity (Bo=10- 8 ) it is
293
found that the instability sets in at vanishing wavenumber with a

much lower critical temperature gradient compared to the values
of tab. 3. That means at suitable aspect ratio of the container
used for the measurements an onset of instability as mode with
very large wavelength is possible.
The problem of an experimental detection of oscillatory Harango-
ni instability in low Prandtl number fluids with small Capillary
numbers consists in the higher critical temperature gradient re-
quired for its onset. These gradients can violate the constant
fluid properties approximation. However it seems not unrealistic
to create such condition for suitable liquid metals under which
an experimental study is possible. Based on computations partial-
ly not shown here we can formulate the following criteria. A main
presupposition are values of the Capillary number C greater than
10- 5 due to the strong shift of the critical Harangoni number
with decreasing C. The product ~V~/d appearing both in the Ha-
rangoni and in the Capillary numbers plays a key role thereby.
While on the one side small values of fo,~,~ together with great
d6/dT are desired to ensure moderate critical temperature gradi-
ents, on the other side not too small ~,v ,~ are required for
reaching high enough Capillary numbers. One can estimate that the
properties of liquid metals only admitt a layer thickness of the
order of 1 mm to guarantee C > 10- 5 . In the case of oscillatory
instability already small magnetic fields are sufficient to prod-
uce measurable effects.
TABLE 3. Shift of the critical values in the presence of a mag-

netic field for stationary and oscillatory Harangoni instability
(HI) (layer thickness 1 mm) ( Te : critical temperature gradient,
~ e : wavelength and we : frequency of the first unstable mode)
(C=1.7 10- 5 (Hg), C=4.0 10- 5 (Ga), Bo 10- 2 (Hg, Ga»
Liquid Ha B/Tesla Stationary HI Oscillatory HI

metal Te/K ~e/mm Te/ K Ae/mm We/Hz
Ga 0 0 23 3.2 137 22.6 31.5

1 0.02 159 21.3 36.9
5 0.1 40 2.6
Hg 0 0 3.5 3.2 29 27.1 11.7

1 0.04 34 25.5 13.1
5 0.2 6.1 2.6
294
Conclusions
We have performed a comprehensive study of a class of surface

tension driven instabilities in an electrically conducting fluid
exposed to an external magnetic field. The paper is an extension
of previous works (/2/,/4/) including the case of surface deflec-
tion and overstability. Both types of Marangoni instabilities are
studied with respect to their dependence on the magnetic field.
The gravity level is varied thereby. The results lay the founda-
tion for an experimental test of the predictions about the delay
of stationary and oscillatory Marangoni instability due to the
action of a magnetic field.
References
/1/ Chandrasekhar, S.; Hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic stability.

Clarendon Press 1961.
/2/ Nield, D. A.; Zeitschr. angew. Math. u. Phys. 17 (1966) 131.
/3/ Rudraiah, N., et al.; Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 28 (1985)
1621.
/4/ Maekawa, T.; Tanasawa, I.; Proc. 6th European Symp. on
Material Sciences under Microgravity Conditions 1986.
/5/ Maekawa, T.; Tanasawa,I.; Appl. micrograv. tech. 1 (1988) 2.
/6/ Baumgartl, J.; Gewald, M.; Rupp, R.; Stierlen, J.;
Mueller, G.; Symp. Microgravity. Oxford 1989.
/7/ Rosenblat, S.; et al.; J. Fluid Mech. 120 (1982) 91.
/8/ Smith, M.K.; Davis, S.H.; J. Fluid Mech. 132 (1983) 119.
/9/ Pearson, J.R.A.; J. Fluid Mech. 4 (1958) 489.
/10/ Scriven, I.E.; Sternling, C.V; J. Fluid Mech. 19 (1964) 321.
/11/ Smith, K.A.; J. Fluid Mech. 24 (1966) 401.
/12/ Takashima, M.; J. Phys. Soc. Jpn 50 (1981) 2745.
/13/ Garcia-Ybarra, P.L; Velarde, M.G.; Phys. Fluids 30 (1987)
1649.
/14/ Perez-Garcia, C.; Carneiro, G.; Phys. Fluids A3 (1991) 292.
295
__- __t
T2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - z=d
Z= d .. '1 (x, t)
x T1 z=O
~IG_1_Sketch of the layer

I I
Mal
0,4 0,8 a-
FIG.2.Neutral curve for station- FIG.3.Neutral curve for oscilla-
ary Marangoni instability at tory Marangoni instability at
Beve~gl Hart~2nn number (Pr=0.02, seve:al Hartm~gn numb~2B
C=10 ,Bo=10 ) (Pr=U.02,C=10 ,Bo=10 )
.!!9...c...
Mal No c.
2.2
-7500
1.9
-5000 1.17
1.3
-2500
1.01------..-:::::=...---
10- 4g 19
FIG_4. Neutral curve for oscilla- FIG.5.Critical Marangoni number
tory Marangoni instability undgr for overstability as a function
reduce~ gravity (Pr=0.02,C=10- g of gravity for different Harg-
Bo=10- (dashed line) and Bo=10- mann numbers (Pr=0.02, C=10- )
296
FIG.6 Plot of the streamfunctions for Ha=O (upper picture) and Ha=30
(lower picture) (stationary Marangoni instability)
Z=l
/
Vz
Ha:30
o z-O
-1 -1 o
(arbitrary units 1 (arbitrary units 1
FIG.7.The velocity components Vx and v of the first unstable modes

as a function of the z-coordinate for Ra=O (left) and Ha=30 (right)
(each curve is scaled separately)
Ha=5 Ha-5
I
-
/
Z =1 Ha=10
/ Ha=30
Z
.
Z=O
z=O -1 1
-1 0
(arbitrary units)
(arbitrary units 1
FIG.B.Perturbation of the tem- FIG.9. Perturbation of the mag-
perature distribution at the netic field at the critical
critical point for several Hart- point for several Hartmann num-
mann numbers bers
Numerical Analysis of the Sensitivity of Crystal
Growth Experiments to Spacecraft Residual
Acceleration
J. Iwan D. Alexander, Sakir Amiroudine, JaIiI Ouazzani, and Franz Rosenberger

Center for Microgravity and Materials Research
University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama 35899 USA
Abstract
The use of numerical models as an integral part of the development of space experiments not only
provides guidance necessary for optimal, cost-effective use of space laboratories. As an illustration
of the type of results that can be obtained for materials processing experiments, we discuss the analysis
of the sensitivity of the Bridgman-Stockbarger method using an idealized model. A range of opemting
and boundary conditions are applied to examine the system behavior for a variety of accelemtions,
including those arising from attitude changes and actual accelemtion data measured on-orbit. To
characterize the system sensitivity we examine the dopantnon-uniforrnity at the melt-crystal interface.
For steady and transient accelemtions, including accelemtion profiles measured on Spacelab-3, the
compositional non-uniforrnity is insensitive to time-dependent accelemtions chamcteristic of rela-
tively "quiet periods'; but is susceptible to steady accelerations greater than 10-6 g and to certain types
of transient disturbances and oscillations. We find that the largest compositional nonuniforrnities
occur for disturbances with amplitudes above 10-6 g and frequencies below 10-2 Hz. These
nonunifomities are barely detectable at early times, reach a maximum after the velocity transient and
subsequently decrease over the characteristic concentration diffusion time. The system is found to
exhibit marginal sensitivity to only one of several "g-jitter" profiles synthesized from SL-3 measure-
ments with frequencies between 10- 1 - 10 Hz.
1. Introduction
The low-gravity environment associated with a spacecraft in low earth orbit gives rise to a residual
acceleration vector that has steady and time-dependent components. The nature of the residual
acceleration has been discussed in several papers [1-4]. The opportunity to grow crystals in a low-
gravity environment has the potential to minimize or effectively eliminate the effects of buoyancy-
driven convection in melts and solutions and has been of great interest to crystal growers. Bridgman-
Stockbarger type crystal growth methods have received particular attention and several space
experiments have been conducted (see for example, references [5-9]). Over the last few years,
particularly since the design and development of the Space Station, free-flyers such as Columbus, and
the EURECA platform, there has been a growing interest in identifying the effects of residual
acceleration on the results of space experiments. This interest has been motivated by two factors. The
first is the recognition that for experiments in which the primary goal is to suppress or eliminate
gravitational effects, the limited opportunities to conduct space experiments demand quantitative
H. 1. Ralh (Editor)
Microgravlly FlUid Mechanics
I UTAM Symposium Bremen 1991
© Springer.veriag Bcrlm Heidelberg 1992
298
assessment of both the effects of residual acceleration and the extent to which experiment operating
conditions can be adjusted to minimize these effects. Secondly, the sensitivity of various experiments
to residual acceleration can be used as design consideration of future space laboratories. In the latter
case, it must be emphasized that the extent to which residual acceleration tolerance can be used as a
design factor will be limited by cost. Thus, it would seem that the residual acceleration sensitivity
analyses should be most useful for experiment design. In many cases it would appear cost effective to
design the experiment to meet the environment rather than the reverse.
With these thoughts in mind, several studies of the low gravity tolerance of crystal growth by the
Bridgman-Stockbargertechnique [10-19] have been made. In this paper we present selected examples
of our most recent results [10-12] for time-dependent acceleration and give a brief summary of our
previous results for steady accelerations [12]. The model system, that has been deliberately chosen
to represent a worst case example of the Bridgman technique (in terms of axial and radial tempera-
ture gradients) is described in section 2. The results are presented in section 3 and summarized in
section 4.
2. Formulation
The 2D model system depicted in Fig. 1 represents the directional solidification of a dilute two-
component melt. Solidification takes place as an ampoule of width W is translated through fixed hot
and cold zones which are separated by adiabatic sidewalls. These are an idealization of the radiation
barriers which are used in some furnaces [20]. Translation of the ampoule is simulated by supplying
a doped melt of bulk composition c;;;, and density Pm, at a constant velocity Vg at the top of the
computational space (inlet), and withdrawing a solid of composition Cs = cs(x,t) from the crystal-melt
-------------w-------------
INLET (Vg) T = Th
o
HOT ZONE
T=T h
MELT
ADIABATIC
ZONE
L '"-+-+-++-t--t--t--+-+-t-t-l- T = Tm
COLD ZONE
CRYSTAL· MELT INTERFACE
Fig. 1. The model Bridgman-Stockbarger system.

299
interface at the bottom. At the crystal-melt interface, located at a distance L from the inlet, the
temperature is taken to be T m, the melting temperature of the crystal. The boundaries of the hot zone
are held at a higher temperature T h. The interface is held flat since we wish to confme our attention
to compositional non-unifonnities caused by buoyancy-driven convection, rather than variations
resulting from non-planar crystal-melt interfaces.
The governing equations are cast in dimensionless form using L, K/L (K is the melt's thermal
diffusivity), Pm12/I}, Th-Tm, and c;:;; to scale the lengths, velocity, pressure, temperature, and solute
concentration. The dimensionless equations governing momentum, heat and solute transfer in the
melt are then
au
at + (gradu) u = -gradp + Pr ~u + Ra Pnlg(t), (1)
divu = 0, (2)
at
<*)
+ U· grad8 = ~8, (3)
Sc (aaC + u . grad C) = ~C, (4)

Pr t
where, u(x,t) represents the velocity, x = ilL, 8 = (T(x,t) - T m)/(Th - T ~ the temperature and C =
em(x,t)/c;;; represents the solute concentration. Pr = viI(, Ra = P(Th- T~L3g/v1(, and Sc= vlD are,
respectively, the Prandtl, Rayleigh and Schmidt numbers, and v is the kinematic viscosity andD the
solute diffusivity. The term g(t) in (1) specifies the orientation of the gravity vector. The Rayleigh
number is taken to be the value of Ra at the Earth's surface, thus the magnitude of g is the actual
acceleration magnitude relative to 1 g.
The following boundary conditions apply at the crystal-melt interface (x = 1)
Pe Pr iC
8=0, U· N= S~ , uxN=O, a;z-=Peg (1-k)C, (5)
where Peg = VgL/D and N is the unit vector normal to the interface and is parallel to the ampoule wall.
We define the measure of compositional nonunifonnity in the crystal at the interface to be the lateral
range in concentration given by
~(t) = Csmax - c Smin %, (6)

Csav
where Cs is the (dimensional) solute concentration in the crystal, and Cay is the average concentration.
The following boundary conditions are applied at the "inlet" (x = 0)
PegPr iC
8= 1, U· N =Sc
- -' uxN=O , ax = Peg (C-l). (7)
At the side walls the conditions are

300
PegPr
u· N =- - , u· ew = 0, grade· ew = 0, (8)
Sc
with e = 1 in the isothennal zone and grade . ew = 0 in the adiabatic zone. Here e w is the nonnal to
the ampoule wall. In this model transient effects related to the gradual decrease in the melt length are
ignored. It is thus implicit that the ampoule is sufficiently long for transient effects to be negligible
[10-12,18,19].
The governing equations are recast in the stream-function vorticity formulation and solved using
a pseudo-spectral Chebyshev collocation technique [12,21] which incorporates the influence matrix
method [22].
3. Results and discussion

The calculations were based on thermophysical properties corresponding to gallium-doped
germanium melts [12,18]. The ampoule width was taken to be 1 cm. We examined steady and time-
dependent single and multiple frequency acceleration and synthesized accelerations from sample time
series obtained on the third Spacelab mission (SL-3). The results for steady accelerations have been
discussed in detail in [12] and are summarized below. Table 1 gives values of ~ computed for various
Ampoule Width [cm]

Residual
Acceleration Orientation 1 1 1 0.5 2
Th-Tm
Magnitude N g Growth Rate [Jlm s-l]
[9.8 m s-2] 6.5 3.25 0.65 6.5 6.5
10-4 i f- 80 12.0 100
10-5 f- 92.7 11.9
it' 70.9 11.3
J, 6.4 0.95
5xlO-6 J, 3.2
it' 39
f- 54.2
10-6 f- 11.3 2.0
it' 8.0
10-4 J, 36 115
10-5 J, 7.5 4.6 0.7
10-6 J, 0.7 0.4 0.0 3.8
10-5 +- 22.6 64.5 20
10-6 +- 2.3
Table 1. Steady composition nonuniformity for Ge:Ga

301
operating conditions and magnitudes and orientations of the acceleration vector. For a given set of
operating conditions and steady acceleration magnitude, our results show that the acceleration
orientation is crucial in determining the value of 1;. Alternatively, it can be seen that adjustment of
the operating conditions (growth velocity, temperature profile ampoule size, etc.) can be used to
obtain optimum growth conditions for a given orientation and magnitude of the steady acceleration
vector.
Figures 2 and 3 show the compositional nonuniformity as a function of the Peclet number
Pe=Vmax l)D (where Vmax is the maximum computed velocity) and GrSc, where Gr = RaPr -1 is the
Grashof number. The regimes I a-b and II correspond to transport regimes as defined by Camel and
Favier [23]. In practical terms, these figures show that there is a maximum in compositional
nonuniformity whenever convective and diffusive transport of the dopant have comparable magni-
tudes. Thus, if three of the parameters in the set {Ra, Peg, Sc, g. N/lgl} are held fixed, a maximum in
300 4
250
Convective
Regimes
200
3 Ic
~ 150 (145)6
""
- - - ....!.ao)~
~
100
6 (92)
2
Cl
50 ~ Ib
(13)6
0 II
·1 2 3
log V..... UD=log Pe
18 Advective-Diffusive
Fig. 2. ~ vs log Pe = log VmaxL/D. For curves 2 and 3 Regime
the acceleration was oriented parallel to the crystal- 6(11)
melt interface; for curve 1 the acceleration was
perpendicular. Vmax is the maximum magnitude of the
computed melt velocities for each case.
log V.L.ID=log Peg
Fig. 3. log GrSc vs.log Peg =VgLalD, for the results of
numerical simulations for steady acceleration parallel to
the crystal-melt interface. Here the adiabatic wne
length, La instead of L, is used to compute Peg. The
regions I a-c and II correspond to transport regimes as
defined by Camel and Favier [23]. I a-c are convective
regimes, II is the diffusive regime. Numbers in paren-
theses indicate the value of non uniformity ,~, associated
with each of the numerical results. The maximum in ~ is
associated with a transition from a convection-controlled
to a diffusion-controlled dopant transport environment
302
Sc ~max [%] ~final [%]

1 2.7 0.15
10 19 6
20 24.5 15
50 17.7 15.1
60 15.8 12.5
Table 2. Maximum and final values of ~ for a 10.2 g.

1 Hz, sinusoidal acceleration acting parallel to the
crystal-melt interface.
Fig.4. Compositional nonunifonnity ~ as a function of
time for a sinusoidal acceleration with magnitude 10-5 g
and frequency 10-3 Hz oriented parallel to the crystal
surface.
~ can be obtained at a certain value of the remaining parameter.

For example, for a given acceleration
vector and a given set of thennophysical properties, there is a certain value of the growth velocity
which leads to a maximum nonuniformity for the given conditions. As we shall see later, this result
is also true for time-dependent accelerations.
For the time-dependent cases, the fonn of accelerations examined was taken to be
N
get) = 1 gnsin (27ifn t +n)k, (9)
n=1
wheref n is the frequency, k is a unit vector, n is the phase and gn represents the amplitude of the nth
acceleration component. All time dependent cases discussed here are for k parallel to the melt-crystal
interface.
The response of the solute field to 10-3 Hz and 1 Hz sinusoidal accelerations is shown in Figs.
4 and 5. For the lower frequency case, the maximum value of ~ arose during the first period. The
behavior of ~ in the higher frequency case is different. The maximum value of ~ is not reached until
some 300 seconds have elapsed. Thereafter, ~ decreases until it reaches a steady value some 3000
seconds later. Inserts b) and c) in Fig. 5 show that ~ is modulated at 1 Hz. At the end of the transient
a second local maximum (not shown) appears and the fmal value of ~ is modulated at 2 Hz and is a
factor of 3 smaller than the maximum value. (Once the solute field begins to oscillate with the period
ofthe driving force, ~ should have two maxima foreveryperiod of the driving force since~isan absolute
value). We found that the values of ~max and ~fmal depend on the Schmidt number (see Table 2). This
reflects the importance of the magnitude of the solute gradient ahead of the solid liquid interface. For
steep gradients, at a given level of convection, a wide range in composition can exist at the interface
provided that the lateral convective flow is significant compared to diffusive transport rates within the
solute layer. Thus, as we see, at low Sc (and thus low gradients), the lateral nonuniformity is small.
303
At higher Sc the nonunifonnity is increased since the flow within the solute layer is still significant.
However, eventually at steeper gradients (large Sc) the solute layer becomes so thin that the flow
cannot penetrate sufficiently to cause extensive lateral redistribution of solute. For the cases we
examined, the maximum nonunifonnity occured at Sc=20, whereafter it decreased with increasing
Sc. It is interesting to note that the difference between the maximum and final values of ~ is smaller
for the higher Sc cases than for the lower values of Sc. For two sample time series synthesized from
the SL-3 database we found the model to be insensitive in one of the cases with ~(t)« 1%. For the
other case the system exhibited marginal sensitivity. For the insensitive case the acceleration
consisted of 46 components with frequencies in the range 0.14 Hz <f< 10Hz, the acceleration profile
which resulted in marginal sensitivity consisted of 27 components and 0.03 </< 1 Hz. Fig. 6 shows
~(t) for the latter case. A sample of the acceleration time series is shown in the inset.
4. Discussion
We have investigated the sensitivity of the Bridgman-Stockbarger technique to residual
accelerations corresponding to steady accelerations and single and multicomponent oscillatory
disturbances. One important finding is that short-time results will not necessarily give reliable
predictions oflong-time sensitivities, i.e. the response of the system after times on the order of L2/D.
For the Ge:Ga model system (Sc= 10), we found that for acceleration frequencies less than 10-2 Hz,
20
2.5.--,.--,..-,........,,........,,........,r--1r--1
(c)
18 12.13
~
0IJ'12.12
16
12.11
14 3 4 5 6 7 8 12.1~.!::2~80::-3-:80~4,.....-;:;80~5-80=6:;--::=-.,,:!
TIME [secJ TIME [secJ
~ 12
><J"
10
6
(a)
4
0 2500 3000
Fig. 5. Compositional nonuniformity ~ as a function of time for a sinusoidal acceleration with

magnitude 10-2 g and frequency 1 Hz oriented parallel to the crystal surface. Note the low
amplitude modulation of ~ with a frequency of 1 Hz between 802 to 808. Beyond 1200 seconds ~
fluctuates with a frequency of 2 Hz.
304
large amplirude flucruations occurred in ~ for acceleration amplirudes above 1O-{) g. Accelerations
of 10-5 g at 10-3 Hz led to composition nonuniformities on the order of 60%. As the frequency was
increased, larger accelerations were required to give significant nonuniformities. The most noticeable
difference in the response of the Ge:Ga system to different frequency accelerations was in the behavior
of the velocity and composition transients as the system adjusted from the zero velocity initial state
to the final state where the system oscillated with the frequency of the driving force. The acceleration
time-series synthesized from SL-3 data contained frequencies greater than the characteristic frequency
associated with diffusion, i.e.DIL2. As a consequence the transient behaviorof~(t) was similar to that
for single component disturbances J> DIL2.
In terms of residual accelerations characteristic of spacecraft environments (remember that
accelerometers on board SL-3 were not capable of measuring the steady acceleration components
associated with gravity gradient and atmospheric drag), the model Bridgman-Stockbarger system
appears to be most sensitive to steady accelerations (with magnitudes> 10-{) g) oriented parallel to the
crystal-melt interface. We expect this to be true for other directional solidification systems, but
emphasize that the magnirude of the acceleration which results in a significant compositional
nonuniformity will depend on the operating conditions and thermophysical properties of the particular
system under examination. Our results also indicate that for a given system the operating conditions
0.6
0.4
5
nYE(aoc)
0.2
o soo 1000 1500

11ME [sec]
Fig. 6. Compositional nonunifonnity ~ as a function of time for accelerations taken from a
sample time series (see inset) constructed from data obtained on Spacelab 3. The acceleration
consists of a repeated "noise" segment synthesized from a sample of SL-3 acceleration data. A
sample time series for the acceleration is shown in the inset
305
may be chosen such as to optimize the growth conditions. Thus, as efforts are made to better
characterize the residual acceleration environments of space laboratories, experiments can be designed
to take full advantage of the scarce opportunities for long duration low-gravity experiments.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through grant
NAG8-684 and Delivery Order Contract 41/NAS8-36955, and by the State of Alabama through the
Center for Microgravity and Materials Research and the Alabama Supercomputer Network. The
authors would like to thank Melissa Rogers for processing, and the Marshall Space Flight Center for
providing, the SL-3 acceleration data.
References
[1] H. Hamacher, R Jilg and U. Mehrbold, in: Proc. 6th European Symposium on Materials
Sciences under Microgravity Conditions, Bordeaux, December 1986 ESA SP-256 (1987) 413.
[2] J.I.D. Alexander and CA Lundquist, AlAA 1. 26 (1988) 193.
[3] R Monti, 1.1. Favier and D. Langbein, in: Fluid Sciences and Materials Science in Space, A
European Perspective, Ed. H.U. Walter (Springer, Berlin, 1987) p. 237.
[4] J.I.D. Alexander, Microgravity Science and Technology, 3 (1990) 52.
[5] H.e. Gatos, in: Materials Processing in the Reduced Gravity Environment of Space, Mater.
Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., Vol. 9, Ed. G. Rindone (North-Holland, New York, 1982) 355.
[6] AF. Witt, H.e. Gatos, M. Lichtensteiger, M.e. Lavine and CJ. Hermann, J. Electrochem.
Soc. 125 (1975) 276.
[7] 1.T. Yue and FW. Voltrner,1. Crystal Growth 29 (1975) 329.
[8] V.S. Zemskov, Soviet Phys.-Dokl. 22 (1977) 170.
[9] D.TJ. Hurle, G. MUller and R Nitsche, in: Fluid Sciences and Materials Science in Space, A
European Perspective, Ed. H.U. Walter (Springer, Berlin, 1987) p. 315.
[10] 1.I.D. Alexander, 1. Ouazzani and F. Rosenberger, Proc. 3rd International Colloquium on
Drops and Bubbles, AlP Conference Proceedings 197, ed. Taylor G. Wang (American
Institute of Physics, New York, 1988) p.112.
[11] 1.I.D. Alexander and 1. Ouazzani, Proc. 6th International Conference on Num. Methods in
Laminar and Turbulent Flow, C. Taylor, P. Gresho, RL. Sani and 1. Hauser (eds.) (Pineridge,
Swansea, 1989)1035.
[12] 1.I.D. Alexander, J. Ouazzani and F. Rosenberger, J. Crystal Growth 97 (1989) 285.
[13] V.I. Polezhaev and AI. Fedyoshkin, Izvestiya Akad. Nauk. SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti
i Gaza 3 (1980) 11.
[14] V.I. Polezhaev, AP. Lebedev and SA. Nikitin, Proc. 5th European Symposium on
Materials Sciences under Microgravity, Schloss Elmau FRG, ESA SP-222 (1984 ), 237.
[15] G.B. McFadden and S.R. Coriell, in Proc. AIAA/ASME/SIAM/APS 1st National Fluid
Dynamics Congress, Cincinnati, July 25 th-28 th (1988)p. 1572.
[16] P.R. Griffm and S. Mokatef, Appl. Microgravity Techn. 2 (1989) 121.
[17] P.R. Griffm and S. Mokatef, Appl. Microgravity Techn. 2 (1989) 128.
[18] e.J. Chang and RA Brown, 1. Crystal Growth 63 (1983) 343.
[19] P.M. Adornato and RA Brown, J. Crystal Growth 80 (1987) 155.
[20] Y.M. Dahkoul, R. Farmer, S.L. Lehoczky and F. Szofran, J. Crystal Growth 86 (1988) 49.
[21] R Peyret, The Chebyshev Multidornain Approach to Stiff Problems in Fluid Mechanics,
Proceedings ofICOSAHOM 89, June 26-29, 1989, Como (Italy).
[22] U. Ehrenstein and R Peyret, Int. 1. Numer. Meth. Fluids 9 (1989)499-515.
[23] D. Camel and J.J. Favier, 1. Crystal Growth 47 (1986) 1001.
Thermocapillary Bubble Migration - An Oseen-Like
Analysis of the Energy Equation
R. Balasubramaniam l and L. H. Dill2

NASA Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135, USA
Abstract
The thermocapillary migration of a bubble in a liquid possessing a temperature gradient is

analyzed in the limit of large Reynolds and Marangoni numbers. Crespo and Manuel
(1983) performed an analysis in this limit wherein energy conduction is completely
neglected and obtained the bubble migration velocity using energy dissipation arguments.
In the present analysis, performed in a coordinate system moving with the bubble, the
velocity field in the convection term in the energy equation is approximated in an
Oseen-like manner by replacing it by the velocity field far away from the bubble (i.e., the
migration velocity of the bubble). Conduction is retained to satisfy the zero conductive
heat flux boundary condition on the bubble surface. An approximate solution has been
obtained for the Oseen-like energy equation. The bubble velocity obtained using energy
dissipation considerations is in agreement with the result of Crespo and Manuel. The
solution shows the thermal boundary layer and wake structure in the vicinity of the bubble.
The Oseen-like analysis, however, has inherent limitations, as the flow penetrates the
bubble surface. These issues are discussed and the result are compared to those in the
literature.
I Introduction
The migration of bubbles and drops induced by thermocapillarity is regarded as

an important research area in the understanding of fluid behavior under reduced gravity,
with applications in the processing of materials in space (Ref 1,2). References 1 and 2 also
provide recent reviews of this subject. A challenging problem in this area is the prediction
of migration velocities for large Marangoni numbers, i.e., when convection of energy is
dominant compared to conduction. Crespo and Manuel (Ref 3) provide a result for the
bubble velocity for large Reynolds and Marangoni numbers. Balasubramaniam (Ref 4)
performed an analysis along similar lines. Numerical calculations for large Marangoni
numbers (Ma) and various Reynolds numbers (Re) are reported in Ref 5,6,7. Limited
I Resident Research Associate

2 NRC Research Associate
H J Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogravlly FluId Mechamcs
© Spnnger-Verlag Berhn HeIdelberg 1992
308
experimental results are available in Ref 8,9,10.

Crespo and Manuel (Ref 3) used energy dissipation arguments in conjunction
with the conservation of mechanical energy to derive their result for the bubble velocity for
large Ma (and an implied large Re as well). Their result for the scaled bubble velocity is
1/3, with V R = (-O"T)AR1/JL being the velocity scale. O"T is the temperature coefficient of
surface tension, A is the constant temperature gradient in the liquid, Rl is the bubble radius
and JL is the liquid viscosity assumed constant. Energy conduction is neglected in their
analysis of the energy equation. It is curious to note that at low Re and Ma, the scaled
bubble velocity is 1/2 (Ref 10). As pointed out in Ref 2 & 4, the analysis in Ref 3 is not
completely justified because the energy equation without conduction has singularities at the
front and rear poles on the bubble surface. Furthermore, the boundary condition on the
bubble surface cannot be satisfied. To remedy these issues, Balasubramaniam (Ref 4)
performed a similar analysis, permitting a thermal boundary layer to occur in the vicinity of
the bubble wherein conduction of energy is important. An approximate integral method
was used to analyze the energy equation. Like the result in Ref 3, this analysis also
predicted the bubble velocity to reach an asymptote for large Ma, with a smaller numerical
coefficient (0.235 instead of 1/3). However, due to certain internal inconsistencies in the
analysis, the thermal boundary layer thickness was obtained incorrectly to be proportional to
lIMa. It is shown below that for the velocity profile used in Ref 4, the correct scaling is
1/,ffM..
To shed more light on the bubble velocity behavior for large Ma, an Oseen-like
approximation is used here in the energy equation. Basically, in a coordinate system
attached to the bubble, the velocity field in the convection term in the energy equation is
replaced by the free-stream velocity, which is the bubble velocity. This implies that the
velocity field is taken to be uniform; the flow also penetrates the bubble surface. This is
unrealistic and has consequences that are discussed in Section III.
II Large Marangoni Number Analysis
1. Governing Equations
The basic equations for thermocapillary bubble migration for large Reynolds and Marangoni
numbers are given in Ref 4 and are reproduced below
(Jf v (Jf 1 V2
v00 + u=
ur + -r -nt
Uf]
= lVla
TT::" T (1)
(Jf
Atr=l , ==0
ur (2)
309
As r ... 00, T ... rcos8 (3)

u = -voocos8 [1 - kJ. v = voosin8 [1 + kJ (4)
-J[v~] sin8d8 = 2J(v 2) sin8d8 = 6v~ (5)

o r=1 0 r=1
Here the radial coordinate is nondimensionalised by the bubble radius R1 and velocities are
normalized by VR. r is the scaled radial coordinate, 8 is the tangential coordinate (see
Figure 1); u,V are the scaled velocity fields in rand 8 directions and v00 is the scaled bubble
velocity. The temperature T is related to the physical temperature T by

T = (T - AVRvoot)/(AR 1 ), where t is time. The flow field given in eq(4) is derived from
potential flow theory in the limit of large Re. Eq 5 determines v00 and is an expression for
the conservation of mechanical energy where the kinetic energy of the flow is dissipated
predominantly in the region outside a flow boundary layer (see Ref 4 for details).
2. Boundary Layer Scalings

Let y = Maa(r-1) be a stretched boundary layer coordinate in the radial direction
and let u - (r-1)b in the vicinity of r = 1. Introducing this stretching in eq(1) yields the
following equation near r = 1
v 00 + M aa(l-b) y b dy em -
ilI' + ilI' _
v
M 2a-l
a
[J2T+
CJY2 ... ]
Balance of convection and conduction terms gives a = 1/(1+b). Thus, for b=1 (from eq(4»
a=1/2 and the thermal boundary layer thickness is proportional to 1I,fFlla. If on the other
hand, b=O (see the Oseen approximation below), then the thermal boundary layer thickness
is proportional to lIMa.
3. Oseen-like Approximation
The energy equation and boundary conditions (eqs(1)-(4» have proved to be

challenging and no analytical solution has been obtained for large Ma. Thus various
approximations have been made in the literature. Crespo and Manuel (Ref 3) neglected the
right hand side of eq(l) for large Ma and substituted the result into the left hand side of
eq(5). This gives the result v00 = 1/3. Balasubramaniam (Ref 4) used an integral method
using an assumed profile for T to solve eq(l) and obtained v00 = 0.235. A thermal boundary
310
layer was pennitted to occur near the bubble surface. The temperature profiles both within
and outside the thermal boundary layer were guessed. It turns out that the assumed profile
in the outer region does not satisfy the outer energy equation (Leo, with conduction
neglected) even in an integral sense. This introduced errors in the integral analysis that was
performed, leading to an incorrect estimate of the thermal boundary layer thickness as being
proportional to lIMa when it really should be l/..jflla.
In this study, a different type of an approximation is made, viz., an Oseen type of
an approximation for the convection terms. Oseen approximation (or linearization) is used
in fluid mechanics typically in the low Reynolds number regime (Ref 11). It has also been
used in the analysis of some boundary layers (Ref 12,13). The velocity field far away from
the bubble u = -voocosO and v = voosinO is used in eq(1) instead of u,v given by eq(4). The
resulting energy equation is solved subject to the boundary conditions, eq(2 & 3). The
calculated temperature field on the bubble surface is finally used in eq(5) to predict the
bubble migration velocity. (Original velocity fields from eq(4) are used in eq(5). The
Oseen flow is a uniform flow and does not dissipate energy by viscous heating;
consequently meaningful results cannot be obtained by using it in eq(5)). Thus, as far as
the mechanical energy balance and the migration velocity are concerned, the Oseen
approximation amounts to calculating an appropriate surface temperature gradient for use
in computing the rate of work done by the surface forces in eq(5).
The energy equation to be solved is
(Jf
1 - cosO dr + rsinO em
(Jf
=
1
MiiV V2T
00
(6)
subject to the conditions given by eq(2,3 & 5).
4. Solution
From the analysis in Ref 14, the general solution to eq(6) that satisfies the far field
condition (eq(3)) is
L DnKn+~ (~ Mavoor) P
00
T = rcosO + exp(- ~ Mavoorcose) [Ma~oor] ~ n(cosO) (7)

n=O
Kn is the modified Bessel function and Pn is the Legendre polynomial. The unknown
coefficients Dn are in principle detennined from eq(2), but this could be quite cumbersome.
In the following an approximation is used, involving the asymptotic behavior of Kn for
large arguments that greatly simplifies the solution.
311
The Bessel function may be expressed as

n
1 _ [ 1(;] ~ 1 ~ (n+i) !
Kn+~ (Z Mavoor) - Mav oor exp(- z Mav oor) LJ(n-l)! 1 !(Mavoor)1
i=O
For large Ma, we will retain only the first term in the series and write
Kn+~ (~Mavoor) = [Ma~ooip exp(-~ Mavoor). We will revisit the consequences of this
approximation later. Using this relation in eq(7) and determining Dn from eq(2) finally
gives the following result for T
T = rcosl1 + cos 11 -1 exp [~ Mav (l+cosl1)(1-r)] (8)

~ Mav00 (l +cosl1) + 1 r 00
v00 is to be determined from the above solution and eq(5). Eq(5) may be simplified as
v00 = f
-1
1
T(1,cosl1) cosl1 d(cosl1) (9)
which for large Ma analytically computes to

v00 = 1/3 (10)
Verification: In view of the approximation used involving the Bessel function, the solution
(eq(8» needs to be verified. It is easily seen that both the boundary conditions eq(2 & 3)
are satisfied. For large Ma, the given solution also satisfies the Oseen-like equation (eq(6»
outside the thermal boundary layer and wake (i.e., for exp [~ Mav00(1 +cOSI1)(1-r)] « 1) and
along the rays 11 = 0, Z, 1(; for r ~ 1 (including the boundary layer).
ill Discussion
In comparing the results with those in Ref 3,4, it must be pointed out that the Oseen
velocity field (uniform velocity field) is different from that used previously (potential flow
past a sphere). Yet, the result for the bubble terminal velocity is the same as in Ref 3.
The boundary layer solution (the second term of eq(8» is remarkably similar to the
boundary layer and wake function that appears in Ref 4; however, in view of our earlier
comments about the incorrectness of the thermal boundary layer scaling, this similarity
may be coincidental. Figure 1 shows a plot of the isotherms of the solution, eq(8), for Ma
= 300. ·The boundary layer and wake regions are clearly seen. The isotherms in the wake
region are qualitatively similar to those in Ref 5,6,7. It is seen from eqs(6,8) that the
8-conduction term is important in the vicinity of 11=1(; on the bubble surface for large Ma.
This is in agreement with the surface temperature distribution shown in Ref 7.
312
From the solution (eq(8», the thennal boundary layer scales as lIMa, in
agreement with the scaling analysis presented earlier. This is a thin boundary layer
compared to the one obtained using the real velocity fields (which scales as l/v1fJi.). The
unifonn flow in the Oseen approximation penetrates the bubble surface. Consequently, the
radial diffusion of energy is countered by the convection of energy due to this penetrating
flow; this is the reason why the Oseen boundary layer is thinner. The penetrating flow also
has energy associated with it. For 9<.1C/2 the flow carries energy into the bubble and for
1C/2<9<.n, the flow carries away a smaller amount of energy from the bubble, as it is cooler
in this region. Thus the bubble is an energy sink: when the Oseen approximation is used. In
reality, no energy should enter or leave the bubble in the limit of negligible thermal
conductivity of the gas inside it.
What then are the merits of the Oseen analysis? In the opinion of the authors,
the merits are: (i) The scaled bubble velocity is predicted to reach an asymptote for large
Ma, a conclusion reached both in Ref 3 & 4. Thus it appears that the bubble velocity is a
global quantity that is not very sensitive to the flow and temperature distributions near the
bubble surface (i.e., in boundary layers). Furthennore, the bubble velocity scale is the same
as that obtained in creeping motion with inertia and convection neglected. (ii) The thermal
boundary layer and wake structures have not been amenable to analytic treatments when the
real velocity fields are used, but the Oseen analysis is able to capture both structures. This
is chiefly because the outer temperature field in the Oseen analysis is simply that which
exists far away from the bubble, viz., the linear temperature field. While the scalings of
these regions will be different, some of the features are expected to be present in the case
with real velocity fields as well. Examples are the importance of the 8-conduction term in
the vicinity of the rear stagnation point; the qualitative similarity of the isotherms in the
wake region and the temperature drop on the bubble surface which is 3AR J from eq(8) for
large Ma versus typical values of 2.2ARJ reported in Ref 7.
The only parameter that appears in the problem formulation (eqs(1)-(6» is the
Marangoni number. In particular, the Reynolds number (or alternatively, the Prandtl
number) does not explicitly appear. A major assumption of the above analysis is that the
potential flow velocity fields can be used within the thermal boundary layer. In the case of
a rigid interface, this requires the Prandtl number to be much less than one. However, in
the case of a mobile interface, corrections to the fluid velocity within the flow boundary
layer are small; consequently, the potential flow assumption is adequate throughout the
entire domain (Ref 4). This is evidenced by the numerical calculations in Ref 7 for Pr=1O,
Ma=500. We therefore speculate that in the limit of large Re and Ma, the bubble terminal
velocity may not be very sensitive to the value of the Prandtl number.
313
Acknowledgement
The authors thank Prof. R. S. Subramanian, Clarkson University for his comments
and keen interest during the course of this investigation and in particular for pointing out
the boundary layer scalings mentioned in Section II.
References
1. G. Wozniak, J. Siekmann and J. Srujiles,"Thermocapillary Bubble and Drop

Dynamics Under Reduced Gravity - Survey and Prospects," Z. Flugwiss.
Weltraumforsch, Vol 12, pp. 137-144, 1988.
2. R. S. Subramanian,"The Motion of Bubbles and Drops in Reduced Gravity," in

Transport Processes in Bubbles, Drops and Particles (Ed. R. P. Chhabra and D.
DeKee), Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, New York, 1990.
3. A. Crespo and F. Manuel,"Bubble Motion Under Reduced Gravity,"Proc. 4th

European Symposium on Materials Sciences under Microgravity, Madrid, Spain,
pp. 45-49, 1983.
4. R. Balasubramaniam,"Thermocapillary Bubble Migration for Large Marangoni

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1987.
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Motion of a Bubble Under Microgravity," Chern. Eng. Commun., Vol 69, pp.
129-147, 1988.
6. N. Shankar and R. S. Subramanian,"The Stokes Motion of a Gas Bubble Due to

Interfacial Tension Gradients at Low to Moderate Marangoni Numbers," J.
Colloid Interface Sc., Vol 123, no. 2, pp. 512-522, 1988.
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Bubble Migration Under Microgravity for Large Reynolds and Marangoni
NUmbers," Numerical Heat Transfer A, Vol 16, pp. 175-187, 1989.
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Phenomenon in Zero Gravity," Chern. Eng. Commun., Vol 5, pp. 219-314,1980.
314
9. R. Nahle, D. Neuhaus, J. Siekmann, J. Wozniak: and J. Srujiles,"Separation of

Fluid Phases and Bubble Dynamics in a Temperature Gradient - A Spacelab Dl
Experiment," Z. Flugwi.ss. \'l,.'eltraun1forsch, \'0111, pp. 211-213,1987.
10. N. O. Young, J. S. Goldstein and M. J. Block,"The Motion of Bubbles in a

Vertical Temperature Gradient," J. Fluid Mech., Vol 6, pp. 350-356, 1959.
11. F. M. White, Viscous Fluid Flow, McGraw Hill Inc., 1974.
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Q. Appl. Math., Vol 7, pp. 228-234, 1949.
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Chem. Eng. Commun., Vol 9, pp. 213-243, 1980.
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AIChE Journal, Vol 27, no. 4, pp. 646-654, 1981.
Figure 1.-Isotherms near the bubble, Ma = 300. The arrow indicates the
direction of migration of the bubble.
Applications of Bifurcation Theory to the Problem
of Rotating Liquid Drops in Space
Xu Shuochang
Institute of Mechanics, Academia Sinica,
100080, Beijing, China
§ 1.lntroduction
Motivated by the importance of containerless processing technology, many scien-
tists have been investigating the dynamics problem of rotating liquid drops (shape,
stability and oscillations) [1-2]. Apart from the scientific interest for fluid sciences and
material sciences in space, the rotating liquid drops have high interest for cosmogony,
geophysics and nuclear physics as well.
The theory of rotating liquid drops endowed with a surface tension was stimu-
lated by Plateau's experiments, 100 years ago, with globes of oil suspended in a liquid
of the same density, and the theory of a rotating drop with self-gravitation, in the field
of astronomy goes back to Newton's investigation on the figure of the earth. Since
then, the theory has been developed by many illustrious scientists, among them
Maclaurin, Jacobi, Thomson, Riemann, Poincare, Liapunov, Jeans, Darwin and
Cartan, etc. Early works on this subject were reviewed by Jeans [3] and Lamb [4]. Af-
terwards, the survey of it was made in succession by Lyttleton [5], Ledoux [6] and
Chandrasekhar [7]. The theory of rotating liquid masses with a surface tension and a
uniform electric charge arisen in nuclear physics is reviewed in [8]. Wang et.al. [1] and
Brown ([2] § 4.5) have reviewed on the dynamics problem ofliquid drops.
The bifurcation theory is a classical subject initiated by Poincare in cosmogony.
But up to now, there have been disputes whether the stability of rotating systems
should be judged by secular stability criteria or by dynamical ones.
Early in 1883, Thomson and Tait predicted without proof that the stability of a
rotating liquid system depends on whether the total potential energy attains its mini-
mum when viscosity is taken into account. This is caIled Thomson-Tait stability
criteria in engineering sciences. Furthermore, Thomson (Kelvin) first made experi-
ments of fluid rotor gyros and posed the so caIled HColumbus Egg Problem".We have
investigated these problems for a long time, and we have proved the above Thomson
and Tait's prediction for the rotating liquid stars [11]. We have dealt with the
Columbus problem in some cases and proved the theory to be in consistency with the
Kelvin's experiments only when viscosity is taken into ,,~count [12]. Furthermore, we
H. J Rath (EdItor)
Mlcrogravity FlUId Mechanics
316
have applied the bifurcation theory to rotating liquid stars [13,16]. Above investiga-
tions can be similarly extended to rotating drops in space. Following the conceptual
demonstration of Gaiiieo and Einstein, and on the basis of the Kelvin's experiments
and our further experiments of fluid rotor gyros, we will design a conceptual linear se-
ries of experiments in order to demonstrate the truthfulness of secular stability series.
§ 2. Evolution of rotating liqu id drops

Following Chandrasekhar's study on the stability of a rotating liquid drop en-
dowed with a surface tension [9], we give the evolution of rotating liquid drops.
It will appear that the results of the liquid drops are remarkably similar to those
along the Maclaurin sequence of rotating incompressible masses endowed with
self-gravitation. For the liquid drops of axisymmetric forms and uniform density, the
figure of equilibrium depends on the value of the non-dimensional parameter:
no / ( 8T / pa 3 )2!
W =
where no denotes the rotational angular velocity, T the surface tension, a the equator-
ial radius and p the density. When w<0.584, the drops have the axisymmetric equilib-
rium shapes. SUCil a succession of configurations form a linear series AB (see Fig.I).
Suppose that the drop has uniform density p and semiaxes a,b and c, and is rotating
around axis c with angular velocity no [I].
At the bifurcation point
B(WB = 0.584), the sequence of equilib-
c c rium figures passes from the sequence
of axisymmetric shapes to triaxial
shapes. When W > 0.584, there are al-
ways two equilibrium shapes, the for-
B mer are secularly unstable but
dynamically stable up to point D
_____ a - b
_ _ _ _ _ _LA
(Wo = 0.679), at which the drop be-
c
comes dynamically unstable. For the
Fig. 1. Evolution of rotating liquid drop
Maclaurin sequence of rotating
incompressible masses in gravitational
equilibrium, which is a sequence of oblate spheroids, the corresponding point occurs at
eccentricities of the spheroid equal to e=0.8127 and 0.9529 respectively". At its first
neutral point B(WB = 0.584), the rotating drop must be secularly unstable and at this
point a stable sequence of triaxial forms branches-off in a manner analogous to the
way the Jacobian sequence of ellipsoids branches-off from Maclaurin sequence of
spheroids.
317
§ 3.The Thomson-Tait stability criteria for the rotating liquid drops

In paper[14], similar investigations about rotating liquid stars have been extended
to rotating liquid drops in space, and the Thomson-Tait stability criteria for rotating
liquid drops with surface tension has been similarly proved.
By the same way as in paper[ll], the integral relation of energy for rotating liquid
drops with surface tension may be obtained as follows:
6= jl{ -('I'+I)±
<1> J <1>2 -IofJ 2 U
('1'+2) } (3-1)
Where
~ (t, r)= e~' ~ ( r)
- - - disturbing displacement vector, (3-2)
1= I (~, r) = HJpo ~ r 0 d't
- - - the perturbed kinetic energy, (3-3)

2 'P= 2 'P(~, r) = 2 JHpo(Oo x~)ord't
----tthe work done by Coriolis force ('P 2 .;;; 0) (3-4)

- -. ) = SSS
<1> = <1>( ~, ~
1
- # ( -
,,~ I + -,,~ I )2 d't
y 2 "'X; "'XI
---dissipative work done by viscous force (3-5)
fJ2U=fJ2U(~, r)=TSf (div 1i ) r . ds - ~pon~ Sf

s
,2 r . ds
- - the perturbed potential energy of the drop (3-6)
When no = #=0, Eq.(3-1) corresponds to the Rayleigh principle.
2 --.
6 2 = _ fJ U(~, ~ ) (3-7)
I(~, ~.)
Applying the Lemma 1 in paper[ll] to the integral relation(3-1) of eigenvalue, we
can directly deduce the Thomson-Tait stability criteria as follows:
If the liquid drops rotating uniformly consist of an incompressible viscous liquid
endowed with surface tension, then the stability criteria depending on all modes of
eigenvibrations are consistent with secular stability criteria derived from minimizing
total potential energy (Le.fJ 2 U > 0).
In fact, set e = ~ > 0, if = 'P. If all of eigenvibrations satisfy {/U> 0, then

setting a 2 = I • fJ2 U > 0, we can deduce that all of eigenvalues 6 satisfy Re6 < from °
Eq.(23) of the Lemma I, i.e. all of eigenvibrations are stable; On the other hand, if
318
there existed a certain eigenfunction ~ K satisfying {/ U(~ KJ;) < 0, then, setting
2 2 - -.
a = - [ 0 8 U(e K,e K) > 0, we can deduce that the corresponding eigenvalue
6 K satisfies Re6 K > 0 from Eq .(24) of the Lemma I, i.e., unstable. The Theorem
1-3 in paper[ll] can be proved by the very same mention.
§ 4. Secular stability and dynamic stability

I . The relation between secular stability and dynamic stability
It is the existence of Coriolis force that leads to differences between secular stabili-
ty and dynamic stability of rotating system. They are identical for systems in static
equilibrium.
For the rotating liquid system, the properties of Coriolis force are as follows:
(1) For the inviscid case, the Coriolis force may produce stability unless qt = O. In
fact, set <II =0 in Eq. (3-1), we obtain
1
6= -{-'I'+ .J 'I' 2 -[08 U
2
(4-1)
[ -
then ,the sufficient and necessary conditions of the stability are '1'2 - [ 8 2 U < O.Be- 0
cause '1'2 :s;; 0, 8 2 U > 0 only is a sufficient condition of the stability. In the region
'1'2 / I < 8 2 U < 0, Coriolis force may induce a stabilizing effect. It is a region of secu-
lar instability and one of dynamic stability.

(2) For the viscous case, the Corio lis force cannot induce a stabilizing effect. Criti-
cal conditions depend on whether the total potential energy of the system attains its
minimum which is directly deduced from the Thomson - Tait stability criteria in § 3.
(3) When the liquid system rotates uniformly around its symmetry axis, then,
whether we consider viscosity or not, the Coriolis force will never induce stabilizing ef-
fect for the axisymmetric disturbance, ~(r, z)=[ e,(r, z), ie,(r, z), ez(r, z)], it
is easy to prove that 'I' = JH p 0 (n 0 x ~) 0 r d. = 0, i.e. Coriolis force does not in-
duce the stabilizing effect.

According to the above properties of Corio lis force, we can easily get four rela-
tions between secular stability and dynamic stability as listed by Lyttleton ([5], P.22).
The cases emphasized by him in which two kinds of stability disappear simultaneously
correspond to those in which Coriolis force does not induce a stabilizing effect. These
relations are not essential. For the viscous case, two stability concepts which were at-
tained by use of the normal mode methods, are identical, the dynamic stability condi-
tions corresponding to the stabilizing effect of Coriolis forces are no longer valid.
II. Properties of the secular instability
Minimizing the total potential energy, we could obtain only secular stability con-
319
ditions, but could not calculate the growth rate of the instability. Thus, the question
whether secular instability should have been unstable with initial infinitesimal
amplitude increasing exponentially with time could arise[lO]. Some investigators hold
that only the initial infinitesimal amplitude for dynamic instability increases
exponentially with time, but the amplitude for secular instability linearly vary with
time, the growth rate depending on the magnitude of viscosity, and when viscosity dis-
appears, so does the growth rate [5].
At first, from Eq.(3- 1), when 'I' = 0, i.e. in the cases when dynamic and secular
stabilities disappear simultaneously, we get
02U
6=6
, J-
=
02 U
I
1
+ ~ + <l>
412 21
>0 (4-2)
At this moment, it will not be overstable any longer, even if viscosity exists; in this
case, small disturbance will increase exponentially with time, and the viscosity effect
only reduces the growth rate of instability. Such a view that secular instability would
also cause small disturbance to increase exponentially with time is of great difference
from earlier concepts. For the small viscosity case, the growth rates of instability
would hardly depend on viscosity. Approximately from (4-2), we have
exp 6, t =exp { t JI7U

-'-1- } (4-3)
It will not vanish when viscosity is equal to zero.

When '1'=1=0 and in the small viscosity case, i.e. <l> < < 1, from (3-1), we get
6 = 67 + i6/
_! o 02U
2 '1'. J_'I'2+1 0 02U
_ '1'2 +1 0 02 U - I + I 1 '
if (_'I'2+ 100 2 U )>0 (4-4)
1 J 'I' 2 -1- 0 2 U - 'I'

-
1 1'
if (_'I'2+ 100 2 U )<0 (4-5)
When 0 > {)2 U > '1'2 /1, this is a region of secular instability but of dynamic stability;
when {)2 U < '1'2 /1 < 0, this is a region of dynamic instability as well as of secular in-
stability, and it is also a kind of overstability.
Here, we have not only given the expressions for calculating the growth in various
320
cases, but also cleared some perplexing questions about secular instability.
By the same way as in paper [11], we can explain the essence of the interaction be-
tween the viscosity and Canolis fcree by applying the conc.eptof vortex lines stability,
and comment on the dispute over relation between secular stability and dynamic sta-
bility, which is very similar to the dispute over ND' Alembert Paradox N •
§ 5. Experimental Evidence Proving Truthfulness of Secular Stability

I. Kelvin's experiments of fluid rotor gytos and theoretical expiaination
During 1877-1888, Kelvin first made experiments of fluid rotor gyros and posed
the HColumbus egg problem H[12]. His gyro is composed of a spheroidal bronze shell fil-
led with water which is set on a single axis frame. He made two such gyros, an oblate
(c / a = 9 /10) and a prolate (c / a = 10/9) (c - polar radius, a - equatorial one).
His experiments showed that the oblate gyro is stable; the prolate one is unstable.
From the end of 18th century to now, many scientists became interested in the
subject in order to explain Kelvin's experiments. All provious theories, based on the
ideal fluid model, obtained stability conditions to be a> c and c> 3a; the instability
condition a < c < 3a, which is not consistent with kelvin's experiments (see [4]).
Based on the viscous fluid model, we have proved the criteria of gyroscopic stabi-
lization of fluid rotor gyros as follows: For the free rotation of the gyros around its ax-
is, the sufficient and necessary conditions for the stability under the constraints - ~
and - ~ < {J <~, (where rx,{J;y are three Candan's angles) are that the
gyros be oblate, i.e.
C I + C 2> A I + A 2 (5 - 1)
where A I ,C I andA 2 ,C 2 are the principal moments of inertia of the shell and the fluid
rotor respectively.
The above criteria are a concrete application of the Thomson - Tait stability
criteria for fluid rotor gyro. In this case, the total potential energy of the gyros is
L(8)=O:(C I +C 2 -AI -A 2 ) sin 2 8 (5-2)
where 8 is the angle between the symmetry axis and vertical direction. The condition
(5-1) says that the potential energy attains its minimum.
8 4
For the Kelvin's experiments (C I < < C 2,A I < < A 2)' C 2 = 15 xpca A2
= ~ xpa 2 (a 2 + c 2)c, we can obtain the sufficient and necessary conditions of stability
C2 - A 2 = 15
4 xpa 4c(2
a - c 2) > O·
,I.e. c < a, wh'ICh"IS stnct consIstence
. WI'th t h e exper-
iments.
321
II. Further experiments of fluid rotor gyros [ 15J

According to the equivalence of principal tensor of inertia, we can replace the
Kelvin's rotor with a cylinder and prove that a homogenous cylinder with radius R
and height H is equivalent to a homogenous ellipsoid with polar radius c = ~ Hand

equatorial ratius a = ~ R. Thus, the cylinder with R = ~H is equivalent to a
sphere. When R < ~ H, the equivalent ellipsoid is prolate; when R > ~ H, it is
oblate. Our experimental tools are very simple. We have used tin tubes with radius
50mm and cut them into cylinders with heights 20mrI1, 30mm, 40mm, 50mm, 60mm,
70mm, 86.Smm, 95mm, and 120mm respectively, then sealed their tops and bottoms.
The central part of top and bottom of every cylinder is connected with a 4 mm diame-
ter steel tube. The cylinder filled with water is made as the rotor of fluid rotor gyros.
Axis of gyros is made of a 2 mm diameter copper wire with a threaded nut on it. The
distance of the rotor's gravity centre to the fixed point is adjusted by the nut. The end
of the axis is made of either a needle or a spherical surface in the shape. The copper ax-
is is inserted in the central steel pipe of the rotor. The top of the axis is held by the fin-
ger of one hand and then set into rotation at 5 - 10 revolutions per second around its
axis with the other hand. lfthe gyro is stable, then it can stably rotate when it is put on
the table, otherwise it will topple over.
Results of experiments show that the six cases, where the height of the rotors are
smaller than 70mm, are all stable; other cases are unstable, that is if we put the gyros
on the table, the gyros will immediately topple over. The gyros tend to be more stable
with decreasing the height of the gravity centre and with increasing their spining veloc-
ity.
If the height of the rotors is H = 86.5mm, its equivalent ellipsoid is a sphere, the
gyro is in a critical stable state.
ill. A conceptual linear series of fluid rotor gyro experiments
Three centuries ago, Galileo designed a conceptual inclined plane experiment to
demonstrate successfully the law of inertia. So did Einstein several times following
Galileo. Now we will follow them by devising a conceptual linear series of experiments
on the basis of Kelvin's experiments and our further ones, in order to demonstrate the
truthfulness of secular stability series.
Suppose that an oblate spheroid shell filled with water is set in a frame and rotates
around a vertical axis with constant angular momentum. We imagine that the solid
shell is changed gradually from oblate shape into prolate ones with constant angular
322
momentum, then the argular velocity of the rotor is changed gradually from small to
large.
We can represent the configurations
t I P,
a-c
c=--
a
of the above-rv-entioned fluid rotor gyros
on plane (O,o)(Fig. 2). PIS corresponds
'--.i.-..:..- to secular stability series, the configura-
e<O
---$-- tions of which are oblate fluid rotor
~O ().. gyros. S corresponds to spherical shape;

The configurations on SQ are both
secularly and dynamically unstable; The
e>O
ones on QP 2 (c> 3a) are secularly
unstable but dynamically stable.
p. By comparison the experiments with
Fig.2. A conceptual experiments series theory, we can find that the experiments
are consistent with the theoritical results
according to the viscous fluid model, but not with those according to the ideal fluid
model.
The conceptual linear experiments series demonstrate the truthfulness of the secu-
lar stability series.
§ 6. Conclusions
1. The experimental evidence proves the truthfulness of secular stability. The
comparison for rotating liquid drops with self-gravitation and those with a surface
tension, and Kelvins experiment are given in Table. I.
Table 1
Invisid Cases Viscous Cases
Dynamic Dynamic Secular Secular
Stability Instability Stability Instability
Maclaurin's 0<e<0.8127
0.9125<e<1 0<e<0.8127 0.8127<e<1
Spheroid 0.8127 <e<0.9125
Rotating 0<(1)<0.584
0.679 <(I) 0<(1)<0.584 0.584<(1)
Liquid Drops 0.584<(1)<0.679
Fluid Rotor a>c
a<c<3a a>c a<c
Gyros Theory 3a<c
Kelvin's
- - a>c a<c
Experiments
323
2. Quasi-stationary evolution process of the rotating liquid drops with a surface

tension as well as with self-gravitation, must be judged by Thomson-Tait stability
criteria.
3. The original equilibrium state of drops must belong to secular stability series
when the oscillation of drops are calculated.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author's work is supported by Academia Sinica

and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The author is grateful to Prof.
B.J.Rath and other editors for their valuable suggestions.
References
(1) Wang.T.G.et.al., Drop dynamics in space, In Material Sciences in Space with

Application to Space Processing edited by L.Steg (AIAA, New York 1977)
(2) Feuerbacher, B. et.al. Material Sciences in Space, Springer-Verlag, Berlin,
Heidelberg ( 1986 )
0) Jeans, J.B. Astronomy and Cosmogony, Cambridge Univ. Press (1929)
(4) Lamb, H., Hydrodynamics(6th ed.), Cambridge Univ. Press (1932) Chap. 12
(5) Lyttleton, R. The Stability of Rotating Liquid Masses, Cambridge Univ. Press
(1951)
(6) Ledoux. p., Handb. d. Phys.51 (1958) 605 (LM)
(7) Chandrasekhar, S, Ellipsoidal Figure of Equilibrium, Yale Univ. Press, New
York (1969)
(8) Cohen, S. et.al. AnnIs. Phys. 82 (1974) 557-596
(9) Chandrasekhar, S, Proc. Roy. Soc. London Ser A 286 (1965),1-26.
ClO) Robert. P.H., Stewatson, K.A. Astrophysics J. 137 (1963) 771
Cl 1) Xu Shuochang, Scientia Sinica 24 (1981),61-73
Cl2) Xu Shuochang, Scientia Sinica (Series A) 28 (1985) 495-503
Cl3) Xu Shuochang, Nature Journal 6 (1983), 770-772; 7(1984) , 362-367 (in
Chinese)
Cl4) Xu Shuochang, On the Stability of Rotating Viscous Drop (to be published)
Cl 5) Xu Shuochang , The Gyroscopic Stability Criteria and Experiments of Fluid
Rotor Gyros. Proc. Inter. conf. on Dynamics Vibration and Control, 3-6 July,
1990, Beijing, China. PP259-263
Cl6) Lebovitz, N.R. Bifurcation and Stability Problems in Astrophysics. In Applica-
tions of Bifurcation Theory, Edited by Rabinowitz D.H., Academic Press, New
York, 1977,259-284.
Surface Tension Effects on the Onset
of Double-Diffusive Convection
C. F. CHEN
Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

The University of Arizona
Tucson. Arizona 85721 U.S.A.
Summary
experiments have been carnea out to determine the cntIcal tnermal Kaylelgn number for
onset of convection in a horizontal layer of density-stratified fluid with a free surface when
heated from below. Three different aqueous solutions were used: salt. glycerol, and acetic
acid. The rates of change in surface tension with concentration for these three solutions are
positive. nearly zero. and negative. respectively. Compared to the rigid-rigid boundaries. the
critical thermal Rayleigh number was found to be larger by 11.2% for the salt solution and
smaller by 10.0% for the glycerol solution. With the acetic acid solution. however. the effect
of the free surface was found to be negligible.
I. Introduction
When solidifying an alloy melt. simultaneous thermal and concentration gradients are
generated which may cause double-diffusive convection in the fluid. If there is a free
surface present. surface tension gradients generated by nonuniform surface distributions of
temperature and solute will also contribute to the motion. When such processes are carried
out in the reduced-gravity environment of an orbiting space laboratory. the surface tension
effects become prominent. although buoyancy-driven convection due to concentration
gradients may still exist down to very low gravity levels [I]. In order to gain some insight
on the combined effects. we recently conducted a series of laboratory experiments on the
effects of surface tension on the onset of double-diffusive convection and obtained
interesting results. some of which were unexpected.
The effect of surface tension on the onset of convection in a horizontal fluid layer being
heated from below was first studied by Nield [2] using a linear stability analysis. Davis
and Homsy [3] generalized the problem to include the effect of a deformable free surface
using an energy stability analysis. They found that stability is enhanced compared to the
case with a planar free surface. Recently. Gouesbet et al. [4] carried out a linear stability
analysis of the problem with emphasis on the possible occurrence of overstability. They
were not able to find examples of overstability when the layer is heated from below.
McTaggart [5] studied the stability of a fluid layer with both concentration and thermal
gradients in the absence of gravity. She found that for the aqueous solutions of MgS0 4 • for
which the rate of change in surface tension with concentration is positive. onset of
convection is in the overstable mode. Castillo and Verlarde [6] generalized the energy
stability analysis of Davis and Homsy [3] to include the concentration gradient.
H J Rath (EdItor)
Microgravlty FlUId Mechamcs
326
In our experimental study. a horizontal fluid layer with a stable concentration gradient is
sUbjected to heating from below and cooling from above. The upper free surface was
observed to be planar. except at the boundaries. throughout the experiment. For such a
layer with free-free boundary conditions and in the absence of surface tension effects.
Veron is [7] found the critical thermal Rayleigh number for onset of convection to be
R = Pr + 1 R + (I + 1)(1 + Pr 1) 27114 (I)

T.e Pr + I s 4
in which RT = gcx~Td 3 /("v). Rs = gJ3~Sd3 /("v). with g denoting the gravitational
acceleration; ~T and ~S. the temperature and solute concentration differences across the
layer; d. the layer thickness; " and v. the thermal diffusivity and kinematic viscosity; ex =
-p-1oP/oT; and {3 = -p-1oP/oS. Prandtl number Pr = "/v, and the diffusivity ratio 1 = "s/"
with "s the mass diffusivity of the solute. It is known that for most materials. "s « " and
thus 1 «1. Equation (I) expresses the fact that the destabilizing effect of heating must
overcome the stabilizing effect of the solute by a constant amount that depends on the
boundary condition. For free-free conditions. the constant is nearly 27rr4/4 = 658. It is
reasonable to expect that the constant is approximately 1700 for rigid-rigid conditions.
Under laboratory conditions. Rs is usually very large. :2! IOLI07. Then. the type of
boundaries will have minimal effect on the critical thermal Rayleigh number when surface
tension effects are ignored. If. however. surface tension forces are to be taken into account.
their effect may be aiding or opposing the buoyancy-generated convection. depending on
whether the rate of change in surface tension with respect to concentration is negative or
positive. The objectives of our experimental investigation are (I) to establish whether the
surface tension effects are noticeable when the Rayleigh numbers are of the order of 106 to
10 7 and (2) to determine the magnitude of the aiding or opposing effects of surface tension.
To carry out these experiments. we used aqueous solutions of salt. glycerol. and acetic acid.
The surface tension of the salt solution increases with concentration. that of the glycerol
solution remains nearly constant. and that of the acetic acid decreases with concentration
(Fig. I). In the following. we first describe the experimental apparatus and procedure. then
we report the results and discussion.
2. Experimental Apparatus and Procedure
The experiments were carried out in two tanks with identical inside dimensions of 24 cm x
12 cm x 5 cm deep. The first tank had a brass bottom and glass sides and was used by
Murray and Chen [8] and Chen and Chen [9] in experiments with a porous medium. The
second one had a stainless steel bottom with plexiglass sides and was made specially for
experiments with acetic acid solutions. The design of the tank and the data-acquisition
system are described in [8] and [9].
The solute gradient was obtained by successively introducing into the test tank four fluid
layers of equal thickness (1 cm) but with decreasing concentration. The concentrations of
327
these layers were ~S. 2/3 ~S. 1/3 ~S. and O. from the bottom layer up. For the three
different solutions used in the experiments. the concentration of the bottom layer was
selected to yield a specific gravity of 1.066; 1.2 wt% for salt. 3.74 wt% for glycerol. and 6
wt% for acetic acid. The filled tank was let stand until a smooth gradient was established
by diffusion. The waiting periods were 16 hr. 21.5 hr. and 25 hr for salt. glycerol. and
acetic acid solutions. respectively. because of the difference in the mass diffusivity of each
solute. The time evolution of the concentration distribution within the tank was calculated
by a one-dimensional diffusion model for the salt solution (Fig. 2) up to 20 hr. Because of
the nondiffusive nature of the top and bottom boundaries. the density distribution assumes a
nonlinear shape.
For experiments with rigid-rigid boundaries. the temperature difference across the tank was
initially adjusted by approximately 1°C steps. These were reduced to approximately 0.5°C
when the critical value was approached. Temperature difference adjustments were made at
4.5-min intervals. the diffusion time for a 2-cm-thick water layer. For experiments with a
free surface. the top plate's temperature had to be reduced much more than 0.5°C for each
adjustment because of the air gap. The actual amount of temperature reduction was
obtained by trial and error.
3. Results and Discussion

3.1 Rigid-Rigid Boundaries. In order to establish a basis for later comparison. experiments
with rigid-rigid boundaries were conducted for all three solutions. Experimentally obtained
heat flux data prior to the onset of convection for all three solutions are shown in Fig. 3.
The straight line was obtained by a least square fit. from which the calibration of the heat
flux meter yields 0.01 mv = 46.5 watts/m2 . The data point at the highest ~T for each of
the cases tested denotes the state just prior to the onset of convection. From these data and
the physical properties of the solutions evaluated at the mean temperature. the thermal
Rayleigh numbers for onset of convection are 7.68 x 106 • 8.49 x 106 • and 6.79 x 106 for the
salt. glycerol. and acetic acid solutions. respectively.
The onset and subsequent development of the convective motion in the fluid are illustrated
by a series of shadowgraphs (Fig. 4) that were taken during the same experiment with a salt
gradient. A record of the heat flux and ~T encountered during the evolution is shown in
Fig. 5. The experiment was started at 0915. At 1546. 26 min after the last adjustment of
the temperature difference. convection along the bottom wall started in the form of plumes
rising from the bottom wall (Fig. 4a). as noted in the classic experiment of ShirtcJiffe [10].
A further upward adjustment of ~T was made at 1605. We note here that even without
the final increase in ~ T. the same development of the convection process would have taken
place. but at a slower rate. At 1630. Fig. 4b. the entire bottom wall was covered by
convection plumes and a plume was starting at the top wall. At 1710. Fig. 4c. the two-layer
convection pattern was established. although remnants of concentration gradients can still be
328
seen. At 1715. Fig. 4d. both layers became essentially constant density-convecting layers.
thus resulting in a large increase in heat flux during the 5-min interval (see Fig. 5). The
three subsequent shadowgraphs, Figs. 4e. f. and g. recorded at 1730. 1745; and 1750.
respectively. show the gradual thickening of the interface due to diffusion across the
interface. By 1800. Fig. 4h. the fluid in the tank became homogeneous. with a concomitant
large increase in heat flux between 1755 and 1800 (Fig. 5). At 2033. Fig. 4i. the
shadowgraph shows the typical turbulent convection characteristics of a uniform density
fluid.
Evolution of the heat flux during this process is shown in Fig. 5. It is seen that after the
onset of convection. the heat flux increased dramatically while .0. T decreased slightly owing
to the increased heat transfer rate at the boundary walls. Data are shown every 5 min after
the onset of convection. The large increases in the heat flux between 1710 and 1715 and
again between 1755 and 1800 are related to events explained above. The black dots denote
data obtained from an experiment on turbulent convection in water. It is seen that these
data points merge nicely with those obtained after the salt solution was thoroughly mixed.
These points agree well with the correlation Nu = 0.10 RaO.31 Pr O.05 suggested by Silveston
[II] as presented in Turner [12].
3.2 Rigid-Free Boundaries. In this series of experiments. the fluid layer was prepared
similarly to the previous case to a depth of 4 cm. The top cooling surface was raised by
plexiglass inserts to 9 mm above the free surface. Many experiments dealing with surface
tension effects were performed with a very small air gap between the free surface and the
cooling plate (e.g .• [13]). According to the analysis of Ferm and Wollkind [14]. small air
gaps tend to enhance the stability of the layer. Further. the large evaporation rates of
aqueous solutions preclude the use of small air gaps since condensation on the top wall
substantially alters the gap shape and size in the course of the experiment.
The temperature difference between the bottom wall and the top free surface was obtained
by extrapolating the linear temperature distribution within the fluid to the free surface.
This method becomes unreliable when convection is present in the tank. The heat flux data
collected from six different experiments prior to the onset of convection are shown in Fig.
6. The least-square-fit straight line through the data points yields a slope within 4.5% of
that for the rigid-rigid boundaries.
The onset of instabilities in the presence of a free surface is a gradual process in contrast to
the clearcut development of convection in the rigid-rigid case. Due to the edge effect. small
circulation cells first appeared at the two ends of the tank at approximately 80-90% of the
critical .o.T. These developed very slowly. and they were essentially confined to the
corners. With further increase of .o.T. penetrative convection plumes start to descend from
the free surface. The shadows of these plumes were very weak. Although they were
clearly visible by eye. it was difficult to capture them on film. The convection processes
329
intensify initially. but eventually fade away. For the salt solution. upon one further upward
adjustment of t:..T. convection cells appeared from the bottom wall. From here on. the
development of the convection process is much the same as in the rigid-rigid case. For the
glycerol solution. after the first appearance of the penetrative convection plumes along the
upper free surface. it required two upward adjustments of t:..T to cause the onset of
convection cells from the bottom. This is also true for the acetic acid.
For this series of experiments. the critical t:.. T is defined as the largest value of t:.. T across
the tank for which there are no convection plumes from the bottom wall. Even though
penetrative convection cells may have started earlier. they do not persist. nor do they have
any effect on the heat flux. Once convection starts at the bottom wall. there is an
immediate increase in the heat flux. For each of the solutions tested. two separate
experiments were performed and the critical t:.. T's determined. The corresponding critical
thermal Rayleigh numbers were then calculated using the thermophysical properties
evaluated at the mean temperature for the solution at the mean concentration. Because of
the small solute concentrations in all three solutions. the values of thermal diffusivity and
the thermal expansion coefficient of pure water were considered to be appropriate. Values
of kinematic viscosity are given by Weast [15]. and their variations with temperature were
assumed to be similar to that of water. The results are summarized in Table 1.
For each experiment. the values of the mean temperature. T m' solute Rayleigh number. and
Marangoni number are given. The experimentally obtained critical t:..T and the
corresponding critical Marangoni and thermal Rayleigh numbers. Me and R T.c . are
tabulated. As can be seen with the salt solution. whose surface tension increases with salt
concentration. the presence of the free surface enhanced the stability of the system. The
critical thermal Rayleigh number R T.C increases 11.2% beyond that for the rigid-rigid case.
For the glycerol solution. whose surface tension is not materially affected by the changes in
concentration. the presence of the free surface destabilized the system with a decrease in the
average RT.c of 10.0%. The surprising result was that for the acetic acid solution. the
presence of a free surface had no effect on the stability of the fluid layer. The average
R T.C differs from that for the rigid-rigid case by -2.9%. within the error limit of
approximately 5%. Since the surface tension of the acetic acid solution decreases with
increasing concentration. it was expected that the stability of the fluid would be reduced.
Currently. we are developing a quasi-steady stability analysis of the problem. results of
which may provide an explanation of this experimental result.
4. Conclusions
(a) The onset of convection in the rigid-free boundary case is quite different from that of
the rigid-rigid boundary case. In the latter. when t:.. T exceeds the critical value. convection
plumes start along the bottom wall and their growth eventually homogenizes the fluid layer.
In the former. penetrative plumes start at the free surface; however. they do not intensify.
330
With further increases of ~T. convection starts at the bottom wall and subsequent
development is similar to that of the rigid-rigid case.
(b) The presence of the free surface enhances the stability of a stratified salt solution and
destabilizes a stratified glycerol solution. but essentially has no effect on the stability of the
stratified acetic acid solution.
This research is supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant MSM-8702732
and NASA through Grant NAG3-1268. for which we are grateful.
References
1. Chen. C.F.: AIAA Paper 90-01222 (1990).
2. Nield. D.A.: J. Fluid Mech. 19 (1%4) 341-352.
3. Davis. S.H.:Homsy. G.M.: J. Fluid Mech. 98 (1980) 527-553.
4. Gouesbet. G.: Maquet. J.: Roze. C.: Darrigo. R.: Phys. Fluids A 2 (1990) 903-91l.
5. McTaggart. C.L.: J. Fluid Mech. 134 (1983) 301-310.
6. Castillo. J.L.: Velarde. M.G.: J. Fluid Mech. 125 (1982) 463-474.
7. Veronis. G.: J. Mar. Res. 23 (1%5) 1-17.
8. Murray. B.T.: Chen. C.F.: J. Fluid Mech. 201 (1989) 147-166.
9. Chen. F.: Chen. C.F.: J. Fluid Mech. 207 (1989) 311-321.
10. Shirtcliffe. T.G.L.: Nature 213 (1967) 489-490.
II. Silveston. P.L.: Forsch a.d. Geb. des. Ingen. 24 (1958) 59-69.
12. Turner. J.S.: Buoyancy Effects in Fluids. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press 1973.
13. Koschmieder. E.L.: Biggerstaff. M.I.: J. Fluid Mech. 167 (1986) 49-64.
14. Ferm. E.N.: Wollkind. D.J.: J. Non-Equilib. Thermodyn. 7 (1982). 169-190.
IS. Weast. R.C. (ed.): Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Cleveland: CRC Press 1974.
Table 1. Summary of Results.
Exp. No. Tm10C RSK1Q-7 MSK1Q-5 .o.Tc,oC Mc K1 Q-5 RT•C Klo-e % Change
a. Salt
Rigid ST-7 20.2 2.89 8.3 7.68

Free ST-12 20.8 2.92 -1.11 9.2 4.15 8.69 +13.2
Free ST-26 19.6 2.86 -1.08 8.3 3.66 8.38 +9.1
b. Glycerol
Rigid ST-31 20.2 2.80 9.5 8.49

Free ST-29 20.6 2.82 0.076 8.5 3.70 7.84 -7.7
Free ST-30 19.4 2.76 0.075 8.7 3.69 7.34 -13.5
c. Acetic Acid
Rigid ST-21 20.6 2.76 7.5 6.79

Free ST-22 20.0 2.74 3.00 7.1 3.00 6.54 -3.7
Free ST-28 21.2 2.78 3.22 7.5 3.22 6.65 -2.1
331
O ..... LT C. . C1
.....YC:I.OL f •• C1
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'0.0 ~-----------------.....,
a.• 10,0..
40,0 ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - '
:2:0.0 JO.O .... FII.1 V.rtauon or Surface T.rulon .ath Concentn.Uon
CONCENTRATION : wt7.
: :~~:..
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•.• t1:""""T"T"!"""---------------,
Fll.2 Concentration DlltribuUon with I Salt SoluUon Layer

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dUI1ft.1 the Conduetton State.
o.Jla T. C
~
b g
c h
d i
Fig . 4 Shadowgraphs showing the Development of the

Convection Process in a Stratified Salt Solution
with Rigid-Rigid Boundaries.
e
333
0 .11
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0 _.
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x
2 0 .3
.'\0 -1500
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Fig.1i H••t flux O.te for. Slratlftocf Salt Solution Layer

0 0
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0 0 0 Ind I Wat.r Lly.r with Rigid-Rigid Boundlrl••
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Della T . C
Combustion,
Physico-Chemical Processes,
Multiphase Phenomena
Computational/Experimental Basis for Conducting
Alkane Droplet Combustion Experiments
on Space-Based-Platforms
MUN Y. CHOI, SEOG Y. CHO and FREDERICK L. DRYER
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544-5263
JOHN B. HAGGARD, JR.

NASA-Lewis Research Center
Cleveland,OH 44135
Abstract
Recent advances in the understanding of droplet combustion clearly illustrate the serious
experimental constraints imposed by the diagnostic capabilities and the short observation times
available in current droptower facilities. In this paper, the need for conducting spherically
symmetric droplet combustion experiments on space-platforms is discussed and further
analyzed utilizing a recently developed time dependent computational droplet combustion
model that permits the incorporation of time and temperature dependent transport
characteristics and complex combustion kinetics. A method first demonstrated for methanol
droplet combustion, including full detailed elementary combustion kinetics, is applied with
semi-empirical kinetics to estimate the combustion properties of n-heptane droplets for various
pressures, oxygen indices, and diluents. Based upon the calculations, particularly for droplet
extinction phenomena, results suggest two different regimes of behavior. At low oxygen
indices, droplet burning extinction becomes a very strong function of oxygen index (strongly
affected by kinetics), while at higher oxygen indices, it becomes a more weak function of
oxygen index and in fact is more difficult to determine. The oxygen index separating the
ranges over which these different characteristics are noted is dependent on the diluent chosen,
being higher for helium, and lower for nitrogen.
Introduction
The importance of isolated droplet combustion process has promoted extensive experimental
and theoretical investigations for nearly 40 years [1,2). In terms of practical relevance, the
knowledge of individual droplet burning characteristics provides valuable insights into some
of the more complex sub-mechanisms involved in spray combustion[3). Results are also
important to the field of liquid fire safety, especially as a mechanism of studying how such
characteristics are affected by the absence of gravitational forces[4,5).
On a scientific basis, spherically symmetric droplet combustion represents the simplest

geometrical configuration in which to study the coupled characteristics of chemical reactions
II J Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogranty FlUid MechaniCS
I LTA\1 SymposIUm Bremen 1991
338
and diffusive processes inherent in non-premixed flames. The use of droplet combustion as
a critical research problem has, however, been impeded by the relative lack of sophisticated
experimentalidiagnostic and analytical tools. The NASA-Lewis n-aikane droplet combustion
program has focussed primarily on measuring dimensional information from the photographic
data to study droplet burning rate and flame-standoff ratios. However, detailed investigations
of transient characteristics such as extinction and flame structure dynamics will benefit
substantially from more sophisticated measurements such as species concentration
distributions. The diagnostic techniques necessary for such measurements in microgravity
experiments are only now being developed.
The increase in sophistication of experimental techniques has been matched by recent

improvements in the ability to model from first principles, isolated, transient, spherically
symmetric droplet burning[6,7]. Prior analytical approaches and this evolving computational
model are briefly discussed below. An initial application of the approach to modeling of
alkane droplet burning is described, and the insights obtained are then discussed relative to
their impact on definition of future experimental programs.
Droplet Combustion Modeling

In the mid 1950's, theoretical developments from several sources[1,2] led to the general
formulation of the "d2 -law" for describing the burning characteristics of droplets. This
quasi-steady, one-dimensional derivation incorporated a number of limiting assumptions such
as the thin flame-sheet approximation(infinite chemical kinetic rates), temperature-independent
thermophysical and transport properties, constant uniform droplet temperature, and unity Lewis
number[8,9]. The qualitative behavior of the 'd2 -law' formulation has been found to be
essentially correct and, provided that appropriate selections for transport parameters are
assumed, the burning rate of the droplets can be predicted reasonably well. Yet, simultaneous
agreement of the three observables including the burning rate, flame standoff and flame
temperature cannot be obtained. In fact, experiments on spherically-symmetric droplet burning
reveal qualitatively different behavior than the 'd2-law' predictions, indicating weaknesses in
the assumptions of the analysis. Advances in asymptotic[lO-12] and numerical
approaches[13,14] have permitted more recent analyses to include increasingly refined
descriptions of temperature-dependent transport and chemical kinetic effects on the above
prediction as well as to predict droplet burning extinction phenomena. Yet, comprehensive
339
comparisons of the theory and experiment remain unsatisfactory.
Even prior numerical models that have accounted for the effect of variable thermochemical
and transport properties, non-unity Lewis number, and forced convection[13,14], have
continued to employ various assumptions in estimating the thermochemical and transport
properties. For example, the specific heats of the fuel and air were assumed to be equal and
constant[13], the gas density, the Schmidt number and the Prandtl number were assumed to
be constant[14], thus failing to consider that the temperatures vary over a factor of five, and
that the diffusivities of some of the important chemical species, notably hydrogen radicals,
vary drastically from the mean. Furthermore, all of these models treated chemistry with
simple, uncalibrated, global approaches. In spherically symmetric, non-convective
environments this latter assumption may be particularly deficient.
Recently, a fully time-dependent, finite element-based, spherically symmetric numerical model

has been developed for treating all of the effects of physical and chemical processes on
droplet combustion at any level of sophistication[6,7]. As shown in Figure 1, the model is
processes
mass and thermal diffusion

gas phast chtmicD/ reaction
multi -compontnt diffusion
Fig.I. Schematic Of Spherically Symmetric

Droplet Combustion.
340
generically fonnulated and can incorporate even extensive, temperature-dependent databases

for thennochemistry, complex chemical kinetics, and detailed molecular transport, all in time
and spatially dependent tenns[Figure 2]. It is capable of predicting the time-dependent
Mathematical Model
Diffusion·Reaction Eq.
Cas & Condensed Phase
P.D.E Solver
Sensitivity Analysis
Engineering Model
Fig.2. Computational Model Methodology Flow Chart
ignition, burning rate, flame standoff, and extinction phenomena, in addition to other
parameters such as the critical ignition diameter(not previously addressed by asymptotic or
numerical methods). This model was validated utilizing the burning rate, flame standoff and
extinction diameter measurements for the methanol droplet experiments conducted at the
NASA-LeRC droptower. The comparisons of the computational and experimental results are
described in the following section.
Methanol Modeling Results

Methanol is a fuel for which detailed chemical kinetics[15; 168 reactions, 26 species],
thennochemical and thennophysical properties of the fuel, its combustion intennediates and
341
products[16,17), vapor pressure characteristics[IS), and the dissolution characteristics of

combustion products/intermediates in methanol[19) are relatively well known. Furthermore,
methanol burns without the complicating phenomena of soot[15,20). Methanol combustion
also exhibits an interesting characteristic in that a number of the combustion products and
intermediates, notably water and formaldehyde, are soluble in the fuel[6,21-2S]. Various
calculations have been performed and compared with the experimental data generated in the
NASA-Lt:wis 2.2 second drop tower[6) and with ground-based droplet burning
experimeIlts[26). A summary discussion of these results and comparisons are presented here.
A symmetric ignition process was approximated by establishing a finite temperature gradient

at the surface of a methanol droplet[See Figure 3a). Compared to the experimental
3a. Initia l Conditions 3c. Quasi-Steady Combustion

.8 rTl""11TTTrrrTlTTTTTT1rrl 2000 .6 2000
>=" .6 1500:': ~ .6 1500:':

t:
...u t:
...u
...
0 0
:;:l :;;J :;:l :l
0
1000 ~
0
cJ .4 1000 ~ cJ .4
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Q, 0-
., .,
In
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u
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In 5u
.2 500
S I-
e .2 I-
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0 102000
.6
>=" .6 1500:': ~ .6 1500:':

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0
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.4
.!:: u .!::
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0 0 0 0
0 2 4 6 6 10 0 2 4 8 8 10
r/rp r/rp
3b. Ignition 3d. Extinction
Fig.3. Computational Temperature And
Species Profile For Methanol Droplet
From Reference (6).
342
conditions, the ignition source is situated closer to the droplet surface and features a more
disperse energy distribution. Furthermore, the experimental ignition behavior reveals
substantial effects of internal mixing that is neglected in the computational model. Hence, the
computed ignition delay time is considerably shorter than the experimentally observed
valueCThis must be taken into account in the experimental design).
Shortly after the introduction of the ignition source, as the droplet begins to vaporize
vigorously[Figure 4], fuel vapor accumulates near the surface. It subsequently diffuses
1.5
........
N
'"
.......
~
~
OJ
+J
0::'"
01
s:::
s:::
s..
::> .5
CXl
extinction
inllial vaporization -J+- lenition -+j+- .

qu~sl-s~eady
Ourmng
time (s)
Fig.4. Computational Burning Rate For A Methanol Droplet
From Reference (6)
outward and mixes with the ambient oxidizer. As the droplet continues to vaporize, the gas
mixture near the droplet surface reaches the lean flammability limit, and a partially-premixed
flame develops due to the high temperature imposed by the ignition source. Transition to a
fully developed diffusion flame occurs as the initial mixture of oxygen and fuel vapor is
rapidly consumed. The chemical species composition and the temperature profiles at the onset
of ignition are presented in Figure 3b.
343
After the establishment of the diffusion flame, the close proximity of the flame results in rapid
vaporization of the liquid fuel and the burning rate exceeds that found for quasi-steady burning
by more than a factor of two[Figure 4]. This causes the spherical flame to progress outward
to establish a dynamic equilibrium between the fuel gasification and consumption rates.
As the quasi-steady droplet burning continues[Figure 3c] and the droplet size continuously
regresses, the spherical flame finally extinguishes at the instant the heat/mass transfer rates
exceed the critical chemical reaction rate. At extinction, the burning rate is dramatically
reduced[Figure 4] and substantial leakage of both fuel and oxidizer through the reaction zone
occurs[Figure 3d]. In addition to the reduction in the burning rate, the collapse of the radical
pool is used to identify the onset of extinction.
A well-defined extinction of a methanol droplet was achieved experimentally by using a 50%

oxygen in helium environment at 1 atmosphere[6,29]. The helium-oxygen system was chosen
for its combination of higher thermal conductivity(to increase the droplet burning rate) and
higher thermal diffusivity(to decrease the flame temperature and increase the reactant leakage).
In the experimental results shown in Figures Sa-b, the methanol droplets in oxygen-helium
1 . 0 . - - - - r - -- - - - - - - - - - - - , 1 . 7 5 , . . - - - - , - - - - - - - - - - ---------.
,:~,.:.."
'\<,\""
1.50
~. . t·". . ~. . . .,
...lli<- i ~ 1. 25
N
i ! 1.00
OJ
..,
'\~
.'\.\'\
0.6
o i, .....,
OJ
'+-
o 0.4 ! '\-., Run 299
"" 0 > 0 . 75
c
OJ
..,<- I '-. c
~
:> ;; 0 . 50
0-
Vl
0.2
I Aun 305
co
I ~~- 0 . 25
oL-~i ____~__~~______~ O~~_~~ ____ ~~~-L-L-~
- O. ! 0.2 0.5 O. B -0 . 1 0 .2 0 .5
time (s) time (s)
Fig.5a. Square Of Droplet Diameter vs. Fig.5b. Droplet Burning Rates For The
Time For Methanol Combustion In 50% Experimental Data Plotted In Fig. 5a.
Oxygen-Helium Microgravity Environment.
344
environments displayed burning rates higher than in corresponding oxygen-nitrogen systems.

After the droplet surface regressed to a diameter of 400 microns, the flame suddenly
contracted and finally extinguished, causing a drastic reduction in the burning rate. The
average extinction diameter for this condition was found to be 350 microns which is in good
agreement with the computational results[Table I).
T ABLE I [Methanol Comparisons]
Experiment Model
Burning Rate (mm2/s) 1.3 1.4 1.8
Flame Standoff Ratio 3.5 3.1 5.4
Extinction Diameter (mm) 0.35 0.30 Can't Predict
Experiments conducted with methanol droplets in air in the 2.2 second droptower displayed
non-'d2-law' behavior[6,21). It was suggested that diffusive transport and subsequent
condensation of flame-generated water on the fuel surface modifies the burning rate of the
droplet, similar to what was proposed earlier for alcohol vaporization in moist
environments[30). It was also speculated that product/intermediate absorption at the droplet
surface was a primary factor promoting the extinction mechanisms[6,21].
In addressing this issue, ground-based pool burning experiments[25) and freely-falling droplet
combustion studies[26) revealed substantial amounts of water and formaldehyde absorption
during combustion[28). The computational modeling results for methanol compared favorably
with the droplet combustion data. Indeed, the calculations show that water is at first absorbed
at the surface, and later in the droplet lifetime, as surface water concentrations increase, it
begins to vaporize into the gas-phase. This causes noticeable changes in the measured droplet
burning rate.
These experiments suggest that the combustion of initially pure methanol droplets display
multi-component burning behaviors. However, both pool burning and free-falling droplet
experiments utilizing n-heptane have produced negligible product and intermediate absorption
during the combustion period[25,26). Thus, the modeling of spherically symmetric n-heptane
droplet combustion need not incorporate the additional complications of multi-component
burning behaviors.
345
Modeling Of Alkane Droplet Combustion

Liquid n-alkanes are not as well-characterized as methanol either in terms of the
physical/chemical models or in thermophysical, thermochemical, and chemical kinetic data.
N-decane[32]and n-heptane[31]microgravity droplet combustion both exhibit significant soot
formation and collection(due to thermophoresis)within the surrounding droplet diffusion flame.
Soot agglomerate densities can become very large during the combustion history, and as yet
unidentified phenomena related to the sooting mechanism can result in disruption and
dismemberment of the burning liquid droplet relatively early in its burning history[32,33].
Speculations for the source of the disruption include: deposition of heavy molecular weight
components formed in the fuel decomposition process in the liquid phase, resulting in
multi-component disruptive buming[34]; collapse of the diffusion flame into the soot shell
during transient burning and dismemberment of the droplet by the resulting intense ignition
of the residual soot[32]; critical electrostatic charge accumulation in the soot shell and/or on
the droplet surface[35].
In the case of spherically symmetric n-heptane droplet combustion in atmospheric air, recent
experiments in the NASA-Lewis 2.2 second drop tower[31]produce droplet burning rates some
40% lower than those defined in the early drop tower experiments of Kumagai and
co-workers[36]. The slower burning rate data correlate with relative droplet/gas convection
rates determined by monitoring the motion of soot agglomerates relative to the droplet, and
show that droplet/lab relative motion utilized in earlier experiments do not properly
characterize the effects of convection on quiescent burning. More recent experiments[33] have
also shown that the burning rate of n-heptane droplets may be influenced by changes in
ambient pressure(increasing with reductions in pressure), again through some phenomena
relating to the formation and presence of soot(sooting is substantially reduced under this
ambient condition). A physical model for soot formation and collection within the droplet
diffusion flame structure remains to be formulated and included in modeling efforts.
However, recent experiments show that sooting can be experimentally controlled by varying
the ambient pressure, through diluent substitution, and oxygen index reduction. Combinations
of these initial conditions can be found for space-based experiments which create conditions
of little or no soot formation, thus creating experimental conditions more similar to the present
numerical modeling assumptions. Existing model formulations also need to be modified to
consider axi-symmetric gas phase convection relative to the droplet surface. Thus, future
346
microgravity experiments, while requiring the characterization of gas/droplet motion, need to

emphasize minimization of these effects.
Furthermore, experimentally measured thermodynamic and transport property data are

available only at low temperatures. While theoretical evaluations based on ideal gas properties
exist to guide extrapolations to flame temperatures, calculated and experimental parameters
at low temperatures are in significant disagreement[See Table II].
T ABLE II [Heat CaJ!acitIl
T (K) n-HeJ!tane EXJ!t n-HeJ!tane Theon
300 2.263 (kJ/kg-K) 1.665 (kJ/kg-K)
400 2.720 (kJ/kg-K) 2.107 (kJ/kg-K)
500 3.410 (kJ/kg-K) 2.510 (kJ/kg-K)
1000 Unavailable 3.811 (kJ/kg-K)
1500 Unavailable 4.445 (kJ/kg-K)
In the present work, experimental values were utilized where available[36]and supplemented
with theoretical estimations assuming ideal gas properties. Transport and thermochemical data
were estimated by using TRANSPORT PACKAGE and CHEMKIN codes[16,17].
Finally, no validated, detailed chemical kinetic mechanism presently exists for the combustion
of n-heptane. This deficiency is likely to remain for the near future. Thus, as an alternative
to detailed mechanisms, reduced chemical kinetic mechanism developments are being
addressed[38]. For the present studies, a two-step, semi-empirical model with reversible
CO/C02 chemistry was utilized[See Table III].
TABLE III [Reduced Kinetic Data For n-HeJ!tanel
~H16 + 7.502 --> 7C02 + 8H20

kob = 2xlOI4[n~HI6][Ozlexp(-40/RT)
CO + 0.502 <---> CO 2
kob,r = 1014.6[COHH20]o.5[02]o.25exp(-40/RT)
kOb.f = 5x108 [C0zl°. 25exp( -40/RT)
347
The rate parameters for the reaction of heptane with the oxidizer were calibrated by comparing
suspended droplet extinction diameter data[lO]of n-heptane at low pressure(no soot
formation)with calculations[See Table IV].
TABLE IV [Extinction Diameter]
Yo Pressure Experimental Calculated
0.232 125 torr 0.34 mm 0.34 mm
0.232 100 torr 0.42 mm 0.46 mm
0.232 75 torr 0.59 mm 0.65 mm
0.253 175 torr 0.29 mm 0.35 mm
0.253 150 torr 0.37 mm 0.45 mm
Calculations were then performed to determine the burning characteristics of isolated

n-heptane droplets under various ambient pressures, oxygen indices, and diluents(nitrogen;
helium). While some calculations were performed with oxygen-argon environments, results
are not reported here because this diluent substitution produces sooting characteristics almost
identical to those of nitrogen[33]. To generate the locus of data points shown in the following
figures, more than 200 numerical experiments were performed utilizing a SUN 4/260 HM
workstation, with each calculation requiring between 2 to 10 hours. Results were then
analyzed and summarized in the following figures.
Figures 6 and '7 show results determined by varying the ignition energy condition for which
~
I-
...,
OJ
OJ 1. 5
E
'"
Q
c::
0
+-'
<::
0>
.5
...,'"
u
I-
u 0
.1 .15 .4 .45 .5
Mole Fraction o f Oxygen Mole Fraclion of Oxygen
Fig.6. Computational Critical Ignition Fig.? Computational Critical Ignition

Diameter vs. Oxygen Mole Fraction For Diameter vs. Oxygen Mole Fraction For
n-Heptane Combustion In Oxygen-Nitrogen n-Heptane Combustion In Oxygen-Helium
Environment. Environment.
348
the location of the ignition temperature distribution relative to the droplet surface, the
maximum temperature, and the energy content of the thermal wave were varied. The
displayed functions represent the minimum droplet size for which no amount of ignition
energy would produce ignition. At this droplet size, the combination of the thermal energy
transport to the ambient environment and that absorbed by the vaporization processes depleted
the ignition energy from the flammable regions at a rate more rapid than the critical chemical
heat release rates required for ignition. As oxygen index was decreased, the amount of energy
required to achieve ignition increased. At the limiting oxygen index, no ignition energy could
be found which would initiate droplet combustion.
Critical ignition diameter is a parameter not available from asymptotic approaches, and this
condition defines the limiting initial droplet diameter that can be utilized in experiments(the
critical ignition diameter is always larger than the extinction diameter). In order to assure that
quasi-steady burning conditions are achieved prior to the onset of droplet extinction, an initial
droplet diameter significantly larger than the critical ignition diameter should be utilized. As
expected, the critical ignition diameter is considerably increased by substitution of helium for
nitrogen diluent and by reducing the pressure. Extinction conditions are also shifted to higher
oxygen indices by diluent substitution. These data show that energy transport to the ambient
surroundings dominates the determination of critical ignition diameter conditions.
Figures 8 and 9 display the extinction diameter found as a function of ambient pressure and
~
15
...'"
I- 1.5
..,'"
l-
'"
E l1!
0
'" '"
o
c c:
0 o
.., .;;
u u
c: c: ,5
.., ' :;
>< x
'"-' '"-'
0
I , ~5 .3 O.2~'-'-'-:,~=5.w...J...J..7
.3..L.J.....LL-:I
, 35::"-,-W...J,.l...L..-'-'--':'.l:5=~
Mole fraction 01 Oxygen Mole fraction or Oxygen
Fig.B. Computational Extinction Diameter Fig.9. Computational Extinction Diameter

vs. Oxygen Mole Fraction For n-Heptane vs. Oxygen Mole Fraction For n-Heptane
Combustion In Oxygen-Nitrogen Environment. Combustion In Oxygen-Helium Environment.
349
diluent selection. It is important to note that there are essentially two different regimes of
droplet extinction phenomena, one in which extinction is very dependent on oxygen indices,
and one in which the dependence is weak. Extinction occurs at a critical Damkohler number
defined by the ratio of the characteristic chemical time at extinction [tel and the characteristic
time for diffusive processes[td =de/IDg such that tjte =Daexl. This observation leads to the
inquiry of whether the same kinetic phenomena are important when tc is of the order of 10-3
seconds(d. of order lOOxlO- 6 m) and when tc approaches one second(d. the order of 3000xlO-6
m). Address of this question will require experimental measurements to be made over a wide
range of initial droplet diameters and therefore burning times. Figures 10 and 11 present the
2.5
OJ 1.5
+'
'"
ex:
.5
.15 .2 .25 .3 .1 .2
Mole Fraction of Oxygen Mole Fraction of Oxygen
Fig.IO. Computational Burning Rate vs. Fig.ll. Computational Burning Rate vs.
Oxygen Mole Fraction For n-Heptane Com- Oxygen Mole Fraction For n-Heptane Com-
bustion In Oxygen-Nitrogen Environment. bustion In Oxygen-Helium Environment.
burning rates for n-heptane droplets, calculated for various oxygen indices in nitrogen and
helium diluent conditions, respectively. The combinations of the above data can assist in
defining those experiments that could be performed in ground facilities and those which can
only be performed under space-platform conditions.
Current Experimental Limitations

A unique feature of the NASA-LeRC droptower experiments presently being performed is that
350
all major processes(droplet formation, deployment and ignition)are conducted in

micro-gravity. This experimental methodology produces the highest degree of spherically
symmetric conditions(spherical droplet with low rdarive dropigas velocity), and the required
time for each of the procedures (estimated from 5 second experiments) is listed in Table V.
TABLE V
Drop Grow Stretch Deploy Total Available Times/

Diam Time Time &Ignition Time Required Time@
1.00 0.32 0.73 0.32 1.37 3.6/1.3

1.50 0.62 0.79 0.32 1.73 3.3/3.0
1.56# 0.66 0.80 0.32 1.78 3.2/3.2
1.75 0.83 0.82 0.32 1.97 3.0/4.0
2.00 1.12 0.85 0.32 2.29 2.7/5.3
2.50 2.12 0.94 0.32 3.28 1.7/8.3
3.00 3.33 1.03 0.32 4.68 0.3/12.0
4.00 7.59 1.20 0.32 9.11 *******
# Denotes the limiting diameter. Larger droplets cannot be burned to completion.
$ Calculated by subtracting the total preparation time from 5 seconds.
@ Calculated by dividing the square of the droplet diameter by K = 0.75 mm2/s.
Droplets smaller than 1 mm cannot be successfully studied due to the high residual velocities
imparted by the deployment and ignition mechanisms. It is also apparent that successful
experiments must utilize droplets small enough to be produced, deployed and burned to
extinction(in atmospheric air) within the 5 second constraint imposed by the drop tower. Thus,
the limiting diameter of 1.56 mm coupled with the 1 mm lower bound represents an
insufficient range for parametric investigations for evaluating the effects of the initial droplet
size on spherically symmetric droplet combustion characteristics.
It is important that a droplet combustion experiment display a quasi-steady burning regime

prior to the occurrence of extinction. Furthermore, extinction at large diameters( > 300
microns)is desired because it assures that continued vaporization(from the residual enthalpy
in the droplet and the surrounding gas) will have a negligible effect.
351
There is further motivation for conducting extinction experiments at lower oxygen

concentrations(preferably below oxygen molar concentrations of 30%). Based on the
experiments in the droptowers, the degree of sooting at oxygen concentrations above this
critical value has hampered the accurate measurement of the droplet dimensions. Furthermore,
the disruptive burning mechanism(related to sooting phenomena)has also precluded the
observation of extinction.
Conclusions
Droptower studies have served an important role in providing preliminary information on
droplet burning characteristics. Innovative methods(Le. use of oxygen-helium environments)
extend the range of parameters for which droptowers may be utilized for combustion studies.
However, to fully develop and investigate the physical model of droplet combustion,
experiments must be conducted on space-based platforms. Computed parameters and the
degree of detail for which those parameters may be defined emphasize the need for advanced
instrumentation beyond what is presently available. Advances in both experimental and
computational components in the next phase of micro gravity droplet combustion studies offer
great promise of improving our understanding of complex fluid mechanical!chemical
interaction problems.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by NASA-Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, OH, under contract
#NAS3-24640. MYC was partially supported through the NASA Graduate Researcher
Fellowship Program. The authors would like to acknowledge the helpful comments and
discussions provided by Professor Forman A. Williams and Mr. John Card of UCSD.
352
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and Wilkins, (1953).
2. Spalding, D.B., Fourth Symposium(lnternational) On Combustion, p. 847, Williams and
Wilkins, (1953).
3. Sirignano, W.A., Prog. Energy Combustion Science 9, p. 291, (1983).
4. Faeth, G.M., "Science Opportunities And Challenges In Microgravity Combustion",

International Microgravity Combustion Workshop, NASA-LeRC. (1989).
5. Law, C.K., "Combustion In Microgravity: Opportunities, Challenges and Progress",
AIAA 90-0120. (1990).
6. Cho, S.Y., Choi, M.Y. and Dryer, F.L., "The Extinction Of A Methanol Droplet In
Microgravity", Twenty Third Symposium(International) On Combustion, The
Combustion Institute, p. 1611. (1991).
7. Cho, S.Y., Yetter, R.A. and Dryer, F.L., "Computer Model For Chemically Reactive
Flow With Complex Chemistry/Multi-component Molecular DiffusionlHeterogeneous
Processes", J. of Computational Physics. To Appear. (1991).
8. Law, C.K., Prog. Energy Combustion Sci. 8, p. 171, (1982).
9. Law, C.K., "Some Recent Advances In Droplet Combustion", American Institute Of
Physics Conference Proceedings 197, p. 321, (1989).
10. Law, C.K., Combustion And Flame, 24, p. 89 (1975).
11. Law, C.K. and Chung, S.H., Comb. Sci. Tech., 22, p 17, (1980).
12. Law, C.K. and Chung, S.H., Combustion And Flame, 64, p. 237, (1986).
13. Renksizbulut, M. and Yuen, M.C., J. Heat Transfer 105, p. 389, (1983).
14. Dwyer, H.A. and Sanders, B.R., Twentieth Symposium(International) On
Combustion, The Combustion Institute, p. 1743, (1985).
15. Norton, T.S. and Dryer, F.L., Comb. Sci. Tech., 63, p. 107, (1989).
16. Kee, R.J., Wamatz, J., and Miller, J.A., Sandia National Laboratories Report, SAND
83-8209, (1983).
17. Kee, R.J., Rupley, F.M., and Miller, J.A., Sandia National Laboratories Report, SAND
87-8215, (1987).
18. Hirata, M., Ohe, S., and Nagahama, K., "Computer-Aided Book Of Vapor-Liquid
Equilibria", Elsevier, (1975).
19. Adewuyi, Y.G., Cho, S.Y., Tsay, R.P., and Carmichael, G.R., Atmospheric
Environment, vol. 18, p. 2413. (1984).
20. Norton, T.S. and Dryer, F.L., Int. Journal Chern. Kin. 22, p.219. (1990).
21. Choi, M.Y., Dryer, F.L., Haggard, J.B, and Brace, M.H., "The Burning Behavior Of
Methanol Droplets In Humid Air", Eastern States Section Of The Combustion Institute.
Extended Abstract. (1988).
22. Naegeli, D.W., "Combustion-Associated Wear In Alcohol-Fueled Spark Ignition
Engines", SAE Technical Paper Series #891641. (1989).
23. Choi, M.Y., Dryer, F.L., and Haggard, J.B., "Some Further Observations On
Microgravity Droplet Combustion In The NASA-Lewis Droptower Facilities",
American Institute Of Physics Conference Proceedings, 197, p. 338, (1989).
24. Ross, H., Personal Communications (1990).
25. Stein, Y.S., Choi, M.Y., Cho, S.Y., and Dryer, F.L., "Absorption Of Intermediates In
Liquid Phase Combustion", Poster session presented at the Twenty-Third
Symposium(International) On Combustion. (1990).
353
26. Choi, M.Y., Cho, S.Y., Stein, Y.S., and Dryer, F.L., "Absorption OfIntermediates And
Products In Free-Falling Droplet Combustion", Eastern States Section Of The
Combustion Institute. Extended Abstract. (1990).
27a. Lee, A, Law, C.K., and Makino, A., "An Experimental Investigation Of The Droplet
Vaporization And Combustion Of Alcohol Fuels", Eastern States Section Of The
Combustion Institute. Extended Abstract. (1990).
27b. Lee, A., Law, C.K., Work in progress. (1991).
28. Choi, M.Y., Cho, S.Y., Dryer, F.L., and Haggard, J.B., "Some Further Observations
On Droplet Combustion Characteristics: NASA-LeRC-Princeton Results", AIAA/IKI
Microgravity Science Symposium. Moscow, USSR. (1991).
29. Choi, M.Y., Dryer, F.L., and Haggard, J.B., "Some Observations On The Burning Of
Methanol Droplets In Microgravity Using Various Inerts", Eastern States Section Of
The Combustion Institute. Extended Abstract. (1989).
30. Law, c.K., Xiong, T.Y., and Wang, C.H., Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, vol. 30, no. 7,
p. 1435. (1987).
31. Choi, M. Y., Dryer, F.L., and Haggard, J.B., "Observations Of A Slow Burning Regime
For Hydrocarbon Droplets", Twenty-Third Symposium(lnternational) On Combustion,
The Combustion Institute, p. 1597 (1991).
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1195. (1988).
33. Choi, M.Y., Dryer, F.L., Haggard, J.B., and Borowski, B., "Observations Of The
Burning Behavior Of Hydrocarbon Droplets In Reduced Pressure Environments",
Eastern States Section Of The Combustion Institute. Extended Abstract. (1990).
34. Shaw, B.D. and Williams, F.A, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 33, p.301. (1990).
35. Weinberg, F., Personal Communications. (1991).
36. Kumagai, S., Sakai, T, and Okajima, S., Thirteenth Symposium(lnternational) On
Combustion, The Combustion Institute, p.1139. (1971).
37. Parks, O.S. and Huffman, H.M., J. Am. Chern. Soc. 52, p. 1032. (1930).
38. Williams, F.A. and Dryer, F.L., Work in progress. (1991).
Ignition Delay of Premixed Gases
under Microgravity Conditions
Harunori Nagata, Kazuhiro Ishii,

Sadatake Tomioka, Michikata Kono
University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan
Jun'ichi Sato
IHI Research Institute, Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135, Japan
Introduction
There have been many studies of hot surface ignition of premixed combus-
tible gases reported in the literature. In these studies, all experiments
were made under normal gravity condition, suffering from the complicated
effect of gravity. Therefore, it is very difficult to interpret these results
and also to investigate the ignition mechanisms.
Additionally, knowledge of the hot surface ignition of premixed combus-
tible gases under microgravity condition is needed to achieve proper designs
of space systems which should guarantee safe operation and reasonable const-
ruction costs. Thus, in this study, experimental and numerical studies have
been conducted on the hot surface ignition of premixed combustible gases under
microgravity condition. For comparison of the experimental results, experi-
mental study under normal gravity condition have also been conducted.
~x~e~imental ApparaJlls
The experimental apparatus is given schematically in Fig. 1. The comb-
ustion chamber is a duralumin cylinder fitted with parallel glass windows, of
60 mm in diameter and 16 mm in length. The hotwires employed in this study
were of nickel and tungsten with 0.15 mm in diameter and 40 mm in length. The
hotwire is heated electrically by the control unit. Microgravity condition
was obtained by using the free fall method [1]. To minimize the influence of
air drag, the falling assembly was mounted inside the drag shield. The
clearance between the falling assembly and the drag shield was regulated to a
certain value, which is sufficient to keep the falling assembly and drag
shield separated during the freely falling.
Generally speaking, an ideal heat source for hot surface ignition pro-
H 1. Rath (Editor)
© Sprmger-Verlag Berlmlleidelberg 1992
356
1111 Wire
1111
Vout
~ontrol,
Hot ,Wire
Unit
Switch
36V
~
/~ L r ~
i
Combustion Chamber To Battery !

To Osch ill oscope
Fig.1 Experimental Apparatus Fig.2 Ignition Circuit Diagram.

(Falling setup).
vides with that it increases its temperature up to the desired value ina
short period as possible and maintains a constant temperature thereafter. To
realize this heat source, an ignition circuit which heats a hotwire electric-
ally to the desired temperature in about 10 ms and maintains its temperature
constant was made. The circuit diagram is given in Fig. 2. To keep the
hotwire temperature constant, the hotwire plays a part in the function of one
resistor of a Wheatstone-bridge. The potential difference between connections
of RA-R B and Rc-the hotwire drives the OP-amp, whose output current is ampli-
fied by Trs. Therefore, the change in resistance, i.e. the temperature, of
the hotwire yields the desired feedback effect so that the temperature of the
hotwire maintains constant. The constant value had been adjusted beforehand
by varying the resistance of RC.
Experimental procedure
The combustible premixed gases employed in this study were stoichiometric
methane-oxygen and methane-air mixtures. The falling assembly and the drag
shield was hung in the uppermost position of the falling tower by a steel
wire, as shown in Fig. I. The initial pressure and the initial temperature
of the gases were atmospheric pressure and room temperature, respectively.
Immediately after the wire is cut by a cutter, the switch of the ignition
circuit is turned on. When the combustible gas ignites around the hotwire,
the onset of the flame, namely ignition, is detected as a sudden heating of
the hotwire, and consequently, in a sharp decrease in OP-amp output voltage.
Accordingly, ignition can be determined by change in the OP-amp output voltage
measured by a digital storage oscilloscope.
357
Os cilloscope traces of the OP-amp output and the signal from the photo-
diode which measures the light intensity from the hotwire are given in Fig. 3.
The time is given from when the switch of the ignition circuit is turned on.
About 10 ms is found to heat up the hotwire for both traces . Thereafter, it
is shown that the temperature of the hotwire is constant, which can be con-
firmed especially from the photodiode output trace .
The output signals of the OP-amp and the photodiode when the gas ignites
are given in Fig . 4. When the gas ignites, the OP-amp output voltage decrea-
ses quickly because of the heating effect of the hotwire . Simultaneously,
the signal from the photodiode, which detects the light from the hotwire and
the fl ame, increases rapidly. Thus , it is found that ignition occurrence can
be det erm i ned successfully . The time of the ignition occurrence is defined
as the ignition delay.
V
V 40 V
V
I I
V - 30 OP. amp. output
0.5 r- ~ Photo d10de output 0.5 5

- 20
Photo d10de output
OP. amp . output ~ -1 0
o I I a O~~~--~~--~~--~-L~L-~O
100 200 100 200
ms ms
Fig .3 Oscilloscope traces of the Fig.4 Oscilloscope traces of the
OP-amp output and the OP-amp output and the
signal from the photodiode signal from the photodiode
(without combustion) (with combustion)
Numeri caL ..!Ilode l de~(;I. iption

The numerical model used in this study is as follows : A cylindrical heat
source, or hotwire, with 0.15 mm in diameter is surrounded with a mixture of
methane-air. The length of the heat source has been assumed to be infinite
and its surface is maintained at a constant temperature . The partial diffe-
rential equations that govern mass, energy, and species concentrations are
358
written in one-dimensional cylindrical coordinates assuming axial symmetry,

zero azimuthal velocity, and no gradient along the axis. The r-coordinate is
taken in the radial direction. The velocity of radial direction is denoted as
V. Because of low Mach numbers, constant pressure is assumed and therefore a
conservation equation for momentum is not used. Then, the governing differ-
ential equations are written as follows:
ap a(pVr)
+ o
at r ar
a(pE) a(pEVr) p 3(Vr)

+ ----- +
at ar r or r or r or
pk
at r ar r ()r ar p
where Pk' Ok and (Pk)c are the mole fraction, the diffusion coefficient and
the formation rate of species k, respectively, and p, p, T, and E are the
density, the pressure, the temperature and the specific total energy of the
gas mixture.
The viscous stress u rr is given by
av A a(vr)
2/1~-- +
ar r 8r
where /1and A are the first and second coefficients of viscosity.

The energy flux qr is given by
aT , phkO k
il(Pk/ P)
--
qr -/C~
L
--------- --
ar k ar
where K is the thermal conductivity of the mixture, hk is the specific enth-

alpy of species k. The transport properties of /1, A, and Ok are calculated
theoretically [6,7].
Sixteen species of H2 , 02' N2 , CH 4 , CO 2 , CO, H, OH, HCHO, CH 3 , 0, H02'
H20, CHO, H202 , and CH 3 0 are considered as the composition of combustion
359
gases. Thermochemical data for these species were assembled from JANAF
tables [8). As elementary reactions, 39 reversible equations are considered.
The rate constants of the equations are cited from Ref. [2-5].
The boundary conditions are given by
r=re; T=T w' V=O, aPk/dr=O

r=ro; aT/ar=O, dPi/ar=O
where Tw is the temperature of the cylinder surface.

The initial velocity of the gas mixture is 0, and its initial temperature
is 300 K.
g.)[I2~Lm~QtaLre_s~~H~
Ignition delays for the stoichiometric mixture of methane and oxygen were
measured under normal gravity and microgravity conditions, the nickel wire
being used. Their dependence upon the hotwire temperature is plotted in Fig.
5. The results under both conditions seem to agree with each other when the
hotwire temperature is as high as 1250 K, while, at lower temperatures, the
ignition delay under microgravity condition is shorter than the results ob-
tained under normalgravity condition, and the difference between them become
I I 1
1000 I- -
Vl 0
o No rmal gravity
E
'" Micro gravity
>,
800 - -
a;'" 0
"0
0
C '"
:::; 600 I- 0
c: 0
'" <l>
400 - 0 B e -
0
§ 8
Q
I'
200 -
0 I
i '"
l ~
1180 1200 1220 1240 1260
WIre temperature K
Fig.5 Ignition delay of stoichiometric methane-oxygen mixture
measured under normalgravity and microgravity conditions.
360
remarkable as the temperature decreases . The hotwire of temperature lower

than about 1200 K can not ignite the mixture under normal gravity condition,
whereas th e mixture can be seen to be ignited for temperatures as low as about
1190 K under microgravity condition . The above results may be explained as
follows: Convective cooling results in long ignition delay under normal-
gravity condition, and this effect of gravity intensifies with increasing
ignition delay .
Ignition experiments on the stoichiometric mixture of methane and air
gave results that differred in two important respects from the methane-oxygen
experiments, as shown in Fig. 6 . First, attempts to ignite the mixture with
nickel wire were not successful because the minimum ignition temperature of
methane-air mixture is significant higher than that of methane-oxygen mixture ,
so tungsten wire was employed in these experiments . Secondly, a remarkable
effect of gravity is not observed from these results because ignition delays
under microgravity and normal gravity conditions almost agreed with each
other . The latter experimental result may be explained by assuming that the
ignition point of methane-air mixture is close to the hotwire surface in
comparison with methane-oxygen mixture, and convection has little effect on
the ignition delay of methane-air mixture. This assumption is supported by
the result of numerical calculation. On the mixture of methane-oxygen, the
calculated ignition point. which is defined as the first place where methane
400 400
0 8
e
VI
eVI e
M1cro grav1ty
Normal gravity ,., 0
0
>. 0 '"
'"
0; 0;
'0
'0
g
c:
<:: Q 0
g :;
0
:; 200 0 200
c:
~ §
c:
0 ~
0
~
0
0
0 [3
0 0 0
0
0 0
1400 1600 1800 1400 1600 1800
Wire temperature K Wire temperature K
Fig . 6 Ignition delay of stoichiometric methane-air mixture measured

under normal gravity and microgravity conditions .
361
is consumed practically, is apart from the hotwire surface because the hotwire
absorbs heat from adjacent gas as chemical reaction develops. On the other
hand, the calculated ignition point on the methane-air mixture is nearby the
hotwire surface because the hotwire temperature is so high that the adjacent
gas suffer less loss of heat to the hotwire.
Numerical result
Prediction of the ignition delay dependence upon the hotwire temperature
for the stoichiometric methane-air mixture is given in Fig. 7, with the
experimental results obtained under microgravity condition. The solid line
and single points represent numerical and experimental results, respectively.
Chemical reaction rate of the mixture around the hotwire decreases in keeping
with the hotwire temperature. As chemical reaction rate decreases, the amount
of radical species which are removed by diffusion becomes comparable with that
supplied by chemical reaction. Accordingly, the ignition delay increases
rapidly with decreasing hotwire temperature. The predicted hotwire temper-
ature did not agree with the experimental results. This disagreement is
probably due to the surface catalysis of the hotwire, which is not included in
the numerical model.
~
e
~
~
~
~ 400
~
~
0
~
c 0
~
~§
200
800
0
1500
Wlre temperature K
Fig.7 Measured and calculated ignition delay of

stoichiometric methane-air mixtures.
362
Conclusions
Experimental and numerical studies have been conducted about hot surface
ignition of premixed gases under normal gravity and microgravity conditions.
With methane-oxygen mixture, measured ignition delay was influenced by gra-
vity, and this effect of gravity intensified with increasing ignition delay.
On the contrary, with methane-air mixture. no remarkable effect of gravity was
observed.
Numerical prediction and experimental result with methane-air mixture
agreed with each other qualitatively, but quantitative agreement was not
obtained. This disagreement is probably due to the surface catalysis of the
hotwire, which is not included in this model.
References
(I)Niwa, M. et al., 26st Symposium on Combustion, pp 395 (1988), (Japanese).
(2)Westbrook, C. K., Dryer, F. L. and Shung. K.. P .. Combustion and flame.
52, pp 299 (1983).
(3)Westbrook, C. K. and Dryer, F. L.. Prog. Energy Combust. Sci .. 10, pp 1
(1984)
(4)Baulch. D. L.. et al., Evaluated Kinetic Data for High Temperature
Reactions. Vol. 1 (1976), Butterworths.
(5)Lawrence, R. T .. et aI, 21st Symposium (international) on Combustion.
pp 965 (1986).
(6)Hirschfelder, J. 0., Curtiss. C. F., and Bird. R. B.. Molecular Theory of
Gases and Liquids, (1964), John Wiley & Sons.
(7)Monchick, L. and Mason, E. A., Journal of Chemical Physics .. 35, pp 1676,
(1961).
(8)Stull, D. R. and Prophet, H., JANAF Thermochemical Tables. 3rd ed.,
(1986) U. S. Dept. Commerce, Washington.
Velocity Measurement by PIV in Flames
A. SANZ ANDRES
Lamf-~g, Laboratorio de Aerodimlmica, E.T.S.I. Aeromluticos,

lL. ESPINO GRANADO
Departamento de Yehfculos Aeroespaciales, E.T.S.I. Aeromiuticos,

Abstract
Combustion science involves many complex phenomena, some of them entangled by gravity
effects. Reduced gravity will be a mean of sorting out the role of some processes, thus
allowing a better understanding of the phenomena. A set of combustion areas with reduce
gravity relevance has been identified. Among these areas, one experiment was selected: the
laminar jet diffusion flame (LJDF). In order to study one of the most interesting experimental
characteristics in combustion, the velocity field, a Particle Image Yelocimetry (PlY)
instrument, together with a LJDF workbench, has been set up. Main concerns in PlY applied
to flames are: tracer selection and seeding, optical system, velocity range, photography and
film interpretation. Attention has been payed to these subjects. Measurements performed
with a LJDF are reported and critically discussed.
1. INTRODUCTION
Combustion science deals with the study of the interactions of many complex effects,
namely: convective and diffusive mass transport, conductive, convective and radiative heat
transport, chemical reactions. All these phenomena coexist when a material is burning. There
are two main reasons for experimentation on combustion in reduced-gravity conditions: basic
understanding of some aspects of combustion processes and study of fire safety. Gravity
influences combustion processes. Reduced gravity will mean absence of sedimentation and
of buoyancy induced convection. The absence of sedimentation will allow to obtain clearly
defined initial conditions (e.g. in cloud combustion) and avoid changes in geometrical
stability of burned solid and liquid products. But the main advantage is the reduced
buoyancy-induced convection of outmost importance in gases when there are large
temperature gradients. When buoyancy forces are reduced, the equilibrium between different
transport phenomena (mass, momentum, heat) is altered. Among others, the combustion
experimentation areas of more relevance to be investigated in space are [1-3]: 1) minimum
ignition energy in premixed gases, 2) flammability limits in premixed gases, 3) combustion
in nonflowing premixed gaseous media, 4) instabilities in laminar premixed flames, 5)
extinction of laminar premixed flames, 6) laminar diffusion flames, 7) boundary layer
* Dedicated to the memory of Prof. I. Da Riva.

H. J Rath (Editor)
MlCrogravlty FlUId Mechamcs
Spnnger-VerlagBerlin HeIdelberg 1992
364
combustion, 8) combustion of individual drops, 9) radiative ignition of solid fuels, 10)

smoldering, 11) combustion of clouds of droplets or solid particles, 12) flame spreading over
soiid fueis, and 13) flame spreading above liquid fuels.
The more relevant quantities to be measured are temperature, velocity and species
concentration fields. This paper deals with the application of a diagnostic technique for
velocity field measurement known as Particle Image Velocimetry to one of the
abovementioned problems: the laminar diffusion flame. Main reasons to select the laminar jet
diffusion flame (UDF) are: checking of theoretical models, experimental suitability (it is the
only steady problem with well defined boundary conditions) and reduce-gravity
implementation. Main reasons to select PIV technique are: non intrusive technique, whole
two-dimensional velocity fields and suitable for non-steady flows.
The PIV technique has not been to date applied to flame flow velocity fields, to the
authors knowledge. Therefore, at a first stage, the emphasis is made in showing the
suitability of PIV to measure velocity fields in flames, in spite of the difficulties mentioned
later. Although the application of PIV to flames has been performed around the UDF
experiment, the instrument could be employed in many areas of reduced-gravity relevant
combustion experiments. The contents of this paper can be summarized as follows: first, a
description of the PIV setup and procedures (velocity range, PIV image formation and
analysis including software validation tests) is made. Second, some experimental results
obtained are offered.
2. PIV DESCRIPTION
This is a particle tracking technique with coherent optical analysis [4-6]. A plane in the
fluid, seeded with microparticles, is illuminated by a thin sheet of light from a pulsating
source. Each particle scatters the light which is then collected and added on an image plane.
A point or speckle for each light pulse appears on the image plane and from the distance
between two or more consecutive points the local modulus and direction of the velocity can
be inferred. When the images of the individual particles can be distinguished, the technique is
known as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). When the individual images overlap, a random
speckle pattern appears. This last technique is often known as Speckle Velocimetry (SV).
Both techniques, which are otherwise quite similar, differ in the tracer concentration, but
image analysis (reconstruction) is identical in both cases. The analysis of the stored
information can be performed by Spatial Filtering or by Young's Fringe Analysis. Young's
Fringe analysis [7] consists in illuminating a small region of the recorded image with a
collimated coherent beam so that pairs of successive images of each particle act as two holes
in the screen of a Young interferometer. Interference fringes appear on the image due to an
integral effect of the different pairs. The modulus and orientation of the average velocity in
365
the interrogation spot is deduced from the fringes. The velocity data in selected grid points
are stored for later analysis. Most critical items detected in the case of application of PIV to
flame study are: 1) tracer selection; 2) tracer seeding; 3) optical system; 4) velocity range; 5)
films; and 6) image interpretation.
Tracer Selection: Criteria for tracer selection are light scattering performance [8] and
satisfactory tracking [9]. The region of particle diameters for satisfactory tracking is that
shown in Fig. VII-7 in Fristrom & Westenberg [9]. Typical particle trace diameters for P =
105 Pa are in the range 1 11 to 20 11. A more detailed analysis can be found in [3].
Tracer seeding: Speckle velocimetry, as well as any particle tracing or visualization
method, requires an efficient particle seeding system. After paying due attention at several
systems 19-12J the device seiected to seed the gas fiows IS that based on the principie of the
reverse-flow cyclone separator [13] but employed in essentially the opposite purpose [3].
Optical System: The optical system has been designed to form a pulsed light sheet 50 x
10- 3 m high, 0.5 x 10- 3 m wide along the combustion chamber. The arrangement is shown in
Fig. 1. The system fulfills three different objectives: time modulation of the light beam, light
sheet formation and image formation. The laser-light source is a multi-line Innova 70-4
Argon-Ion 4 W laser manufactured by Coherent Inc. By using the strongest lines, 514.5 x 10-
9 m (1.7 W) and 488.0 x 10- 9 m (1.3 W), a 2 W output could be achieved.
Time modulation of the light beam is achieved by using an acousto-optic modulator
(AOM) and a zero order stop plate. The chopped first order laser beam is converted to a light
sheet. The light-sheet crosses the combustion chamber through the axis of the burner. The
light scattered by the seeded tracer particles placed within the light-sheet in the
perpendicular direction, is gathered by a lens and focused onto a photographic film. In front
2ti
3
0 0
0
1
t 1
~
,8
I,
I
4 5 6 7
111213
CItl UJ (
~9
r--
r-i-.10
Fig. 1. Sketch of the optical system. 1) Ion-Ar Laser, 2) and 3) Mirrors, 4) Acousto-optic
modulator (AOM), 5) Zero order stop, 6) Negative spherical lens, 7) Cylindrical lens, 8)
Mirror, 9) Combustion chamber, 10) Beam stop, 11) Photographic camera, 12)
Interference filter, 13) Absorption filter.
366
of the lens two filters have been placed in order to reduce flame emission gathering by the
lens: an interference filter and an absorption gelatine filter which reduces red and yellow
light from the flame to the film. The camera uSed is a I'".J'ikon F~v1-2 w'ith a lens tv1icro-t-rikkor
(f = 105 x 10- 3 m, F/2.8).
The particle image diameter, de, is [14] de = (m2dp2+ds2)1/2 , ds = 2.44(m+ l)FA, where m
is the optics magnification, d s is the diameter of the Airy disk, F is the aperture number of the
collecting lens and A is the wavelength of the light used. With m = 0.5, F = 2.8, A = 0.5 x 10-
6 m (for Argon-ion laser) a value d s = 5.1 x 10- 6 m is obtained. For dp = 9 x 10- 6 m a value
de = 6.8 x 10- 6 m. However, focussing at F = 2.8 is very critical because of the short focus
depth. Thus, unless very careful procedure is taken larger de will be obtained.
Velocity range: One of the most critical requirements was the measurement, with a
single laser, of the local velocites both within the flame and in the surroundings. Since
maximum to minimum velocity ratios of the order of 100 were observed in preliminary tests,
typical PIV dynamic ranges L'lv = 10, fall too short of the target and large regions of the flow
field would have velocities out of the measurement range. Therefore, some modification
should be introduced in order to achieve larger values of L'lv. A double range time modulation
of the light sheet illumination has been used to this aim. It is accomplished by using a
combined pulse train as sketched in Fig. 2. A detailed analysis of the relationships between
the parameters involved (maximum speed, particle image diameter, exposure and
interexposure times of pulse trains) can be found in [3].
Photography: The large speeds to be measured require very low exposure times, thus
either large laser power or large sensitivity films should be used. Sensitivity and resolution
(which set a limit to the PIV dynamic range) are conflicting requirements for films. So that a
trade-off should be accomplished.
Film Interpretation: In the PIV technique film frames of the flow with the double or
multiexposed images of the tracers containing the particle displacements are obtained, which
, ,- -
,,, ,
r - -
,
j- - ,
05
)
, , ,
, , ,
, , , ,
_., Q
.
,- ,. ,,' - ,,
, ,
I·
l(n 2 -l)8't 2 i
~ il
-.. ..-
~
I ot l .
0' tl
Fig. 2. Combined pulse train for time modulation of the laser beam. 8ti: exposure time,
8'ti: interexposure time. i denotes the range: 1, slow range; 2, fast range.
367
have to be analyzed to extract this information as described in § 2. To increase the signal to

noise ratio (SNR) of the exposed film and avoid phase noise [15] a contact print of the
negative original film is taking, obtaining transparent spots on a black background. For the
measurement of the fringe spacing and orientation an automated system has been developed:
the image of the fringes is captured by a CCD camera, digitized by a frame grabber and its
fast Fourier transform (FFf) computed with the aid of a PC-based array processor (Fig. 3).
CONTACT
PRINT
ON X·Y TABLE SCREEN
L-~ _ _E_R__ ~b--------+I~LC~C~Djl-~---r~==~~

Fig. 3. Sketch of the setup for Young fringe production and analysis.
Before performing the search for the position of the maximum in the FFf (containing the
fringe information), some image processing is needed. The scheme followed is similar to that
described in 1161. The measured fringe distance typically ranges between 4 to 25 (work is
under way to increase the dynamic range by reducing the minimum value). To increase the
resolution, a bi-parabolic interpolation between the neighbouring points in the FFf [16] is
made. To validate the software procedures above mentioned, images of Young fringes like
those obtained from the analysis of PlY images are needed of known characteristics (mainly
fringe separation). Such images should contain Young fringes whose brightness decreases
with the distance to the image center and blurred by the typical speckle noise produced by the
scattering of coherent light at the contact print. A procedure to create such synthetic speckle
noise- Young fringes (SNYF) has been developed . The main point is that results from
algorithms to find the maximum on the FFf of the Young fringe images depend in some
extent on the noise present in the image. Images of the typical SNFS image and the resulting
SN image are shown in Fig 4. Test performed showed that errors produced by the
interpolation are of some 0.5 %.
3. EXPERIMENTS
Jet diffusion flames oscillate except at very small flow rates and reported flame lengths
are, in general , refered to the mean height value. The low fuel flow rate required to achieve
steady diffusion flames is in conflict with the seeder performance so that fuel flow is difficult
to seed. A number of tests were conducted to asses the PlY suitability, and to explore the
influence of different factors: tracer concentration, films, type of tracers and laser power. The
368
a b
r a. -."
C ·.... .. ... .
.~~s: ...~:.
-» - ...
.
III •
.
._... ..-...---.;,. .
• ••,...;;:
....... #
~
c d
Fig. 4. a) SNFS: Fourier spectrum of a speckle image. b) SN: Image obtained by

performing the inverse FFT of SNFS, and then applying a circular pupile function (the
black dot at the origin represent the laser beam stop normally employed to filter out the
high intensity zero order beam of the scattering of the laser beam at the contact print). c)
YF: Image displaying Young fringes (without noise) of wavelength A = 71.11 and
inclination e = 30°. d) SNYF: Superposition of images b) and c).
parameters that have been used along these tests are the following: ambient pressure (10 5 Pa)
and temperature (300 K); fuel volume flow rate 1.6 x 10- 6 m3.s-l; fuel exit velocity, 30 x 10-
3 m.s- 1; outer jet flow rate, 30 x 10- 6 m3x 1; outer jet velocity, 30 x 10-3 m.s- 1; 9 x 10-6 m
diameter Al203 tracers; 14 x 10- 6 m Zr02 tracers; optics magnification 0.5; exposure and
interexposure times ofrange 1 and 2, O't] = 2.5 x 10- 3 s; 0'12 = 250 x 10-6 s; 012 = 50 x 10- 6
s; camera shutter speed 1/15 (= 66 x 10-3 s). The quoted values of the flow rates are the
largest that can be achieved with this configuration with steady flow. At larger flow rates the
flame either oscillates or is blown off the burner tip. Two types of tracers were used: Al203
and Zr02. Both types of tracers affect the flame luminosity. The spectrum of Al203 seeded
flames has been described in 1171. A strong emission at the Sawn bands was reported. The
configuration of Zr02 seeded flames looks roughly the same as that of A1203, but with
369
smaller changes in luminosity. No substantial differences between the behaviour of both

types of tracers have been detected in the lean, low sooting flames tested. In the case of
A1203, the size of the tracer image in the negative is between 20 x 10- 6 m and 50 x 10-6 m
and somewhat larger in the contact print. The Zr02 tracers exhibited some incandescence at
large 02 concentrations. The chemical composition of these tracers (used in ceramics
technology) has not been characterized. Concerning the tracer concentration needed to obtain
Young fringe separations detectable by the system described in § 2.6, an analysis of a contact
print was carried out and the limits found were 2 x 109 m- 3 and 1011 m- 3 . As shown in Fig.
5a, the seed tracer concentration varies near the flame due to gas density changes. Trials were
performed with the following films: Kodak Plus X (125 ASA), Kodak TriX (400 ASA),
Kodak TMax (400 ASA), ILFORD MP-5 (developed for 400 ASA), ILFORD XP-l (400
ASA) and ILFORD FP4 (125 ASA). Best results were obtained for the last two films.
Concerning the laser power required, a first test shows that at least a 50 % reduction can be
achieved. A study is in progress in order to show the influence of the contact print contrast on
the resolution of the particle displacement measurements. A typical PIV image is shown in
Fig. Sa. The flame can hardly be seen because of the low oxygen content of the outer jet and
the effect of filters. Velocity measurements in this image are summarized in Figs. 5b, 6 & 7.
The flow speed in the central region, near the flame, is large enough for the particle
displacement being detected by range 2 (fast), whereas the speed in the surroundings lies in
the range 1 (ten times slower). Fig. 5b shows the velocity field. Measurements have been
made every 0.4 mm in r direction and 4 mm in y direction (in the object plane). Most of the
da.ta given by the software procedure were valid, however there are some non sense
measurements mostly due to low SNR (few tracers in the interrogation diameter) or "false"
Young fringes (due to double exposure of a few equidistant particles). In the first case they
are eliminated by the criteria based in that a low threshold should be surpassed and in the
second case the "false" velocity is characterized by having a slope very different from its
neighbours. Far from the flame, velocity is even under the threshold of the range 1, so that
velocity field is not presented there. Also difficulties appear in the transition region between
ran.ges 1 and 2, for profiles above y = 16 mm where both tracer concentration is low (gas
expansion) and range change occurs. Fig. 6 shows with more detail some profiles of velocity
components showing the data density, the range change and data rejection. Profiles near the
burner exit shows more "flat profiles" which become rounded as distance from burner
increases. Minimum and maximum velocities in ranges 1 and 2 are 32, 160, 320 and 1600
mrn.s- 1, corresponding to 4 and 20 fringes at 8 mm.s- 1 per fringe in range 1 and at
80 mm.s- 1 per fringe in range 2. Fig. 7 displays the variation of the speed at the jet flame
axis with the distance to the burner exit. It can be observed the large acceleration due to the
buoyancy forces. In Ilg conditions the largest speed should happen at the burner exit.
Calibration tests performed with a rotating object [31 showed that accuracy of the PIV setup
employed is better than 3 %.
370
a b
'o.-------,------.,------,-------,
°2~
0 ------~--,---~--.---~----~
20
~ig.5 . a) PIV image of a laminar jet diffusion flame. Main garameters .are: range 1
mterexposure, 0'11 = 2.5 x 10- 3 s, range 2 exposure, 012 = 50 x 10- s, range 2 Int~rexposure,
0't2 = 250 x 10- 6 s, and camera shutter speed 1/15 ('" 66. x 10- 3 s). b) Velocity field. y:
vertical distance [mm] measured from the burner rim. r: radial distance [mm] measured from
the burner axis. The two velocity ranges are clearly shown. Vector lengths are proportional to
the flow speed. In range 2 (inner region) velocities are 10 times larger than in range I
(surroundings) so that they are divided by this factor to allow a joint display.
rrl2
.. ...".....
"..--'
I I
- .. ,
j --... r---:-"-'.'/
.
-'--.
1-.••-•...--
1t12
lei
I
1.6
al I I
bl
0
o
I
'.
:
I
20
1
.. i ,2
_ 1_ : '.
Ivl vy
o ·......... · 1·:'~I'"
", 1'"-· I
-
08
I
20
i' 'J,
o
.~.....,., ....';,' /'
~
'''. I ~---- 04 I 1
I
.... ,
20 I
v, I I _-: 1
.1
-----..
I
1 .....I o __ I '.'"-. 02
o
0
0
, . . . .-.. .. t ... .--..........-.. .~ 0 Vr
20 o 20 20 o 20
Fig. 6. Variation with radial coordinate r [mmJ of the velocity components at distance y from
the burner rim. a) Radial variation of radial speed Vr , axial speed, Vy and velocity modulus
IVI are scaled in fringe number. e: velocity inclination with respect to the horizontal. One
fringe represents 8 mm.s- 1 and 80 mm.s- 1 in ranges 1 and 2 respectively (obviously e is not
influenced by the range change). In Vy and Vr slots all data taken are plotted. Rejected
values are not shown in IVI and e plots. y = 12 x 10- 3 m. b) Velocity components in m.s- 1
after appropriate scaling of each range . y = 28 x 10- 3 m.
371
-. _.... "--------
TtI2
161
....
1.6 0
1.2
Vy
~
0.8
I
,- I
,
o· ~ ,
I
0
_.. ........ . ..
. r---
20
0
V,
0 1.0
Y
Fig.7. Variation with axial coordinate y (in Imm], measured from the burner rim) of the
radial, Vr , and axial, Yy , velocity components [m.s-1]and of the velocity inclination, e [rad].
4. CONCLUSIONS
A selection of an experiment (LJDF) has been performed between a set of relevant
combustion areas to be investigated in Ilg conditions, and a setup for LJDF production has
been accomplished. A non intrusive diagnostic instrument (PlY) has been setup for
measurement of velocities in flames and application was made to the LJDF experiment.
High speed films has been used in order to reduce the laser power needed (not available
in space platfoms in a tradeoff with) paying in low resolution and, thus, lower SNR. Software
simulation of Young fringes appearing in PlY was carried out to analyze the effect of the
several paremeters involved. Results are reported elsewhere [3].
Maximum flow speed of LJDF in l-g were much larger than expected for Ilg conditions;
so that the double range time modulation of the laser illumination had to be adapted.
In spite of the above mentioned problems velocities in a total range of 0.03-1.6 m.s.-I,
with a 3% accuracy (in each subrange), have been measured in LJDF, over a field of view
of 40 x 40 x 10- 6 m 2 . Further work is needed to reduce the minimum number of fringes
which mainly limits the attainable dynamic range.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank I. Da Riva for helpful discussions. A substantial part
of the work was supported by ESTEC/Domier under contract RAA-DS-11433 A 03235. Also
acknowledged is the image processing infrastructure made available though the Spanish
Comisi6n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologfa (CICYT, Project No. ESP88--0359).
372
REFERENCES
1. Berlad, A.L., 1983, "Fundamental Combustion Experiments in Microgravity", in
"Material Sciences under Microgravity", ESA SP-191, Paris, pp. 183-190.
2. Berlad, AL., 1986, "Combustion Studies in Low Gravity", Progress in Astronautics and
Aeronautics, Vol. 108, New York, pp. 201-224.
3. Da. Riva et aI., 1990, "High Temperature Facility Technology Study. WP 9000",
ESTEC/Dornier Contract RAA-DS-11433 A 03235, July 1990.
4. Arroyo, M.P., 1987 "Estudio de Flujos Convectivos Rayleigh-Benard por el Moteado

Laser", Tesis Doctoral, Universidad de Zaragoza.
5. Dudderar, T.D., Simpkins, P.G., 1987, "Two-Dimensional Fluid Velocity Measurements

by Laser Speckle Velocimetry", AIAA Paper 87-1375.
6. Arroyo, M.P. et aI., 1988, "Velocity Measurements in Convective Flows by Particle

Image Velocimetry Using a Low Power Laser", Optical Engineering, Vol. 27, No.8,
Aug. , pp. 641-649.
7. Glisvik, KJ., 1987, "Optical Metrology", 1st ed., John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, Chap.
6, pp. 154-156.
8. Witze, P.O., Baritaud, T.A., 1988, "Particle Seeding for Mie Scattering Measurements in
Combustion Flows", in "Laser Anemometry in Fluid Mechanics - III", LADOAN,
Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 489-502.
9. Fristom, R.M., Westen berg, A.A, 1965, "Flame Structure", McGraw-Hill, New York.
10. Chen, L.D., Roquemore, W.M., 1986, "Visualization of Jet Flames", Combustion and
Flame, Vol. 66, No.1, pp. 81-86.
11. Glass, M., Kennedy, I.M., 1977, "An Improved Seeding Method for High Temperature
Laser Doppler Velocimetry", Combustion and Flame, Vol. 29, pp. 333-335.
12. Strehlow, R.A, Reuss, D.L., 1980, "Effect of a Zero g Environment on Flammability
Limits as Determined Using a Standard Flammability Tube Apparatus", NASA CR
3259, Washington.
13. Hetsroni, G., 1982, "Handbook of Multiphase Systems", Hemisphere Publishing

Corporation, Washington. Chap. 9-2-6.
14. Adrian, R.J., Yao, C.S., 1985, "Pulsed Laser Technique Application to Liquid and
Gaseous Flows and the Scattering Power of Seed Materials", Applied Optics, Vol. 24,
No.1, pp. 44-52.
15. Pickering, CJ.D., Halliwell, N.A., 1984, "Speckle Photography in Fluid Flows: Signal
Recovery with Two-Step Processing", Applied Optics, Vol. 23, No.8, pp. 1128-1129.
16. Wozniak, K., Wozniak, G., Roesgen, T., 1990, "Experimental Investigation of the
Thermocapillary Flow around a Bubble by Means of Laser-Speckle- Velocimetry", ESA
SP-295, pp. 337-342.
17. Krinkels, M.CJ.M., 1990, "High Temperature Facility Technology Study", WP 9340,
NLR Progress Report.
Stability of the Vapour Phase in a Rotating Two-
Phase Fluid System Subjected to Different
Gravitational Intensities
D. YEE, J. A. WADE AND C. A. WARD

THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS LABORATORY
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
TORONTO, CANADA MSS IA4
ABSTRACT
An experimental study is presented of the stability of a bubble immersed in a
liquid phase with both phases in an isothermal, constant volume, constant mass system
that is subjected to both centrifugal and gravitational fields. The stability of the bubble
was examined in both ground based studies and in an aircraft flying Keplarian
parabolas. It was found that for a given gravitational intensity there is a lower limit of
the rotation rate for which the bubble will remain stable. If the rotation rate becomes
less than this value the bubble becomes unstable and breaks into two or more smaller
bubbles. The lower limit of the rotation rates for which a bubble remains stable
increases approximately linearly with increases in the gravitational intensity.
INTRODUCTION
A number of instabilities at fluid interfaces have been previously identified.
These include the Rayleigh-Taylor instability that arises when a more dense fluid
overlays another fluid in a gravitational field and the interface is subjected to an
acceleration [1, 2]. A second type arises when a droplet is subjected to a velocity field
that elongates the droplet [3, 4].
An analytical study of the stability of a liquid droplet immersed in a rotating,
denser liquid has been reported by Rosenthal [5], but gravitational effects were
neglected. He found the possibility of an instability developing if the rotation rate was
increased too rapidly.
We investigate an instability that can arise when a vapor phase is immersed in a
liquid phase and the system is subjected to both a gravitational and a centrifugal field.
The centrifugal field causes the bubble to become elongated in a direction parallel to the
axis of rotation [6]. In the absence of gravity, the longitudinal axis of the bubble
coincides with the axis of rotation and the bubble is stable. If a gravitational field is
now applied to this latter circumstance, the longitudinal axis of the bubble moves off
the axis of rotation with the result that the bubble is subjected to a shear by the greater
velocity over the top of the bubble than that over the bottom. The shear is in a direction
perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bubble (in contrast to the circumstance
considered in Refs. [3,4]). For a given rate of rotation, we fmd experimentally that if
H.1. Rath (Editor)

Microgravlty Fluid MechaniCS
IUTAM Symposium Bremen 199)
374
the gravitational intensity exceeds a limiting value, the bubble becomes unstable and
breaks into two or more smaller bubbles.
EXPERIMENTAL ApPARATUS
A schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus that was used in the study is
shown in Fig. 1. A glass cylinder that was 16 mm inside diameter, 22 mm outside
diameter and 250 mm long was used as the experimental vessel and water as the
experimental liquid. The water was distilled, deionized and filtered (18 Megaohm,
71.22 ± 0.18 ml/m at 24.1 ± 0.1°C) before it was used to completely fill the glass
cylinder. The cylinder was closed by two stainless steel end plates that were sealed to
the glass cylinder by polytetrafluoroethylene rings. The end plates were held in
position by three bolts that extended from one end of the cylinder to the other. (The
bolts are not shown in the schematic.) The stems of the end plates were placed in self-
aligning pillow block bearings for support of the cylinder and to minimize friction
effects.
One end plate served the dual purpose of housing a threaded piston that could
be retracted to change the volume of the cylinder and of carrying the pulley belt that was
connected to a variable speed motor. The volume change that resulted from rotating the
threaded piston could be simply calculated by measuring the number of rotations, and
making use of the pitch of the threads (0.8 mm), and the cross-sectional area of the
piston, Ac (154 mm 2 ).
The speed of rotation was measured with a tachometer which had a sensitivity
of ± 0.017 Hz in the range of rotation rates that we examined. The variable speed
motor (Pine Instrument Co., USA) could rotate the cylinder at speeds up to 75 Hz.
The other end plate housed a thermistor that could be used to monitor the temperature of
the liquid. The thermistor was connected to a ohmmeter through a slip ring (Michigan
Scientific, USA) which was fitted to this end plate. The thermistor was calibrated
using a constant temperature heat bath before being used in an experiment. It had a
sensitivity of ± 0.2°C.
The phase boundary was photographed with a video camera (Sony, CCD-V99,
8 mm) that could be played back to examine the bubble shape frame by frame. The
framing rate was 30 per second. The images recorded from each experiment were
stored (Scion Image capture board and Apple MacIntosh IIx computer) for later
examination.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
After the cylinder had been filled with water and the end plates fastened into
position, the piston was retracted to introduce a vapour phase. By weighing the
375
cylinder before and after filling, the total mass of H20 within the cylinder could be
determined.
Experiments with this system were then conducted under normal and under
variable gravitational conditions. The latter were conducted in an aircraft (KC-135) that
flew Keplarian parabolas and thereby provided a spectrum of gravitational intensities
that ranged from ± 0.03 to 1.8 times the normal intensity, go. The reduced
gravitational intensity lasted approximately 25 ± 5s.
A. GROUND-BASED STUDIES
The apparatus shown schematically in Fig. 1 was used to conduct a series of
experiments at normal gravitational intensity. The procedure followed was to rotate the
cylinder at a sufficiently high rate so that the bubble almost extended the entire length of
the cylinder. This was expected to bring all of the bubbles in the system to the
longitudinal axis of the cylinder and to merge them into one vapor volume. Then the
rate of rotation was slowly reduced until the bubble broke into several smaller bubbles.
It was found that if the rate of rotation was slowly reduced or if the rotation rate
was reduced to a particular value and the system allowed to remain at this value for a
period of time before the rotational rate was altered again, approximately the same
limiting value of the rotation rate was found to lead to the bubble breaking into several
smaller bubbles.
After a series of experiments had been conducted with the volume of the system
set at one value, this parameter was altered and the experimental procedure repeated. A
second sample of liquid was also prepared and the experimental procedure repeated
with the mass of fluid being different.
In these experiments, the gravitational intensity was known and the lower limit
of the rotation rate was measured for which a bubble was stable in the system. When
the video tape was reviewed frame by frame, the observation was that in one frame the
bubble was present, then the rotation rate was reduced again, and the bubble would
become unstable and break apart. Thus the limiting rate was between the two measured
rotation rates. It was taken to be the average and an error range assigned that covered
the interval between the two rates (see Table I).
Also the length of the bubble just before it broke apart was recorded in these
experiments. An uncertainty in the measured length resulted from a nonlinear effect in
the camera lens. A calibrated length was measured at the center of the cylinder and an
error range was assigned on the basis of the accuracy of the calibration measurement.
These error bars are also shown in Table I.
B. STUDIES UNDER VARIABLE GRAVITATIONAL INTENSITIES
The same experimental apparatus (Fig. 1) was placed on the KC-135 aircraft
and exposed to a series of Keplarian parabolas. A series of experiments was conducted
376
to detennine if the rotation rate changed as the aircraft went through a parabola. The
rate of rotation of the cylinder was measured with a tachometer while the cylinder was
rotating in the 10\\'-g phase of a parabola, and then 111easured several times as the
gravitational intensity increased when the aircraft went through the remainder of a
parabola. After perfonning this procedure on several parabolas, it was concluded that
the rotation rate did not change significantly during a parabola once it had been set.
In the low-g phase of a parabola, it was found that the bubble was stable over a
wide range of rotation rates but if the rotation rate was held constant at a particular
value, then as the gravitational intensity increased due to the motion of the aircraft, the
bubble became unstable and broke into two or more smaller bubbles. In some
instances, there was a second or third break-up of the bubbles.
An experimental procedure was developed that allowed the gravitational
intensity at which a bubble became unstable to be recorded. In the low-g phase of a
parabola, the bubble was positioned in the cylinder away from the ends and the rotation
rate was set at a particular value. The rotation rate then remained unchanged as the
aircraft went through the remainder of the parabola. Both the image of the bubble and
the accelerometer reading were recorded in each frame of the video tape. After the
flight was completed, the recording from the video camera was reviewed and the
gravitational intensity at break-up noted for each particular rotation rate. A summary of
these results are shown in Fig. 2.
In these experiments, the rotation rate was known (to within ± 0.083 Hz) and
the gravitational intensity was changed due to the motion of the aircraft. When the
video tape was reviewed, the observation was that in one frame the gravitational
intensity was a particular value and a single bubble was present. In the next frame, the
gravitational intensity was different and the bubble had broken up. The gravitational
intensity at break-up was thus between these two values. The average was taken and
an error bar assigned that covered the range of possible gravitational intensities.
EXPERIMENT AL RESULTS
The experiments performed at normal gravitational intensity, go (Le. in the
ground based studies), indicated that there is a lower limit to the rotation rate for which
a bubble remains stable. The results obtained are summarized in Table I. In the fIrst
three cases listed there, the temperature and the total number of moles of H20 within
the cylinder were constant but the volume was different in each case. The experimental
procedure was repeated at each volume. The length of the bubble examined more than
doubled as a result of the change in the system volume. However there was no
signifIcant change in the value found for the lower limit of the rotation rate for which
the bubble was stable.
377
In the last case shown in Table I, the number of moles of H20 within the
cylinder, the total volume and the temperature were changed. Note that although the
bubble length in this latter case is within the range measured for the other values of
these system parameters, the lower limit of the rotation rate for bubble stability is
changed in this case, but not to a large extent.
For the sake of comparison, the experimental apparatus was placed on the
aircraft with the system parameters total mass of H20 and total volume unchanged from
the last case shown in Table I. The gravitational intensity at which a bubble became
unstable was measured as a function of the rotation rate using the procedure described
above. The results are summarized in Fig. 2.
As may be seen there, the gravitational intensity at which the bubble became
unstable increased approximately linearly with an increase in the rotation rate. Also the
value obtained for the limiting rotation rate in the ground based studies compares
reasonably well with the values obtained in the aircraft. There was a difference in the
temperature between the ground based study and that in the aircraft. This could have
played a role.
CONCLUSION
When a vapor bubble is immersed in an isothermal fluid system of constant
volume and mass, and the system is subjected to a centrifugal field, the effect on the
bubble is to elongate it along the axis of rotation [6]. If a gravitational field is now
applied that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, then depending on the intensity of
the gravitational field, the bubble can become unstable and break apart. For given
values of the system volume, mass and temperature, the measurements reported in
Fig. 2 indicate that as the rotation rate is increased the gravitational intensity required to
destabilize the bubble increases linearly. The destabilizing gravitational intensity is
insensitive to the bubble length, to the system volume for a given mass, but it does
depend to some degree on the system mass. The role of temperature has not been
established.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by the Canadian Space Agency and the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
378
REFERENCES
1. Taylor, G. I., The instability of liquid surfaces when accelerated in a direction

perpendicular to L'1eir planes. I, Proc. R. Soc., A201, 192-196 (1950).
2. Clift, R. and Grace, J. G. in Bubbles, drops and particles, Weber, M. E. ed.,

p. 339-351, Academic Press, New York (1978).
3. Rumscheidt, F. D. and Mason, S. G., Break-up of stationary liquid threads, J.

ColI. Sci., 17, 260-269 (1962).
4. Taylor, G. I., The formation of emulsions in definable fields of flow, Proc. R.

Soc., A146, 501-523 (1934).
5. Rosenthal, D. K., The shape and stability of a bubble at the axis of a rotating
liquid, J. Fluid Mech. 12, 358-366 (1962).
6. Ward, C. A. and Yee, D., Differences in the thermodynamic and mechanical

concepts of pressure at phase boundaries, Symposium on Microgravity,
Canadian Society of Mech. Engin. Forum 1990, Toronto, p. 7.
TABLE I
LOWER LIMIT OF THE ROTATION RATE AT WHICH A BUBBLE IN

A ROTATION CYLINDER IS STABLE WHEN PRESENT IN A
GRAVITATIONAL FIELD OF NORMAL INTENSITY
Bubble Limiting
Len th, mm Rotation Rate, Hz
21 40.7 2.23 40.5 ± 0.8 25.4 ±2
21 41.0 2.23 64.5 ± 1.3 25.4 ±2
21 41.3 2.23 79.6 ± 1.6 25.4 ±2
31 45.9 2.49 53.0 ± 0.5 21.2 ±1

379
Variable
Speed
MOIOf
oeon""Jle:
o
Self-Aligning Self-Aligning
Pillow Bearing
Pillow Bleek Bearing
8mmVideo
CCDCamen
Maonlosh !lx.
SOON Image CapIUM 2 Board
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus.
2.0
""
:J
.e
.D
;r
1.5
.:!l'"
-~ 1.0
!1'"
.SO
(;i
c:
-B 0.5
-~
>
e
0
0_0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
00, Hz
Fi.gure 2: Measured upper limit (solid squares) of the gravitational intensity at 36.8° ± 1.8°C for
which a bubble in a rotating system remains stable and the measured lower limit
(open symbol) at 31 ° ± OS of the rotation rate at normal gravitational intensity for
which a bubble in the same system remains stable. The other experimental
parameters are given in Table I.
Mathematical Modelling of Microsphere
Formation under Short-Time Weightlessness
O.M.LAVRENTYEVA, L.K.ANTANOVSKII, G.B.VOLKOVA, V.V.PUKHNACHOV
Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics,

Novosibirsk 630090, USSR
O.N.GONCHAROVA
Altay State University,
Barnaul, USSR
Summary
The expansion of a liquid shell filled with solute gas under
intensive heat exchange is an important step in the fabrication
of spherical microspheres in a heated tower [1]. The present
study is devoted to mathematical modelling of the above men-
tioned process.In Section 1, the authors present the general
model considered to be applicable to describing all stages of
the spherically symmetric expansion of a liquid shell under the
above-mentioned conditions. However, the performed calculations
show its insufficient efficiency. This can be explained by a
very strong time change of thermal conditions and, consequent-
ly,fluid characteristics in producing microspheres in a heated
tower. For example, for glass microspheres (on which production
description the authors of the present ~aper oriented their
studies), the temprrature2ffrop~ reach 2000 K and fluid viscosi-
ty ranges from 10 to 10 cm /s while the process duration is
1 s. An abrupt change of parameters leads to the necessity of
using a small time step, which increases the computation time.
In Section 2, the authors propose various approximate models
for different stages of the shell expansion. These are compared
in numerical experiments. In Section 3, the phenomenological
model, derived under the thin layer approximation without the
assumption of spherical symmetry, is briefly described. It -
could be applied to the investigation of the final stage of
microsphere formation, its stability and refinement.
1. Governing equations
The proposed models are based on the following assumptions:
1. Solute gas is a passive impurity, i.e., its concentration
does not affect the physical characteristics of the liquid.
2. The material of the microsphere is a viscous incompressible
fluid with temperature-dependent coefficients of viscosity V,
diffusion D, heat conductivity ~ and surface tension U.
H J Rath (EdItor)
M1CrOgravity FlUid Mechamcs
382
3. At the initial,moment the drop already contains a gaseous

cavity, i.e., phase transition and nucleation kinetics are not
considered.
4. Fluid and gas velocities are much less than the sound velo-
city. This allows gas motion inside the bubble to be described
by a homobaric approximation [2] and the ambient gas to be
modeled as an incompressible fluid.
Let the pressure p, velocity V, temperature 8 and gas concent-

ration c be dependent on time t and coordinate r (the distance
from the bubble center) only, and let solely the radial velo-
city component v be different from zero. Then the equations of
diffusion and heat conductivity take the form
r E 0i (t) , (1 )
r E 0z(t), i 1,2,3, (2 )
where 01(t)=(O,r1(t)), 0z(t)=(r1(t),rZ(t)), 03(t)=(rz (t),OJ),

r 1 (t), rz(t) are the internal and external radii of the shell
respectively.
In the case of spherical symmetry, the Navier-Stokes equations

could be integrated with respect to the spatial variable r
v(r,t) = V(t)/r,
z p(r,t) = peri (t),t) -
r
Pi[~(1/2ri - 1/2r4)- V' (l/r i - l/r)] - 4J 1J.~8rV(t):!

ri
1,2. (3 )
By virtue of the dynamic and kinematic conditions on the boun-

daries r = r 1 (t), rz(t), it follows from (3) that
z
V(t)/r 1 ,
z
r~ v(t)/r z ' (4 )
383
-1
V' = ( pZ/r~ + (P3 - pz)/rz ) [P1 - Pro + o (pz/ri +(P3-
pz)/ri)-12VJ~(8)C-4dC-G(8(r1't))/r1-G(8(rz,t))/rz] (5)
r1
where P1 = P1 (t) is the gas pressure in the cavity. Note that

(5) is a generalization of the classic Rayleigh-Lamb equation.
Along with (2), the parameters of the gas in the cavity must
satisfy the gas dynamics equations which have the following
form in a homobaric approximation [2]
P1 (t)/R8(r,t) (6 )
'Y - 1 r dP1
v (r, t) (£
18r - when r E 01 (t) (7 )
'YP1 3'YP1 dt
dP 1 (3 (J-l)
(£ 8 - 3'YP1 ] (8)
1 r --;;- v Ir=r -0
dt r1 1 1
On the fluid-gas boundaries r = r 1 (t), r z (t), the following

conservation laws should be assigned
D Bc
v(r 1 +0,t) - --I (mass) (9 )
P1 Br r=r 1
--I
Bc
i 1,2 (energy) (10)
D Br r=r
i
as well as the temperature continuity condition
[8] Ir=r. = 0, i = 1,2 ( 11)

1
and one for the chemical potential of the gas. The latter could
be written in the form of Henry's law
384
c{ri,t) = A(8)p~, i = 1,2, (12)
where N 1 for certain single-atom gases, and N = 1--,I?

.... --F,..,r
.... -
multi-atom ones. If the gas outside the shell is a mixture of
gases that are soluble and insoluble by the shell material,
then P2 is the partial pressure of the soluble gas.
The problem is completed by prescribing the initial data r i (D)

= riO' r 2 {O) = r 20 , Vee) = VA' Pi
(D) = PO' 8{r,O) = 8 0 {r) when
r E (O,oo), c{r,O) = co{r) when r E (r iO ,r 20 ), and the tempera-
ture conditions are 8r = °
at zero and 8 Coo, t) = 800 (t) at
infinity.
2. Approximate models and numerical results.

To simulate the initial stage of the shell expansion for r i (t)
« r 2 {t), use is made of self-similar solutions of problem (1)-
(12) with r 2 = 00, the power dependence of the transport coeffi-
cients on temperature ~ = ~oen and D = Do 8 n and the prescrip-
tion of temperature at infinity as a power functin of time.
This solution has the form (E = rt- 1 , kn = 21 - 1)
"e:
c{r,t) = c{",), 8 (r,t) = t ke" ("'),
e: e: 1
r i = ",at, vet) __ '"e:30t31-i.
The functions "

c{E), "
8{E) satisfy the ordinary differential
equation. Formulae (3)-(10) give the boundary conditions and
a series of relations between thenumerical parameters. The re-
sul ting problem is studied in [3). The self-similar solutions
are used to determine the initial data for calculating the fol-
lowing step of the process.
The main stage of the shell expansion is characterized by the

internal radius and the shell thickness having values of the
same order. The construction of the approximate models for this
stage is based on the diffusion coefficient D « X (temperature
conductivi ty coefficient). Thus, it is natural to use the -
models with averaged temperature for the process defined by
diffusion. The simplest of such models was proposed in [4). It
385
is based on the assumption of instantaneous system temperature

equalization. In problem (1)-(12) all the temperature equations
are replaced by
8(r,t) = 8oo (t). ( 13)
As a result, the coefficients of viscosity, diffusion and sur

face tension turn out to be explicit functions of time. In
other models of this type, the fulfillment of (13) is supposed
when r E 01 (t) or 03 (t). The thermal condi tions on the cor-
responding fluid-gas boundary arc substituted by the tempera-
ture continuity condition or by Bio's law
i 1,2. (14)
The models were verified by computing the expansion of a glass

shell, saturated by carbon dioxide in a rarefied atmosphere.
Some results are presented in Figures 1 - 4.
-- --
----
1.5
- 0
- 0
,/
/'"
/
/
/
/
0.3 ~~==- ______________
o 0.1 t, S
Fig .1.
386
1.5
/
"./'
-- ---- -- - ---
/
/
/
/
0.3 ~~~~~~~::=-_----,.-...
o 0.1 t. s
Fig.2.
The solid line shows everywhere the results of the calculation

based on the exact model, and the dashed one based on the
model of [4]. The circles show the computational results based
on the model with averaged temperature inside the cavity, the
squares corresponds to the model with external gas temperature
independent of radius. Figures 1 and 3 present the first-type
condition models on the fluid-gas boundary, Figures 2 and 4 -
the third-type ones. In Figures 1 and 2 are presented the com-
putational results of shell expansion from the initial iso-
thermal state (8 0 = 1673 0 K, 800 = 1673 0 K)j in Figures 3 and 4
8 o(r) = 1473 ° K when r < r z and 8 (r) = 1673 ° K when r > r z ' in
this case 8 = 1673 0 K. The initial gas concentration is 1 per
-4 -4
cent, and rlO = 1.3·10 cm, r ZO = 4·10 cm everywhere. The cal-
00
culations for the other values of parameters give the same

results qualitatively.
It turned out that in the heating regime, the models with tern
perature averaged in 0 and the temperature continuity condition
give slower expansion of the shell than does the exact model.
When the difference between the initial glass temperature and
387
the e is negligible (less than lOOoK), the type of conditions

00
on the external boundary does not affect the result. With

higher temperature gradients, the first-kind condition results
in a more rapid heating and, consequently, more rapid ex-
pansion.
-- -- o
/
,/"
/"
....- -- - -
/
0.3 ~~=- ______________---.,.-_
o 0.1 t, S
Fig.3
--
1.5
--
/
,/"
/"
....- --- --
/
0.1 t, S
Fig.4
388
The models with condition (14) on the internal and external

shell boundaries allow practically full agreement with computa-
tion results based on the exact model to be attained for an
appropriate choice of the coefficient ~. The model from [4]
gives a considerably more rapid ( especially at the initial
stage) expansion as compared to the other models, even when the
initial conditions are chosen to be isothermal. This can be
explained by the fact that the diffusion model does not take
into account gas cooling during expansion.
The simplest model taking into account this effect is the fol-
lowing: the gas temperature in and around the shell is indepen-
dent of radius, the fluid temperature is a linear function of
radius, the thermal conditions on the fluid-gas boundaries have
form (14). The resulting calculations demonstrate that this
model allows practically full agreement with computational
results based on the exact model to be attained making use of
the appropriate coefficient ~. At the same time, it is much
more efficient as compared to the exact model. The calculation
duration for one process variant according to this model is
approximately 10 times less.
3. Thin layer approximation

To describe the final stage of the expansion process of a
liquid shell, when its thickness h is much less than the ave-
rage radius r, the equations of thin film approximation are
exploited. These equations have been derived in [5] under the
assumption that the gradients of velocity V and temperature 8
within the layer are finite as h/r ~ O. The latter is true
if the viscosity and thermal conductivity coefficients of the
gas in and around the microsphere do not exceed the corres-
ponding characteristics of the film material. Then, in the
first approximation, the position of the film may be specified
by a two-dimensional surface r, assuming V and 8 to be conti-
nuous everywhere. In particular, Lagrangian coordinates for the
film and enveloping gas can be defined, permitting use of a
phenomenological approach to the derivation of the equations of
389
motion of r. The basic principles of thermodynamics and consti-

tutive relations lead to a closed problem of thin liquid film
dynamics (containing within itself at h = 0 the problem of
thermocapillary convection). The rheological surface viscosity
~r and heat conductivity coefficient ~r are proved to be equal
to 3~(8)h and ~(8)h respectively [5).
The process of expansion of a microballoon having an initial

non-symmetrical thickness, is analyzed numerically, with a view
to finding the actual physical mechanisms of centering of
liquid shells [6). This problem is very important for control
during fabrication and refinement of ideal microspheres [7).
The calculations, given in [6), demonstrate qualitatively the
general tendency towards centering of a liquid shell provided
that the viscosity ~(8) increases when 8 decreases. Neverthe-
less, this effect is not sufficient to describe the phenomenon
of ideal centering of microballons. Thus, it is necessary to
study another kind of mechanism.
References
1. Dorogotovtsev V.M., Merkulyev Yu.A., Startsev S.A. Investi
gation of heat-mass-fluid dynamics processes in hole-
microsphere technology under low-gravity conditions. Hydro
dynamics and Heat/Mass Transfer under Weightlessness. Novo
sibirsk, (1988) 95-102.
2. Nigmatulin R.I.Multiphase Media Dynamics. Moscow: Nauka 1987
3. J~avrentyevaD.M. Self-similar processes of gas bubble expan

sion in fluid with variable temperature. Modelling in Mecha
nics, Novosibirsk, No.3 (1990).
4. Goncharova D.N., Pukhnachov V.V. Diffusion approximation in

the problem of spherical microballoon formation under short-
time weightlessness. Modelling in Mechanics, Novosibirsk,
No.5 (1990).
5. Antanovskii, L.K. Dynamics of free liquid films. Zh. Prikl.

J-Iekh. Tekh. Fiz., No.2, (1989) 81-86.
6. Antanovskii L.K., Volkova G.B. Towards the question of cen

tering of hollow microspheres. Zh. Prikl. Mekh. Tekh., No.2
(1991) .
7. Amundson K.R., Bousfield D.W., Soong D.S. Rheology of mic-

rosphere formation and refinement. J. Appl. Phys., v.59,
No . 7, ( 19 8 6) 2 3 06 - 2 3 13 .
Convection Induced by
Interface-Tension-Gradients:
Bubbles and Drops
Thermocapillary Motion of Bubbles and Drops
R. Shankar Subramanian
Department of Chemical Engineering

Clarkson University
Potsdam, New York 13699-5705
U.S.A.
Summary
Recent experimental and theoretical results from research on the motion of bubbles and
drops subjected to a temperature gradient are presented and discussed. Interesting fea-
tures unique to this problem are identified.
1 Introduction
Drops and bubbles are encountered everywhere. Their motion as well as their growth
and dissolution have been the subject of numerous scientific studies [1]. On earth, their
movement is usually determined by the action of the gravitational force coupled with the
difference in density between a drop and a continuous phase. Thus, gas bubbles rise in a
liquid, and drops more dense than the continuous phase sink in it. From a fluid mechanical
point of view, drops and bubbles behave in a similar manner, both possessing a mobile
interface in contrast to a rigid object. As we shall see, it is this interfacial mobility which
is critical to the motion of bubbles and drops due to interfacial tension gradients, the
subject of this talk.
The literature on interfacial tension driven motion occurring in bulk fluids dates back to
the nineteenth century. Ample reviews are provided by Scriven and Sternling [2], Levich
and Krylov [3], and more recently by Ostrach [4]. Basically, a variation of interfacial
tension caused by a gradient of temperature and/or composition at a fluid-fluid interface
results in a discontinuity in the tangential stress. This cannot be sustained by both
fluids being at rest, and motion ensues. There also are questions of stability when the
interface is at a uniform temperature and composition, but conditions exist such that
small perturbations in the system will lead to variations in one or both of these entities.
H.J.Rath(Edltor)
Microgravi[y Fluid MechanIcs
IUTAM SympOSIUm Bremen 1991
394
The classical Benard cells are due to disturbances leading to interfacial tension gradients
which drive sustained cellular motion. We will not consider stability problems here.
The focus here will be on the motion of drops and bubbles driven by the interface. A
helpful survey of the literature has been given by Wozniak et al. [5], and I have recently
written a review in [6] where I have discussed the motivation for studying this subject.
This talk will not be a review of the literature, for which the reader can go to these
references. Instead, I shall try to describe interesting results from some recent research in
my laboratories on this subject.
In 1959, Young, Goldstein, and Block reported on the results of some interesting ex-
periments on gas bubbles [7]. This article laid the foundation for virtually all of the
subsequent work in this field. Young et al. were motivated by the recognition that when
a gas bubble is placed in a liquid possessing a temperature gradient, the interfacial tension
at the bubble surface will vary with position due to its dependence on temperature. Typ-
ically, the surface tension is at a minimum at the warm pole and a maximum at the cold
pole. The resulting gradient in surface tension leads to a tangential stress at the interface
in the direction of the cold pole. The neighboring fluid is dragged in this direction by
the stress. As a consequence, the bubble propels itself in the opposite direction, namely,
that of the temperature gradient. Therefore, bubbles suspended in liquids should move
toward hot regions, and a bubble can be held stationary in a downward temperature gra-
dient. This was demonstrated in [7] with air bubbles in Dow-Corning silicone oils. Since
the interfacial tension depends on species concentration at the interface, one can expect
similar behavior by applying a gradient of species concentration in the surrounding fluid.
However, temperature gradients are much simpler to control and maintain, and therefore
all of the experimental research to date in this area has involved the use of temperature
rather than composition gradients. The phenomenon is termed "thermocapillary migra-
tion." Liquid drops behave in a similar way. The key is the mobility of the interface which
both drops and bubbles share, and which distinguishes such objects from rigid particles.
The difference between drops and bubbles is simply in their physical properties. The
viscosity and density of a gas are negligible when compared with the same properties in a
liquid. In thermocapillary migration problems, also pertinent is the fact that the thermal
conductivity of a gas is negligible when compared to that of a liquid.
Young et al. [7] also developed a theoretical description of the problem. They considered
the steady motion of a fluid sphere under the combined action of gravity and a downward
temperature gradient. Under conditions of negligible convective transport of momentum
and energy (limit of zero Reynolds and Peclet numbers), they solved the Stokes and
Laplace equations for the velocity and temperature fields in and around the drop respec-
395
tively, and specialized the solution using the boundary conditions for the problem. From
a balance of the forces on the drop, they obtained a result for the migration velocity of
the drop. When this velocity is set equal to zero, the temperature gradient needed to hold
the bubble fixed is found to be linear in bubble radius and independent of the viscosity of
the continuous phase. Despite the scatter in the data of Young et al., this trend is clearly
evident. Some pitfalls in the experimental apparatus and technique used by Young et
al. were eliminated subsequently by Hardy [8] who obtained data with very little scat-
ter. Hardy presented results mainly when bubbles were almost stationary; however, he
also reported some data on bubble migration velocities, but found them to be somewhat
smaller than those predicted by theory.
2 Experiments
We have adapted the design of the apparatus used by Hardy, and made experimental
measurements of thermo capillary migration velocities of air bubbles in silicone oils [9],
and drops of ethyl salicylate (ES) in diethylene glycol (DEG) [10]. In both cases, the
dependence of the migration velocities on the bubble/drop radii predicted by Young et
al. was verified. Also, the thermo capillary contributions to the velocities were found to
scale linearly with the applied temperature gradient as predicted in [7].
Other work on gas bubbles and liquid drops that has been performed both on earth and in
low gravity is discussed in [6]. Here, I would like to briefly mention some interesting results
from recent experiments [11]. In these experiments, a rectangular cell was completely filled
with DEG. Then, drops of ES were observed as they rose upward under the action of a
vertical temperature gradient toward the top solid surface of the cell. When the velocity
of a drop was plotted against the distance of separation from the top surface of the cell, a
remarkable feature was observed. It was noted that in some experiments, the drops rose
more rapidly in the vicinity of the surface than they would have if isolated. This behavior is
shown in Figure 1 which is reproduced from reference [11] with permission from Academic
Press. Plotted are the velocities of three drops of approximately the same size, scaled
with the velocity they would have when isolated, against the separation distance from the
upper surface, scaled by the drop radius. The scaled velocity is labelled the interaction
parameter n, and the scaled separation distance is H. The applied temperature gradient
was 1.3I< /mm. The data demonstrate that n is significantly larger than unity for a
substantial range of separation distances. The observed behavior is against intuition since
the normal expectation is for neighboring surfaces to retard the motion of suspended
objects. There is a rich body of literature, both experimental and theoretical, which
supports this expectation. Why then did the drops behave in this unusual manner in the
above experiments?
396
1.5
z
o
5<l 0.5
a::
.-Z
lLJ
oI ~ 3 4
SCALED SEPARATION DISTANCE, H
Fig. 1. Interaction parameter n plotted against scaled separation distance, H, for ethyl
salicylate drops moving upward toward a horizontal surface in diethylene glycol;
VToo = 1.3K/mm. Data on three drops are plotted; Radius = 168 pm for all three
drops. The smooth curve represents the theoretical prediction. (Reproduced with
permission from Academic Press).
The explanation lies in the fact that the drops were migrating under the opposing influ-
ences of gravity and thermocapillarity. The role of the gravitational force on the drop
was to provide a contribution to its velocity which was downward. In contrast, the ther-
mocapillary contribution was upward. The net velocity was a resultant of these two
contributions, which can be simply added algebraically, since under the conditions of the
experiments, the non-linear terms in the governing conservation equations were negligible.
The disturbance flows from motion caused by these two types of driving forces decay at
different rates.
When a drop moves purely due to a body force such as gravity, the disturbance flow
produced by this motion decays as l/r where r is the distance measured from the center
of the drop. A drop moving due to gravity would therefore be affected by a neighboring
surface when it is approximately ten radii away. Even at such large distances, an isolated
drop would produce significant disturbance flows whereas a nearby surface would tend to
retard these flows, increasing resistance to the motion of the drop. In fact, we performed
397
experiments on isolated drops of ES settling in isothermal conditions in DEG, verifying

the above. In contrast, for purely thermocapillary motion, there is no net force on a
drop. The resulting disturbance flow decays as 1/r3 which is much more rapid. Thus,
for a drop moving principally due to a temperature gradient, the motion would not be
affected by a neighboring surface until the drop approaches it to within two to three drop
radii. We also performed some experiments wherein gravitational effects were negligible
(by using large temperature gradients) in which we observed exactly this behavior. In
both cases, exact solutions of the governing equations are available, and the experimental
observations agreed well with predictions.
In the experiments \-vherein unusual behavior ,~las observed, both grit\' ity a.nd thernluca,p-
illarity were playing comparable roles in influencing the motion of the drops. Thus, as the
drop approached the top surface, the gravitational (downward) contribution to its velocity
was reduced substantially whereas the thermocapillary (upward) contribution was hardly
affected until the drop was very close; hence the observed effect. I should note that we
had observed similar behavior earlier in the case of gas bubbles moving downward toward
a horizontal surface in silicone oils [12].
Similar behavior may be expected when drops move in the vicinity of fluid-fluid interfaces.
We have not performed experiments in the presence of such surfaces. However, we have
predicted that the retardation from the presence of free surfaces should be weaker than
that from the presence of rigid surfaces [13, 14]. It is interesting to note that, under
certain conditions, purely thermocapillary migration of a drop normal to a plane fluid
surface can be more rapid when the drop is near the surface than when it is far away!
This happens when the thermal conductivity of the drop phase is large compared to that of
the continuous phase. In this case, the driving force for thermocapillary migration, namely
the temperature difference over the surface of the drop, is enhanced by the presence of a
neighboring isothermal plane surface. If the surface is rigid, the hydrodynamic resistance
offered by the surface is strong enough to overcome this effect and the consequence is a net
retardation of the drop. In contrast, the increased resistance due to a fluid plane surface
is much weaker, and so the enhanced driving force actually leads to larger velocities as
the drop approaches the plane surface. More details may be found in [14].
3 Theory
Now, I would like to comment on some interesting theoretical results. Over the last
two decades, several theoretical problems involving the prediction of the velocity of a
bubble or drop in a temperature gradient, subject to various assumptions, have been
solved [6J. However, there are interesting topological features in the flows even in the
398
most elementary of these problems, namely that solved by Young et al. [7]. Some of this
structure is reported by Merritt [15], and I would like to present it here along with some
additional observations I have made recently about this problem.
In [7], the problem of an isolated bubble/drop subjected to a downward temperature

gradient was analyzed. The assumptions made by the authors are given earlier. It so
happens that in this limiting situation, the spherical shape is preserved. For the case of
a gas bubble, the authors present a set of streamlines in meridian section, but only for
the case when the temperature gradient is just right to hold the bubble fixed. I should
note that the fields are axisymmetric so that a meridian section suffices to provide all the
necessary information about the flow. For the motion of a gas bubble, we decided to plot
streamlines for other situations and discovered remarkable features which I shall report
below.
It is convenient to work with scaled variables. Let the length scale be the bubble radius,
a, and the velocity scale be v o , given by
Vo =
laT I I 'VT I
00 a
(1)
11
Here aT is the rate of change of interfacial tension with temperature, I 'VT I is
00 the
magnitude of the downward temperature gradient imposed in the continuous phase fluid,
and 11 is the viscosity of the continuous phase.
It is straightforward to obtain the following result for the streamfunction in the contin-
uous phase, scaled by the product av;, in a laboratory reference frame. Note that the
streamfunction is merely a superposition of that arising from gravity driven motion, which
for a gas bubble, is a Stokeslet, and that from purely thermocapillary motion, which is a
potential dipole.
1 sin 2 ()
\lI(r, ()) = [Gr - - ] - - .
2r 2
(2)
Here, r is the radial coordinate, scaled by a, and () is the polar angle measured from
the direction of the applied temperature gradient. G is a parameter which describes the
relative importance of the gravitational force when compared to the thermo capillary force.
G = a /::;.pg (3)
3 laT II 'VToo I
In the above definition, /::;.p is the difference in density between the liquid and the gas and
9 is the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity.
399
1 0.02 4 -0.04
2 0.06 5 -0.08
:3 0.12 6 -0.12
STREAMLINES
G=O.t5
Fig. 2. Streamlines in the laboratory reference frame for a gas bubble. A downward
temperature gradient is forcing the bubble to move downward, against its natural
buoyant rise; G = 0.15.
Streamlines for a typical situation when the bubble is moving downward are shown in
Figure 2. Note how the far field flow is upward. This is from the slowly decaying Stokeslet.
It is upward because the hydrodynamic force on the bubble is downward, balancing the
hydrostatic force on it. The reaction force on the fluid is directed upward leading to flow
in that direction. Note that this Stokes let flow is always upward regardless of the direction
of bubble motion. This flow due to the Stokeslet opposes the flow in the neighborhood of
the downward-moving bubble along the stagnation streamlines. This leads to the dividing
streamline on which W = O. Also, note the flow near the bubble is very similar to that
arisin~; from a purely thermocapillary dipole. The dipole falls off rapidly, and thus the far
field flow is dominated by the Stokeslet. It is straightforward to show that the dividing
streamline is located at r = 1/V2G. As one might anticipate, when G=1/2, the bubble
is stationary, and W = 0 on the bubble surface r = 1. For values of G greater than 1/2,
400
the structure in Figure 2 disappears, yielding an uninteresting set of streamlines which

are qualitatively similar to streamlines for the body force driven motion of a bubble.
Interesting flow features are noted in a reference frame riding with the bubble, and the
details are reported by Merritt [15].
Since the streamfunction in Equation (2) is a linear combination of a Stokeslet and a

potential dipole with the signs opposed, one might wonder if there is a condition when
the flow mimics that due to the motion of a rigid sphere. This is precisely the case for
G = 3/2. For this value of G, the bubble rises upward at twice the downward velocity it
would have under the action of the temperature gradient alone in the absence of gravity.
In this situation, the thermocapillary stress is such that the entire surface appears rigid.
One might see the analogy with the stagnant cap model of bubble rise in the presence of
surfactants [16] in the limit when the cap occupies the entire bubble surface.
SOLID SURFACE
Body Force Driven Motion Thermocapillary Motion
Fig. 3. Streamlines in the laboratory reference frame for a liquid drop moving away
from a solid surface. (Drawing for thermocapillary motion reproduced with permission
from Academic Press).
Finally, I should mention that I have discussed some interesting flow structures that arise
in purely thermocapillary migration problems in [6]. As an example, Figure 3, where
the drawing for thermo capillary motion is reproduced from [14] with permission from
Academic Press, and that for body force driven motion is taken from Barton [17] shows
predicted streamlines in meridian section for a drop moving away from a neighboring rigid
401
plane surface in Stokes flow. Contrasted are the streamlines for motion driven by a body
force and that driven purely by thermocapillarity. In the latter case, convective transport
of energy is neglected. For details, including the scales, the reader should consult [14]. The
streamlines in the case of body force driven motion show no unusual features. In contrast,
when the drop moves due to capillarity, note the appearance of a dividing streamline and
reverse flow. That is, along the forward stagnation streamline and in its vicinity, the
fluid far from the drop is actually moving toward it, while fluid near the drop moves
away from it as expected. This fascinating flow field can be expected to have interesting
consequences for neighboring objects caught in the flow.
The explanation for this behavior is simple. and applies to a variety of thermocapillary
migration problems. For the Stokes motion of an isolated bubble or drop in a continuous
phase possessing a uniform temperature gradient under conditions of negligible convective
transport of energy, the temperature field on the bubble/drop surface is a pure Legendre
Polynomial, Pl(S). Here, s = cosB, is the polar angle in spherical polar coordinates,
measured from the direction of the applied temperature gradient. This produces a flow
field which has fore-aft symmetry, and velocities which decay as 1/r 3 as noted earlier.
Note that the fluid extends to infinity in this problem in all directions, and the lack of
convective transport leads to perfect fore-aft symmetry.
Any breaking of the symmetry of the above problem, such as by neighboring surfaces, in
general, yields a temperature field on the drop surface which can be expanded in a series
of Legendre Polynomials. For n ~ 2, each pure mode of this surface temperature, Pn(s),
drives a flow consisting of n cells, with the velocity field decaying as 1/rn. Thus, even the
slightest disturbance of the symmetry will excite the second Legendre mode, P2 (s), which
will cause a flow that decays as 1/ r2. Naturally, this will dominate in the far field due to
the more rapid decay of the flows driven by all the other Legendre modes including P1 (s).
For the case illustrated in Figure 3, the far field flow caused by the P2 mode of the surface
temperature field opposes that generated by the PI mode, leading to the occurrence of
a dividing streamline and a reverse flow region. We have observed similar results when
including convective energy transport, and when introducing an eccentric bubble within
a drop undergoing thermocapillary migration.
4 Concluding Remarks
I hope that the brief discussion provided here serves to show the reader that thermo cap-
illary migration problems possess qualitatively interesting features. I also have tried to
demonstrate that even in the simplest of cases, theory predicts fascinating flow topol-
402
ogy. There remain several unsolved problems in this area which is fertile ground for both
experimental and theoretical research.
5 Acknowledgment
The work described herein was supported by NASA's Microgravity Sciences and Applica-
tion Division. I also wish to thank Dr. R. Balasubramaniam of NASA's Lewis Research
Center for helpful discussions.
References
[1] Clift, R.; Grace, J.R.; Weber, M.E.: Bubbles, Drops, and Particles. New York:
Academic Press 1978.
[2] Scriven, L.E.; Sternling, C.V.: The Marangoni Effects. Nature 187 (1960) 186-188.
[3] Levich, V.G.; Krylov, V.S.: Surface-Tension-Driven Phenomena, in Annual Reviews

of Fluid Mechanics, 1, eds. W.R. Sears and M. Van Dyke, California: Annual Re-
views 1969, pp. 293-316.
[4] Ostrach, S.: Low-Gravity Fluid Flows, in Annual Reviews of Fluid Mechanics, 14,
eds. M. Van Dyke, J.V. Wehausen, and J.L. Lumley, California: Annual Reviews
1982, pp. 313-345.
[5] Wozniak, G.; Siekmann, J.; Srulijes, J.: Thermocapillary Bubble and Drop Dynam-
ics Under Reduced Gravity - Survey and Prospects. Z. Flugwiss. Weltraumforsch.
12 (1988) 137-144.
[6] Subramanian, R.S.: The Motion of Bubbles and Drops in Reduced Gravity, in
Transport Processes in Bubbles, Drops and Particles, eds. R.P. Chhabra and D.
DeKee, New York: Hemisphere 1991.
[7] Young, N.O.; Goldstein, J.S.; Block, M.J.: The Motion of Bubbles in a Vertical
Temperature Gradient. J. Fluid Mech. 6 (1959) 350-356.
[8] Hardy, S.C.: The Motion of Bubbles in a Vertical Temperature Gradient. J. Colloid
Interface Sci. 69 (1979) 157-162.
[9] Merritt, R.M.; Subramanian, R.S.: The Migration of Isolated Gas Bubbles in a
Vertical Temperature Gradient. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 125 (1988) 333-339.
403
(10) Barton, K.D.; Subramanian, R.S.: The Migration of Liquid Drops in a Vertical
Temperature Gradient. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 133 (1989) 211-222.
[11) Barton, K.D.; Subramanian, R.S.: Migration of Liquid Drops in a Vertical Temper-
ature Gradient - Interaction Effects Near a Horizontal Surface. J. Colloid Interface
Sci. 141 (1991) 146-156.
(12) Merritt, R.M.; Subramanian, R.S.: Migration of a Gas Bubble Normal to a Plane
Horizontal Surface in a Vertical Temperature Gradient. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 131
(1989) 514-525.
[13) Meyyappan, M.; Wilcox, W.R.; Subramanian, R.S.: Thermocapillary Migration of

a Bubble Normal to a Plane Surface. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 83 (1981) 199-208.
(14) Barton, K.D.; Subramanian, R.S.: Thermocapillary Migration of a Liquid Drop

Normal to a Plane Surface. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 137 (1990) 170-182.
[15) Merritt, R.M.: Bubble Migration and Interactions in a Vertical Temperature Gra-
dient. Ph. D. Thesis, Clarkson University, 1988.
[16) Sadhal, S.S.; Johnson, R.E.: Stokes Flow Past Bubbles and Drops Partially Coated
With Thin Films. Part 1. Stagnant Cap of Surfactant Film - Exact Solution. J.
Fluid Mech. 126 (1983) 237-250.
[17) Barton, K.D.: Thermocapillary Migration of Drops. Ph. D. Thesis, Clarkson Uni-
versity, 1990.
Thermocapillary Migration of Bubbles
at Moderately Large Reynolds Numbers
A. CRESPO and J. JIMENEZ-FERNANDEZ

Dpto. de Ingenieria Energetica y Fluidomecanica.
E.T.S.I. Industriales. Universidad Politecnica de Madrid.
Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid (Spain)
Abstract
The thermocapillary motion of bubbles in a liquid environment induced by temperature
gradients in the continuous phase is studied. The problem is analyzed under conditions where
convective momentum and heat transfer are important. The problem is formulated by assuming
simultaneously hydrodynamical and thermal boundary layers over the bubble. A simple ana-
lytical expression for the terminal migration velocity in terms of the physical properties of the
liquid and the temperature gradient applied is obtained.
1 Introd uction
The migration of bubbles in a liquid environment may be produced by thermocapillary
forces if temperature (concentration) gradients are present in the continuous phase. The
temperature gradient generates a surface tension gradient over the bubble surface which
induces shear stresses both inside and outside the bubble. As a result, the bubble expe-
riences a motion in direction opposite to that of the surface tension gradient i.e., towards
the warmer regions. It has been recognized that this effect may be of a great interest
for material processing in microgravity conditions. The problem was firstly analyzed by
Young et al. [1]. In their theoretical analysis, the convective transfer of heat and momen-
tum was neglected. This assumption, which corresponds in dimensionless terms to the
limit of vanishing Reynolds and Peclet numbers, is not fulfilled in many real situations.
In fact, experimental results have shown a systematic discrepancy with respect the above
theoretical analysis (see for instance, Hahnel et al.[2]), which is attributed to the convec-
tive heat transfer inside and outside the bubble. The influence of the convective terms
in the energy equation has been studied by Subramanian [3] and more recently, Shankar
and Subramanian [4] have provided numerical results for low to moderate values of the
Peclet (Marangoni) numbers. It must be noted however, that, if the fluid viscosity is not
very large, both, the Peclet and the Reynolds numbers, may reach the order of unity.
Consequently, an analysis allowing for the convective terms in the energy equation as well
H. J Rath (Edllor)
MlcrograVlty Flu1d Mechamcs
IUTAM SympOSIum Bremen 1991
© Springer,Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1992
406
as the inertial terms in the momentum equation is required. A numerical analysis for
high Reynolds and Marangoni numbers have been provided by Szymczyk and Siekmann
[.5], Their numerical results show that for a given Prandtl number, the migration velocity
tends towards an asymptotic value for large Reynolds numbers.
In the present work, the problem has been revisited in order to study the migration of
bubbles in conditions where convective momentum and heat transfer are important. We
formulate the problem by assuming that there are simultaneously, both, hydrodynamical
and thermal boundary layers over the bubble. A simple expression for the terminal
migration velocity has been obtained in terms of the physical properties of the fluid and
the temperature gradient applied. The analytical expression obtained for the terminal
velocity has the same form as that calculated previously by Young et al. in the opposite
limit of low Reynolds and Peclet numbers; the difference between the two results is the
numerical coefficient. The analysis provides a numerical value for the terminal velocity
which corresponds to an asymptotic value for large Reynolds and Marangoni numbers in
agreement with the numerical results quoted above. A similar problem has been previously
studied by Crespo and Manuel [6] which give only qualitative correct results, because the
thermal boundary layer was not correctly analyzed.
2 Formulation and Analysis

Consider a spherical gas bubble in a liquid environment where a temperature gradient
is imposed. In the absence of gravity the above configuration is unstable and the bu-
bble experiences a motion driven by thermocapillary forces. The goal of the analysis is
to determine the terminal velocity of the bubble in terms of the temperature gradient
applied. The following basic assumptions are made: (i) the bubble is undeformed and
remains spherical. (ii) The density p, the dynamical viscosity J1 and the thermal diffusion
coefficient", of the liquid are constant. (iii) the viscosity, the density and the thermal
conductivity of the gas are negligible in comparison with those of the liquid. (iv) a linear
equation of state is assumed for the dependence of the surface tension coefficient a with
the temperature. (v) In a frame of reference fixed to the bubble the liquid is in a steady
motion and the temperature gradient far away from the bubble is constant. In a such
frame of reference, the temperature changes with time at a rate: aT/at = voodTo/ dz
where Voo and dTo/ dz are respectively the velocity and the temperature gradient far away
from the bubble. It will be assumed that the whole temperature field is of the form:
T(r, t) = f(r') + 4[:voo t. This expression, is a quasi-steady solution of the governing
equations, and it is expected to be one reached after a small initial relaxation time from
the start of the movement ( for further discussion see references (3) and (4)). Ullder the
above assumptions, the governing equations and the boundary conditions in a spherical
407
polar coordinate system (r, (), 1» with the origin at the bubble center are:
divv= 0 (1)
pV'\lv + '\lp = J-ll:!..v (2)

(3)
where v is the velocity field, p is the pressure, T is the temperature field (3 = Voo 1[:. At
the interface at r = R the boundary conditions are:
Vr =0 (4)
aT =0 (5)
Or
J-l(avo _ vo) = ~ 00" (6)
Or r R a()
and far away from the bubble r -> 00:
(7)
p= poo (8)
'\IT = £ez (9)

Voo
The above boundary value problem may be formulated in dimensionless form:
divv = 0 (10)
V'\lv + '\lp = cl:!..v (11)
V'\lT + 1 = c1l:!..T (12)

aT
v = -ez , p = 0, az = 1, at z -> 00 (13)
and,
aT aVe ve aT
vr = 0, 8r = 0, 8r - -;: = I a() (14)
at r = 1. Distances has been scaled with the bubble radius R, velocities with Voo and
temperatures with (3IRv oo . c = liRe where Re = pVooRIJ-l is the Reynolds number and
Cl = liMa where Ma = vooRIK is the Marangoni number. I = -ILddT" fudT.
/-LVoo Z
is a non
dimensional parameter from which the terminal velocity Voo will be determined. We seek
a solution in the limit C -> 0 and Cl -> 0, i.e. for moderately large values of the Reynolds
and Marangoni numbers. For C = 0 an irrotational solution of the above system is:
Va = '\l<p (15)
408
where
1
<p = -(r + -2) cos 0 (16)
2r
This solution does not satisfy the tangential stress condition (14) at the interface. Con-
sequently, we introduce a hydrodynamical boundary layer of depth 0 ~ 1 and the new
variables:
v = Vo + vI, r - R = oy, v'o = ou (17)
it must be noted that this is a boundary layer in order to satisfy a boundary condition on
the velocity gradient and not on the velocity itself, consequently, only a small perturbation
in the velocity is introduced (0 < < 1). The appropriate value of 0 turns out to be
0= c. Using Vo given by (15), considering the pressure distribution corresponding to the
irrotational solution and neglecting terms of the order of c 2 , the following equation for u
is obtained [7,8]:
3. au 3 au a 2u
2 aO
+ -ucosO
- Sill 0-
2
- 3y cosO-
ay
=-
ay2
(18)
along with the boundary conditions:
au . aT
y = 0: ay = 3 Sill 0 + I aO (19)
y=oo: u=O (20)

0=0: u=O (21)
Introducing the function:
u = fooo udy (22)
the solution of the above system in terms of U is:
2 fO (au) (. 2
(23)
U = - 3( sin 0)3 Jo ay y=o Sill 0:) do:
This solution will produce a singularity in U and also in u for 0 = 1r. To avoid it, the
integral of (23) must be zero; from (19) the following condition is obtained:
4
I = - -::Jo=--;;~m~-s-:-in-;;2:-C0:-Cd:-:-0 (24)
Note that the above singularity is inherent to the boundary layer approximation used here.
Actually the condition (19) is similar to the one formulated in previous analysis, e.g. a
vanishing net force on the bubble (see for intance ref. 5). In order to obtain the numerical
value of I the derivative ~~, must be determined. As it happened with the velocity, it could
be expected that the temperature field will correspond in first approximation to the ideal
flow solution. This was the procedure followed by Crespo and Manuel [6] which obtained
from (12) with Cl = 0 for the temperature gradient over the interface the expression:
409
aT/aO = l/voe = (~sinOtl, and from this the value 'Y = 3. However, this is not correct
because the corresponding value of T turns out to be singular over the whole interface.
Consider equation (12) with 61 = 0 and introduce the inner coordinate:
r = 1+ Y (25)
where Y « 1. Using the irrotational velocity, equation (12) with 61 = 0 becomes:

3. aT aT
2" Sill 0 aO - 3Y cos 0 aY + 1 = 0 (26)
the solution of the above equation is:
T = ~ln(l + cosO) + ~ InY + <p(Ysin 2 0) (27)
where <p(Y sin 2 0) is a function to be determined using condition (9). Equation (27)
represents the ideal temperature field near to the interface which is obviously singular for
Y = O.. Thus, we have to introduce a thermal boundary layer with the inner coordinate:
", = Y/6~/2, and the equation (12) becomes:
3. aT aT a 2T
- Sill 0 - - 3", cos 0 - + 1 = - (28)
2 aO a", a", 2
where the velocity field is Vo given by (15) since the mechanical boundary layer is only a
small perturbation of the ideal flow. The boundary conditions to be satisfied correspond
to zero heat flux at the interface, and a matching condition for", -+ 00 with the ideal
temperature solution:
aT
",=0: a", =0 (29)
2 1
", -+ 00: T = 31n (1 + cos 0) + 3 In", + <p(0) (30)
o= 0: T regular (31)
where <p(0) is a constant. The solution of the above system is:
2 1 " ,
T = 31n (1 + cos 0) + 3 1n g( 0) + f( g( 0)) + constant (32)
where:
g(O) = (4(2+cosO))i (33)
3(1 + cos B)2
and
e
fl(O = exp( -3 2 ) Jo exp(3 2 )dt
(~ t2
(34)
where fl(O is the derivative of f(O. From (32) to (34) ~ at z = 0 may be evaluated
and introduced in (23), the following value for the constant T
24
'Y = 8 _ 31n3 = 5.1 (35)
is obtained, giving for the terminal velocity in dimensional form:
R d(J dTo
voo=---- (36)
5.1fl dT dz
410
3 Concluding remarks
The results obtained arc summarized by the analytical expressions (35) and (36) for the
terminal velocity. The final expression given here is analogous to the one obtained by
Young et al. [1] for zero Reynolds number (in the absence of gravity), the only difference
lies in the value of the numerical coefficient, which in their case is I = 2. Thus, it may be
noted that the convective transfer (thermal and mechanical boundary layer) reduce the
terminal velocity in accord with previous numerical analysis 4,5. According to expression
(36), our analysis gives the value 1;' = 0.196 for the dimensionless terminal velocity as
defined in 5. This numerical value agrees well with the results given by Szymczyk and
Siekmann [5] for Reynolds number of order of 100 and Prandtl numbers or order of unity
or larger. These numerical results [5] show that the nondimensional velocity decreases
with Reynolds number and it looks as though in the limit of Re infinity a value around
0.2 is reached (0.196 predicted by our model); as the Prandtl number decreases, higher
Reynolds numbers are needed to reach the above limit, this is also in agreement with
our model that requires that both the Reynolds and Marangoni numbers (Ma = RePr)
should be large. As a matter of fact for Pr = 0.01 and Re = 100 the numerical results
[5] give a nondimensional terminal velocity of 0.5 (viscous limit).
Recently, Shankar and Subramanian [4] have reported numerical results for the termi-
nal velocity for moderate values of the Marangoni number. A direct comparison between
their results and the expression (36) is not expected to be valid because in their analysis
only the convective heat transfer is retained and inertial terms are neglected (a zero value
of the Reynolds number), in contrast to the above analyses where both, hydrodynami-
cal and thermal boundary layers have been considered. However, their numerical results
[4] may also be used to validate expression (36) for the terminal velocity. In the range:
20 :s; Ma :s; 200 Shankar and Subramanian [4] have proposed the following equation (a
logarithmic fit) for the terminal velocity in dimensionless form : ~ = log~:!1.84' where M a
is a Marangoni number defined with the scale velocity Vo = voo;'. A good agreement (less
than 10 per cent) with the proposed value 5.1 is obtained for Ma 2': 100. The exact value
of 5.1 corresponds to M a = 530 which is outside the range of validity of the equation
proposed in [4]. Furthermore, it should be stressed that the result obtained here is ana-
lytical and predicts an asymptotic value of I for large values of Re and M a and for any
value of the Prandtl number of the liquid (as long as RePr » 1). On the other hand,
It must be noted that the result given here is similar to the one obtained in the problem
of the bubble motion in a gravity field, where as it has been shown in the classical work
of Levich [8], the high Reynolds limit and the Stokesian limit differ only in a numerical
factor.
411
References:
1. N. O. Young; J.S. Goldstein and M.J. Block., The motion of Bubbles in a vertical
temperature gradient, J. Fluid Mech. 6 (1959) 350-356
2. M. Hahnel, V. Delitzsh and H. Eckelmann: the motion of droplets in a vertical

temperature gradient. Phys. Fluids A 1 (1989) 1460-1466
3. R.S. Subramanian, Slow Migration of a Gas Bubble in a Thermal Gradient A.I.Ch.E.

.1.27 (1981) 646-
4. N. Shankar and R.S. Subramanian: The Stokes Motion of a Gas Bubble Due to
Interfacial Tension Gradients at Low to Moderate Marangoni Numbers. J. Colloid
Interface Sci. 123 (1988) 512
5. J. Szymczyk and J. Siekmann: Numerical calculation of the thermocapillary motion

of a bubble under microgravity. Chern. Eng. Comm. 69 (1988) 129-147
6. A. Crespo and F. Manuel: Bubble motion under reduced gravity. ESA SP- 191 June
( 1983) 45-49
7. D.W. Moore: The boundary layer on a spherical gas bubble. J. Fluid Mech. 23
(1963) 161-176
8. V. G. Levich "Physicochemical Hydrodynamics", Prentice Hall (1962)

Drop and Bubble Migration at Moderate Reynolds
and Marangoni Numbers
o. Langbein
Battelle Europe, Am Romerhof 35, 0-6000 Frankfurt 90
ABSTRACT
The migration of a drop or bubble in a fluid, onto which a

temperature gradient is being applied, is treated analytically.
The original calculation by Young, Goldstein and Block /1/
neglects the convective terms in the momentum equation and in
the energy equation. Accounting for these terms by perturbation
theory fails due to convergence problems. Numerical methods
have been applied instead. In this paper an Oseen-type method
is applied. Convergence is achieved by splitting the convective
contributions into terms proportional to the velocity Uo of
migration and terms proportional to the local flow velocity
udr). Inclusion of the overall convective heat transport
UooVT(r) into the homogeneous differential operator of the
energy equation entails representing the temperature field by
modified Bessel functions and convergence for Marangoni numbers
up to forty. Likewise, inclusion of the overall convective
momentum transport uooVu.(r) into the homogeneous differential
operator of the momentum equation causes a representation of
the flow field by modified Bessel functions and convergence for
Reynolds numbers up to forty. - For the case of equal physical
parameters of the migrating particle and the out8r fluid, an
exact analytical representation of the velocity of migration in
terms of an exponential integral is derived. Although this
situation may hardly be achieved, it enables a fair
extrapolation of the numerical results to large Marangoni
numbers. The velocity lio of migration decreases inversely
Rro2ortional to the Marangoni number. - The local contributions
u1oVT(r) and U1oVu(:C) to the convective heat transport and
momentum transport are treated by a Green's function formalism.
The resulting set of equations for the flow field and the
temperature field is solved self-consistently.
1 INTRODUCTION
If a drop or bubble is embedded in a fluid, onto which an

external temperature gradient is being exerted, it may diminish
surface energy by migrating to the hot side. The velocity of
H 1. Rath (Editor)
MlCfograVlty Fluid Mechamcs
© Spnnger-Verlag Berlin Heldelherg 1992
414
this migration is given by the difference in surface tension-Aa

along the surface of the drop or bubble over a linear
combination of dynamic viscosities llin and 1)ex inside and outside
the migrating particle.
The theory of Marangoni migration of fluid particles has first

been developed by Young, Goldstein and Block /1/. The momentum
equation, the energy equation and the capillary equation are to
be solved simultaneously. The two former equations are
simplified by neglecting the convective terms. The capillary
equation is omitted by assuming the fluiddynamic pressure to be
small compared to the capillary pressure, which is equivalent
to the change Aa in surface tension along the particle's
surface being small compared with the surface tension a itself,
IAal/a« 1. Under these premises one obtains for the velocity
Uo of migration
(-~o) 1) ex +1) in f ex
+ (1)
21) ex+ 31) in
where
do ~T = ~ 2R"VT (2 )
dT dT
is the change in surface tension and fex is an external force

(e.g. buoyancy) balancing the fluiddynamic force on the
particle.
2 MOMENTUM EQUATION AND ENERGY EQUATION
In a coordinate system moving with the migrating particle, the

flow field is stationary. Splitting off the overall velocity
-110 we put
(3)
where u1(r) is the local flow giving space to particle migra-

tion.
415
The temperature in the coordinate system considered rises uni-

formly. We have
(4)
where
(5 )
lC the external temperature field. The additional temperature

field caused by the migrating particle is denoted by T) (r) .
There is the stationary deformation of the temperature field
due to differing internal and external thermal conductivities
Ain and Aex' on the one hand. The continuous heating of the
migrating particle to the local temperature gives rise to a
long thermal wake behind the particle, on the other hand.
The momentum equation hence reads
(6)
It has to be solved subject to the continuity equation
Eq. (7) may be identically satisfied by deriving the flow

velocity u)(r) from a flow potential u)(r) according to
(8 )
In axisymmetric cases the flow potential has an azimuthal

component U.(r) only, which is known as stream function.
For the heat transport equation we obtain
(9)
416
3 LOW REYNOLDS NUMBERS AND LOW MARANGONI NUMBERS
Young, Goldstein and Block /1/ neglect the convecti'le terms on

the left-hand sides of Eqs. (6) and (9). Their treatment there-
fore is valid in the limits of zero Reynolds number and zero
Marangoni number only. Attempting to account for the convective
terms by perturbation theory, i.e. by iteratively substituting
the flow field and the temperature field obtained into the
convective terms and subsequent integration, one is faced with
a general convergence problem: The resulting flow fields and
temperature fields increase rather than decrease at large
distances r from the migrating particle /2-4/.
This divergence can be clearly attributed to the convective

terms containing the overall flow velocity uo • When the
temperature field Tl(t) and the flow field Ul(r) obtained in a
preceding step of the iteration are inserted into the
convective terms proportional to uo, the gradient lowers the
power of r by one. The subsequent integration, i.e. the
application of the inverse Laplace operator, however raises the
power of r by two. Thus, in each order of the iteration, which
also means in each order of the Reynolds number and the
Marangoni number, an additional power of r is introduced. In
contrast to this, no equivalent convergence problem is caused
by the convective terms proportional to u1(r).
In order to overcome the convergence problem, a matched

asymptotic expansion has been applied by Subramanian /5/.
Numerical solutions of Eqs. (6) and (9) for the migration of
bubbles in a liquid based on finite elements have been reported
by Szymczyk and Siekmann /6, 7/ and by Shankar and
Subramanian /8/.
417
4 SPLITTING-OFF THE OVERALL CONVECTIVE TRANSPORT
Convergence may be achieved analytically by applying an Oseen-

type procedure, i.e. by including the convective terms
proportional to the overall velocity which at large uo,
distances from the particle decrease only slowly, to the
homogeneous differential operators of Eqs. (6) and (9). This
involves treating uQ as a known parameter, which afterwards has
to be-determined self-consistently.
in that case the homogeneous solutions of Eqs. (6) and (9) are
given by
u<p ("" -{ -qvrcosO,~ m ( qv I

I I - e
) m e-qvrcosOk (q I) I-(m+l)}~p (cos{))
,I'm v' d{) m (10 )
piT] (O, -2qvm (m+l) I m- 1 Pm-l (cos{)) , 0, -2 qvm (m+l) I - (m+2) P m+1 (CoS{)) } (11)
(12 )
where
(13 )
equal half the Reynolds number and half the Marangoni number,
respectively. im(qr) and ~(qr) are modified Bessel functions.
im(qr) converges at the origin, i.e. inside the migrating
particle. ~(qr) converges at infinity, i.e. outside the
migrating particle.
In each order of the Legendre polynomials Pm( cos{), we have

obtained four representations of the flow potential, two of
them converging internally and two of them converging
externally. And we have obtained two representations of the
temperature field, one converging internally and one converging
externally.
418
5 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
From these solutions linear co~binations can be formed, which

satisfy the boundary conditions on the flow field and on the
temperature field across the particle's surface:
the radial flow velocity vanishes internally

the radial flow velocity vanishes externally
the tangential flow velocity is continuous
the internal and external tangential shear stresses differ
by the surface tension gradient
the temperature field is continuous
the radial heat flow is continuous
In the limit of zero Reynolds number and zero Marangoni number

there is no coupling of the flow fields and temperature fields
with different order m due to the boundary conditions. Six
boundary conditions for the four coefficients of the flow field
according to Eq. (10) and the two coefficients of the
temperature field according to Eq. (12) mean that all six
coefficients must vanish. The exception is the order m = 1,
where several inhomogeneous contributions arise.
The temperature field of order m = 1 yields the external

temperature gradient VT o , the flow field of order m 1
contains the overall velocity uo, and by integration of the
stress tensor renders the fluiddynamic force ! onto the
migrating particle. One is left with Eq. (1) between the
veloci ty tio of migration, an external force balancing the
fluiddynamic force onto the particle and the surface tension
gradient.
6 NUMERICAL SOLUTION FOR MODERATE MARANGONI NUMBERS
Satisfaction of the boundary conditions by means of the flow

fields (10) and the temperature fields (12) reveals that the
factors exp (-q.rcos{\") and exp (-q.rcosi)) couple fields with
differing orders m. The fields of order m generally have to be
taken into account in (m-l)st order of the Reynolds number and
419
of the Marangoni number. One may either evaluate the Taylor

series of the velocity of migration with respect to the
Reynolds number and the Marangoni number or satisfy the
resulting set of boundary conditions numerically.
In the following we restrict ourselves to the convective terms

of the energy equation. The reason is twofold:
For transparent liquids, where experimental observations

are easily possible, the Prandtl number is larger than 1,
i . e. the Marangoni number is larger than the Reynolds
number.
The numerical calculations on the migration of bubbles

r,~ported by Szymczyk and Siekmann /6, 7/ show, that the
flow velocity depends much more strongly on the Marangoni
number than on the Reynolds number. The reason for that
once more is the large Prandtl number of bubbles.
Fig. 1 shows the result of a numerical computation for

Marangoni numbers up to 40 and zero Reynolds number. It is
generally necessary to distinguish between the Marangoni
numbers Min and Mex calculated from the internal parameters and
from the external parameters, respectively. Figs. la to c apply
to the relative thermal conducti vi ties Ain/ Aex = 0.2, 1 and 5.
The different curves depicted in each diagram refer to the
relative Marangoni numbers Min/Mex = 0.2,0.5,1,2 and 5. In all
cases it is obvious that the velocity of migration strongly
decreases with increasing internal Marangoni number Min'
For Min/Mex = 0 we find no change of the velocity of migration

at all. Min/Mex 0 means zero heat capacity of the migrating
particle, e.g. a bubble in a liquid. In that case only little
heat is required to heat the particle to the local temperature.
The decrease of the velocity of migration mainly arises from
the fact that the migrating particle takes along a portion of
the outer fluid.
420
1.0
~
u(O) 0.8
OA
0.2 .1.,nI.1..x = 0.2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
exIIImaIMerengoni number Mex

1.0
~ .1.,rv'.1.ex = 1
u(O)
0.8
0.8
0.4
0.2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
exIIImaIMarangoni number Mex

1.0
~ .1.'nl.1..x =5
u(O)
0.8
0.8
OA
0.2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
exlllmalliarangoni number Mex
Figure 1 : Decrease of the velocity of particle migration with

increasing external Marangoni number Mex· The dif-
ferent curves depicted refer to the ratio of the
internal to the external Marangoni number
Min/Mex = 0.2, 0.5, I, 2 and 5. The ratio of thermal
conductivities is Ainl Aex = 0.2, 1 and 5 in (a) ,
b) and (c) , respectively.
421
For Min/Mex = 00 we find the velocity of migration rapidly to

decrease to zero. Min/Mex 00 means a high heat capacity of the
migrating particle, e.g. a drop in a gas. In that case, thermo-
capillary migration breaks down as soon as it starts, i.e. the
outer gas is not able to maintain the temperature gradient
along the drop's surface.
7 TAYLOR SERIES
The coefficients C(m,n) of the Taylor series of velocity of

rnigration
u(O,O) L C(m,n)Me~I:' ( 14 )
m,n==O
with respect to the external and the internal Marangoni number

have been calculated up to order m + n = 24. If equal external
and internal physical parameters are presumed, we obtain the
exact solution
log (2Mex ) +y-1

L
m=Q
(-1) m-l
(m+1) ! (m+1) (m+3)
3
2Mex
(15)
where y is Euler's constant y 0.577216.
The heavy line in Fig. Ib shows the velocity of migration

according to Eq. (15). Al though equal internal and external
parameters may hardly be achieved, expression (15) renders the
correct asymptotic behaviour at large Marangoni numbers and
thus enables a fair extrapolaton of the numerical results. At
large Marangoni numbers the velocity decreases proportional to
Mex -1.
8 SELF-CONSISTENT TREATMENT OF Uo
The general solution of the inhomogeneous Eqs. (6) and (9) may
be based on a Green's function formalism. The Green's function
applying to Eq. (9) reads
422
g(£') ~e -q.rcosf) k (q, r) (16 )

41t 0 K
The inhomogeneous solution of Eq. (9) hence is obtained from
Due to axisyrnrnetry, the angular integrations over r' can be

readily evaluated. Only the radial integrals require
application of numerical methods.
By neglecting the term (1i"j/K) .VTj in the integral in Eq. (17)

we obtain the temperature field shown in Fig. 2. Figs. 2a, b
and c refer to the Marangoni numbers Mex = 0.2, 1 and 5. It has
to be recalled that Fig. 2 depicts the isotherms of the
convective temperature field Tj (r), onto which the external
-..
temperature gradient VTo has to be superimposed.
The argument of the Green's function (16), as that of the

homogeneous solutions (10), (12), contains the velocity Uo of
migration, which is obtained after integration of the local
convective momentum transport and the local heat transport
only. Uo therefore has been determined self-consistently. Its
dependence on the Marangoni number is shown in Fig. 3. Again,
equal external and internal parameters, i. e. qex= qin and Aex =
Ain have been assumed. At small Marangoni numbers Uo decreases
as
( 18 )
At large Marangoni numbers Uo reapproaches and even exceeds the

value for zero Marangoni number.
With increasing Marangoni number, the local flow field uj(r)

around the migrating particle contains increasing contributions
of the Legendre polynomials Pm(cosfi) with m ~ 2. This however
only marginally affects the driving term Pj(cosfi). The
423
Figure 2: Temperature field in the vicinity of the migrating

particle for Marangoni numbers Mex = 0.2 f 1 and 5.
The homogeneous external temperature gradient has to
be superimposed.
1.02
~
u(O)
1 . 00
0.98
0.96
0.94
0.92
5 10 15 35 40
external Marangoni number Mex

Figure 3: When convective heat transport is taken into account
self-consistently, the velocity of migration
reapproaches and even exceeds its value for zero
Marangoni number at large Marangoni numbers.
424
contribution of Po(cos~), which equals the average temperature

of the migrating particle, decreases with increasing Marangoni
number due to the fact that the particle represents a moving
heat sink. It has to be heated to the temperature of the
surrounding fluid.
9 CONCLUSIONS
The migration of a drop or bubble in a fluid in the presence of

an external temperature gradient has been treated by including
the convective terms proportional to the overall flow velocity
~o into the homogeneous differential operators of the momentum
equation and of the energy equation. This implies representing
both the temperature field and the flow field in terms of
modified Bessel functions. The argument of the Bessel functions
is the radial coordinate scaled by the ratio of half the
velocity Uo of migration over the thermal diffusivity K and the
kinematic viscosity v, respectively. Since Uo at the same time
is the final objective of the calculations, a self-consistent
determination of Uo is required. The local contributions
UjoVT(r) and lijoVu(r) to the convective heat transport and
momentum transport are conveniently covered by a Green's
function formalism.
A small ratio Min/Mex of the Marangoni numbers means a low heat

capacity of the migrating particle, e.g. a bubble in a liquid.
A weak decrease of the velocity of migration with increasing
Marangoni number Mex results. A large ratio Min/Mex involves a
high heat capacity of the migrating particle, e.g. a drop in a
gas. In that case the outer gas is not able to restore the
temperature gradient, once Marangoni migration starts, i.e. the
migration rapidly breaks down.
The inclusion of the convective terms proportional to the

overall flow velocity Uo into the homogeneous differential
operators of the momentum equation and of the energy transport
equation means a further extension of Lamb's improvement of
Oseen's method to the latter equation /9/. As for the momentum
425
equation it is the fluid inertia at large distances from the

movinq particle, which is taken into account from the
beginning. As for the energy transport equation it is very
obvious that the migrating particle continuously has to be
heated to the temperature of the surrounding fluid. It
represents a moving heat sink, which gives rise to a long
thermal wake. Convergence therefore is greatly improved by
expanding the exact temperature field in terms of moving rather
than of resting multipole fields.
10 REFERENCES
/1/ Young, N.O.; Goldstein, J.S.; Block, M.J.: The motion of

bubbles in a vertical temperature gradient. J. Fluid Mech.
~ (1959) 350-356
/2/ Bratukhin, Yu.K.: Thermocapillary drift of a viscous
liquid droplet. NASA-TTF-17093 (1976) 833-837
/3/ 'rhompson, R. L.: Marangoni bubble motion in zero gravity.
Ph. D. Thesis, The University of Toledo, Toledo (1979)
/4/ 'rhompson, R.L.; De Witt, K.J.: Marangoni bubble motion in
zero gravity. NASA-TM-79250 (1979) 1-30
/5/ Subramanian, R.S.: Slow migration of a gas bubble in a
1:hermal gradient. AIChE Journal n.
(1981) 646-654
/6/ Szyrnczyk, J.: Berechnung der thermokapillaren Blasen-
bewegung in Flussigkeiten unter Schwerelosigkeit fur groI3e
Reynolds- und Marangoni-Zahlen. Diss. Universitat-G4-Essen
(1985) 1-112
/7/ Szyrnczyk, J.; Siekmann, J.: Numerical calculation of the
l:hermocapillary motion of a bubble under microgravi ty.
Chern. Eng. Cornrn. 69 (1988) 129-147
/8/ Shankar, N.; Subramanian, R. S.: The Stokes motion of a gas
bubble due to interfacial tension gradients at low to
moderate Marangoni numbers. J. ColI. Interface Sci. 123
(1988) 512-522
/9/ Prandtl, L.; Tietjens, O.G. (1934): Fundamentals of Hydro-
and Aeromechanics. Dover Publ., New York; Sect. 111
Capillary Effects Associated with the Motion
of a Droplet in a Homogeneous Medium
Yu.S.RYAZANTSEV and A.Ye.REDNIKOV
of the USSR Academy of Sciences
117526 Moscow, Vernadsky Avenue, 101, USSR
Summary
Recently, a number of works has been devoted to thermocapil-
lary effects for a droplet due to the factors which were not
noticeable in liquids at rest inside and outside the droplet
and became apparent only during motion of the liquids. These
effects are often appreciable and unusual. In the present
work, examples of such factors as uniform heat generation
(absorption) inside the droplet are considered in detail. The
analysis is valid for low Reynolds and Peclet numbers. Only
stationary situations are dealt with.
Introduction
It is well known that thermo capillary forces can play an im-
portant role in many earth phenomena and microgravity experi-
ments. After Young, Goldstein and Block (1] , thermocapillary
effects for a droplet have been associated with the presence
of an external temperature gradient. In the work (2), the
motion of a droplet with a surface exo(endo)thermal chemical
reaction in an originally homogeneous medium was theoreti-
cally analyzed. In this case, surface tension gradients
appear owing to the relationship between flow and mass(heat)
transfer, and the thermo capillary effects are appreciably
different from those in work (1]. Recently, new examples of
the thermocapillary and solutocapillary effects due to the
motion of a droplet in homogeneous surroundings were consi-
dered (for instance, [3-5).
In the present paper, the results obtained to date analyti-

cally at low Reynolds and Peclet numbers for stationary si-
tuations and dealt with the capillary effects are considered
H J Rath (EdItor)
Mlcrogravlty Fluid Mechanics
© SpTlnger-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1992
428
on the example of a droplet with uniform inside heat genera-

tion (absorption) as an inducing factor.
Statement of the Problem

A droplet suspended in another fluid is considered. Heat
sources (sinks) of constant intensity Cf,>O (tf~O) per unit
volume are uniformly distributed inside the droplet. The
thermocapillary influence of the unform heat generation ob-
viously becomes apparent only if the fluids have been set
into motion by some cause.
The causes promoting motion can be, for example, gravity

force or feedback between the flow and temperature fields.
It is these that are considered in the present work.
This feedback means that motion of the fluids and surface

tension gradients mutually support each other in such a way
that stationary motion, called autonomous, of fluids inside
and outside the droplet, and perhaps, of the droplet global-
ly, occurs in homogeneous surroundings in the absence of any
external forcing (along with the rest state). This means that
multiplicity of stationary regimes of the motion can take
place.
Principal Suggestions and Method for Solving
To deal with the problem, the following assumptions are used.

The fluids are immiscible, viscous and incompressible. All
their characteristics, such as the dynamic and kinematic
1
viscosi ties {tit ' Yi , the therma.l conducti vi ty i and
diffusivity Xt are constant, while the interfacial ten-
sion is linear with all possible entities, such a tempera-
ture, cocentration, etc. The index L = 1,2 here and after-
wards corresponds to the quantities outside and inside the
droplet respectively. The interfacial tension is large enough
to preserve a spherical shape of the droplet surface. The
flow and temperature fields are stationary and axisymmetric,
the symmetry axis passing through the droplet center and be-
ing parallel to the droplet velocity. Reynolds and Peclet
429
numbers are small, and in the general case of the same or-
der. The external fluid is of infinite extent.
The analysis is based upon solving the stationary Navier-

Stokes and energy equations. The solution for the flow and
temperature fields is constructed with the help of the
matched asymptotic expansions method. The flow field is des-
cribed in terms of the stream function 'l'i. [6]. The boun-
dary conditions are the usual ones for a droplet with ther-
mocapillary stresses at the surface (sec, for example, (41).
A frame of reference travelling with the droplet center and
the spherical coordinate system ("t., f}) are used, where the
radius ~ is measured from the droplet center, and the
angle -e is measured from some direction of the symmetry
axis taken as positive.
The Ground Approximation
The droplet translation at constant velocity in homogeneous

surroundings is considered. The zeroth approximation in low
Reynolds number (creeping flow approximation) is used, and
so, the Stokes equation for the stream function is solved.
But the zeroth approximation in low Peclet number is unsuf-
ficient to describe the thermocapillary effect, since the
temperature variation along the droplet surface cannot be
found. Therefore, the temperature field is developed up to
the first approximation.
Within the above statements and suggestions, the solution

for the flow field can be written on the basis of the gene-
J
ral solution contained in the book (6 as follows:
'fit "1ia{(!Y-~Ja/rl+~A~[(~r~ (,;r'JC,(r)

(1)
'f'2 ::~1tcf [(:r-(~YJ ~(r):~!h[{-!r~l(~rJ a~(r)

430
Here ~ is the droplet velocity along the positive direction

of the symmetry axis; ~ is the droplet radius; ~ = cos~ ;
J.J", (11.= 2,), ••• ) aLoe constants defined below; Ct,.,(rd( #1-=
= 2,), ••• ) are Gegenbauer polynomials of the first kind of
the order J1, and of the degree -1/2.
The expressions for the determination of the quantities tl,

A",. (h.t= 2,) ••• ) are
(J -ls fltJ.) ( #}-m1.)1Ja2+(~ -is" art)(m -~),4:l = 0 (2)
(~ - ..",,,,) .A-".. = 0
where the following notions have been introduced:
-.e == ~2. ~ =.13.
'XJ.) 11
+ i (3
i
=-
tl1 1
.1 - 1. 'iii
)
'" ~S
The equations (.3) mean that A",
= 0 for"'" :j: """.... , and is 1/-",
arbi trary for m = m"" ( "" = ),4 ••• ). The additional correla-
tion for the quanti ties U and 112 is supplied by the force
balance condition on the droplet. According to [6] ' the hyd-
rodynamical force is
ff' = 47t~J. AJl / fk
The sum of the force (4) and of some external force on the
droplet is to equal zero. So the constant ~ can be found,
and then from (2), the droplet velocity 14 •
The hydrodynamical force (4) can be rewritten using (2) as:
(~ -15 aiJ.)m+j+i (3
(* - ff:s~j}m-+J. +(3
u
As seen from (5) the hydrodynamical force on the droplet can
be either a drag or a thrust.
431
A qualitative consideration reveals that a thrust proportio-

nal to the velocity indicates to instability of the droplet
motion. Really, in this case, a slight departure of the drop-
let velocity from the equilibrium value results in a change
in the force on the droplet to promote the further departur~
Of course, the above speculation is not rigorous.
For additional details of consideration in the present sec-

t i on, see in(4,
5] •
The values ~~ ( ~ = 1,2 ••• ) are peculiar in a sense.

Really, when the parameter m is close to the value rn2,'
the droplet is to remain at rest (at least under the appro-
ximation involved) in an arbitrary uniform stationary gravi-
tational field, rather small. This thermocapillary effect can
be called the effect of thermocapillary neutralization of a
body force. When m? htj the hydrodynamical force (5) be-
comes small, while the droplet velocity under gravity tends
to infinity. When f')"J.-::: m-", ( ",= 3,4",), the constant AI't;
becomes indefinite.
If linear neutral stability analysis of the rest state of the

fluids inside and outside the droplet in the absence of gra-
vity and other forcing circumstances is carried out, one can
obtain these values as critical points. One can thus claim
that instability exists for certain.
Autonomous and Other Regimes of Motion

The instability found above sets one thinking that the rest
state of the fluids and droplet is not the only possible re-
gime of motion in homogeneous surroundings. The same is valid
for the motion regimes considered in the previous section on
the basis of the ground approximation. Note that with the
help of this approximation only, the other possible regimes
failed to be predicted. In this section they are derived only
for a small range of the parameters of the problem; namely,
for the parameter ~ in a small neighbourhood of the values
~~ ( ~ = 1,2 ••• ). The idea of such a development is that
432
in these neighbourhoods, the higher terms of the expansion

in low Reynolds and Peclet numbers are to be considered in
equations (2), (3) and in the expression (5). Since the new
equa tions obtained in such a manner from (2),") are to have
more than one solution in the general case, the other regim~
of the motion can be obtained.
Note that the results of this section are to be regarded as
only construction of different stationary solutions of the
problem. The question of when and how they are realized still
remains largely open.
Firstly, consider a free droplet, i.e. in the absence of ex-
ternal forces. The expression for the hydrodynamical force an
the droplet (5) concerning the next term of the expansion can
be written as
F':::; 4~ r t '" ( A + ..~~ ( S) 'U (6 )
j}-="[(~-Az.L)m+i-+ i rl [(~-;s-'diJ.)m+~-t~Ti
where the multiplier d. f u I J))

1. plays the role of a Rey-
nolds number here, p~ =- ~i. I'X, .
When wt. is close to Jn L ' the coefficient II-
is small,
so the two terms in (6) can be of the same order. Depending
on the signs of the coefficients A- and 6 , the four cases
of the force dependence on the velocity arise; they are rep-
resented qualitatively in Fig. 1A. The autonomous motion
exists in cases (b) and (c). Its velocity is
11A,1 <MC.i :::
J ttr
i ~J. (~ - ~ oae1 \ ~4..
'I 3S' I M.-
As seen from Fig. 1A(b,c), if the body force is small enough,
there are three stationary regimes of the motion with diffe-
rent absolute values of velocity. Only one stationary regime
remains with increasing body force.
433
Consider the situation in the vicinity of fY't2, • Herewith,

the equation (2) can be rewritten as
(~ -is ~j( WI- M 1 ') Ua 2 +(t .1s~J.)(m -m~) If;}. + (7)

-+- K~ A-~ / ( Yt " ).t =- Q
where K~ is some complex expression, not written here. Now
one can see that the droplet is not motionless under the body
force (as stated on the basis of the groud approximation),
but its velocity is much smaller than that of a usual dropl~
without heat generation.
Since the :1.ydrodynamical force is proportional to the coeffi-
cient ~~, equation (7) gives the hydrodynamical force de-
pendence 011 the droplet velocity as in Fig.1B (quali ta ti vely).
Herewi th, ~:or a given droplet velocity, three flow regimes,
and thus, three values of the force can exist.
Consider the higher modes ( n
= .3,4 ••• ) for motionless fluids
in the absence of any external forcing. The equations instead
of (.3) are now
(/ltIt - inhl') AI/, + fa "rv IIh2.= 0 ) (8)
(m- w\'~)A ~ + eJ1 ct i K-n, It: =: ()
where ~"'" ( I'V = J, 4 ••• ) are some complex expressions not

wri tten here .•
Equations (8) have multiple solutions, the first being ~~=o,
and the second being AI\.,. =- (Wf" ~ - ,..",,) ~ a./X",. The same
is valid for equations (9), but only i f {h1-In'~ )Ik", Co 0
the solutio:% are It"- = 0 and A.., =
J(rnlJ-"')I": v~a So .
apart from the rest, the autonomous motion can exist.
434
A F tL B F
Fig. 1. Hydrodynamical force against droplet

velocity
References
1. Young, N.O.; Goldstein, J.S.; Block, M.J.: The motion of
bubbles in a vertical temperature gradient. J.Fluid Mech.
6 (1959).
2. Ryazantsev, Yu.S.: Thermocapillary motion of a reacting
droplet in a chemically active medium. Fluid Dynamics 20
(.1985). Transla ted from Russian by Consultants
Bureau, New York.
3. Golovin, A.A.; Ryazantsev, Yu.S.: Drift of a reacting
droplet due to chemoconcentrational capillary effect. Flu-
id Dynamics 25 (1990). Translated from Russian
by Consultants Bureau, New York.
4. Rednikov, A.Ye.; Ryazantsev, Yu.S.: On thermocapillary
motion of a droplet with internal heat generation. Prik-
ladnaya Matematika i Mekhanika 53 (1989).
Translated from Russian.
5. Ryazantsev, Yu.S.; Rednikov, A.Ye.: The influence of heat
generation in a droplet on thermo capillary force. Tokyo:
Proc. of the 17th International Symposium on Space Techno-
logy and Science (1990).
6. Happel, J.; Brenner, H. Low Reynolds number hydrodynamics.
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1965.
Steady and Oscillating Convection Phenomena
Caused by an Air Bubble Beneath a Heated Wall
D. Raake and J. Siekmann
Lehrstuhl fur Mechanik, Universitat-GH-Essen, D-4300 Essen, F.R.G.
Ch. -H. Chun

Institut fur Experimentelle Str6mungsmechanik, DLR, D-3400 G6ttingen,
F.R.G.
1 Introduction
Many experimental investigations and numerical analyses on the thermocapil-

lary flow in the surroundings of hemispherical bubbles under a horizontal
heated wall have been carried out, mainly to clarify the role of this con-
vection in boiling heat transfer (McGrew et al. 1966, Gaddis 1968, Larkin
1970, Kao & Kenning 1972 and Huplik & Raithby 1972). Recently the interest
on the thermocapillary flow in the vicinity of bubbles attached to a heated
or a cooled solid wall has increased, particulary in context with microgra-
vity applications, e.g. problems of chemical engineering, material sciences
and liquid management in the space-laboratory and spacecraft.
Chun (1986) investigated the steady temperature and velocity fields
around a non-hemispherical, oblate air bubble in silicon oil experimen-
tally. Raake et al. (1989) extended the Marangoni number to higher values
and found the onset of the oscillatory convection as expected on the basis
of the analogy to observations in floating zone configurations by Schwabe
et al. (1978) and by Chun & Wuest (1979). In further continuation of these
works Chun et al. (1991) studied various oscillatory convection modes and
described these structures with respect to space and time.
2 Physical considerations and description of the experiments
For the given material properties of the test liquid and the air in the
bubble the convection phenomena are governed by the thermal boundary condi-
tions at the walls of the test chamber and by the geometrical shape of the
bubble. In our experiments the thermal boundary conditions at the walls are
controlled by heating the horizontal upper wall at a constant wall tempera-
ture and cooling the lower wall, kept at a lower constant wall temperature.
On the side walls the adiabatic condition is approximately realized as it
could be checked by the horizontal fringes of the interferograms. This
H J. Rath (Editor)
MlcrogravLty flUId MechaniCS
436
thermal situation yields a stable stratification of the density avoiding

buoyancy-driven convection.
However, once the bubble is formed ann the interface beLween air and
test liquid is present, the thermocapillary convection starts immediately,
and accordingly the stable stratification in the vicinity of the bubble is
disturbed and horizontal density gradients appear. The buoyancy force, in-
duced by the thermocapillary flow, is counter-acting the Marangoni force
near the interface. The coupling effect of these two driving forces results
in a slow-down of the coupled convection near the bubble interface compared
to the convection of the "pure" thermocapillary flow. For defining this
coupled convection problem of the bubble we use as a dimensionless group a
Marangoni number Mg, defined by
1/
Mg - Re • Pr (1)
a
as the product of the Raynolds number Re and the Prandtl number Pr. The
definition of these numbers follows immediately from eq. (1). Furthermore p
is density, 1 is a characteristic length for the Re-number, I-' is dynamic

viscosity, 1/ is kinematic viscosity, and a is thermal diffusivity of the
test liquid. A characteristic velocity of the thermocapillary flow, u mg ,
can be defined by
U mg - I 8aj8T I • I 8Tj8z I z-lmm • 111-' (2)
where the characteristic length 1 is properly defined, if u mg represents

the correct order of magnitude of the velocity of the interface as discus-
sed by Chun et al. (1991). Therefore we choose the bubble height zB as the
characteristic length for u mg . Moreover a denotes the interfacial tension,
T the temperature, and z the distance perpendicular to the wall. The geome-
trical bubble shape in our experiments is determined by the bubble volume
and characterized by the ratio of bubble radius rB to bubble height, rB!zB,
as the shape parameter.
The investigations were made with silicon oils of different viscosi-
ties in a test chamber with 100 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm inner dimensions
(w x h x d). The four side walls of this box were made of optical glass.
Top and bottom of the test chamber were made of copper. In the center of
the upper copper plate a very shallow depression was polished at the end of
the capillary opening with a connection to the syringe for the bubble
injection, to keep the air bubble in place. To achieve the stable stratifi-
437
cation, the fluid was heated from above controlling the copper wall tempe-
rature and cooled from below by a thermostatic cooling cycle.
The temperature in the test chamber was measured with a thermocouple
of 0.5 mm diameter which was traversed by a computer controlled stepping
motor. For the determination of the vertical temperature gradient IBTjBzl
in the viclnity of the upper wall, at z = 1 mm and r - 45 mm, empirically
determined relations for the temperature gradient and the temperature
difference between the upper and the lower wall of the test chamber, found
from many series of experiments, were used for the different test fluids.
The experiments were carried out with bubbles of various radii after a
chosen value of the temperature gradient had been adjusted.
For visualization of the unsteady flow, horizontal and vertical light
sheets and a schlieren interferometer with Wollaston prism were used. The
experiments with the light sheet technique were carried out with neutrally
buoyant hollow micro glass spheres as tracer particles (diameter ~ 0.1 mm)
whose density was matched with the density of the silicon oil. The light
sheet observations of the flow were made with light scattered from these
particles.
The movement of tracer particles in the meridian plane of the bubble
was studied with a vertical light sheet having a thickness of about 0.1 mm.
By using a horizontal light sheet with a 45° mirror arrangement under the
bubble, the tracer particle motion in different planes parallel to the
heated wall could be observed by traversing the experiment chamber verti-
cally relatlve to the light sheet. A schlieren interferometer with a Wolla-
ston prism has been employed to visualize the oscillatory density field.
3 Resul ts and Discussion
3.1 The bas:ic steady flow
With increasing temperature gradient, starting at zero, the steady basic

flow occurs, inducing a primary, axisymmetrical vortex near the bubble
interface followed by the secondary vortex and further vortex systems
beneath the air bubble as schematically shown in Fig. 1. By the coupling
effect of the buoyancy force with the thermocapillary flow the primary
vortex is reduced, while the secondary vortex is enlarged.
For quantitative description of the velocity field a special LDA-
arrangement for the measurement of low fluid velocities was used. The
magnitude of the flow velocities in the primary vortex is from 2 mm/s near
the bubble lnterface down to 0.1 mm/s in the outer regions of the vortex
438
and depends on the temperature gradient as the driving force of the thermo-
capillary convection. An example of a velocity field is presented in
Fig. 2.
Fig. 1: Particle paths in a vertical light sheet for the steady basic flow
(mirrored picture at the symmetry axis, taken from experiment with
silicon oil AK 5, v = 5.0*10- 6m2s- 1 at 25'C)
rB - 5 mm, rB/zB - 1.852, 18T/8zlz=lmm - 1.65 K/mm
r
B
6 mm; aT
GZ
I = -2.05B~
mm
z=lmm
2.0 4.0 8.0 B.O 10.0

0.0 i-~~--~~--~~--L-~~~~--~~--~~--L-~~ X
-1.0
-2.0
~.O
-4.0 J ,
mm
1-+1+I-+I....,IH-I+-+1-41_" -.-
-0.0 o 0.6 1 2
Z
Fig. 2: Velocity fields of the steady basic flow in silicon oil AK 5

439
3.2 Transition to the oscillating modes
Wi th increasing temperature gradient a transition to different oscillating

modes of convection takes place if using a test fluid with low viscosity
and low Pr-number (v - 0.65.10- 6 m2 s- 1 ; Pr ~ 5). An example for an oscilla-
tion is given in the sequence of interferograms shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3: Sequence of interferograms for wave number n 3 with horizontal

beam separation; rB - 3.5 mm, rB/zB - 1.4,
18T18zl z _1 mm - 1.23 K/mm
440
Between the steady fundamental state and the non-periodic regime two types
of oscillatory flows can be identified from the kinematic point of view.
The first oscillatory group is one with azimuthally and axially travelling
waves in the flow field and the other oscillatory pattern shows an azimut-
hally stationary but axially travelling wave. The first group can be
assigned to azimuthal wave numbers n ~ 1, and the second one to n - 0, as
discussed in more detail by Chun et al. (1991).
The investigated oscillatory motion of the thermocapillary convection
always begins with azimuthally travelling waves, having a wave number
n > 1. If higher heat fluxes were applied to the bubble, the wave number
increases until a region is reached where the transition to the second kind
of the oscillatory motion begins. This shift of the oscillation is going on
wi th a remarkable shift of the frequency and an increase of the axial
ampli tude of the oscillation and reduces the wave number to n ~ 1. These
modes (n - 0 and 1) are mainly selected at higher Hg-numbers.
Fig. 4: Photograph of path lines of tracer particles in silicon oil

AK 0.65 in a horizontal light sheet for wave number n - 1
rB - 6 mm, laTjazlz_l mm -1.41 K/mm, exposure time 120 s
In the center of the secondary vortex a concentration of tracer

particles occurs, which is clearly visible as an annular, ring-shaped zone
below the bubble in horizontal light sheets. The observation of oscil-
lations of this ring yields the basis for the discussion of the oscillation
441
modes. A light sheet photograph of stream lines of these tracer particles

is shown in Fig. 4 for the wave number n - 1. The sinusoidal shape of the
path lines, indicating an inward and outward motion of the fluid, is inter-
fered with a helical movement of the tracer particles.
3.3 Transition to the non-periodic regime
With further increase of the heat flux a transition into a non-periodic

(turbulent) regime occours, where the mode n - 0 is always the final oscil-
latory mode before this transition takes place for rather small bubbles
(rBizB :s 2.3). For rBizB ~ 2.3 the transition takes place directly from
the mode n-l. In the range of 1.6:srB/zB:s2.3 the mode n-l is
followed by the mode n - 0 with increasing MgorB/zB before the non-periodic
regime is reached. A simultaneous occurence of two modes giving an impres-
sion of the turbulence seems to be unlikely, according to our experiences.
However, the definition of the turbulence in our observation is a qualita-
tive one.
4 Conclusion and preview
From a large body of experimental data the steady state and the oscillatory
modes of the thermocapillary convection are clarified in terms of kinematic
structure in time and space employing the wave number as the ordering
element.
Some of the following important aspects remain to be investigated in the
future
to obtain experimental data comparable with theories based on the
linear stability concept. Experiments should be done by quasi-
stationary heating of the upper wall with bubbles formed under
isothermal condition beforehand,
the hysteresis behaviour of the mode selection for increasing and
decreasing of the driving thermal gradient,
extension of experiments on the transition from the steady into the
first oscillation modes at larger rB/zB ~ 1.5,
measurements of temperature oscillations with thermocouples located
around the bubble in order to achieve better accuracy in recording the
wave periodes tp.
442
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the German Bundesminister fur Forschung und
Technologie (BMFT) under administration of the Deutsche Agentur fur
Raumfahrt (DARA). The authors very gratefully acknowledge the experimental
assistance of P. Franke, A. Himmel, G. Hansmann and K.H. Menze.
References
Chun, Ch.-H.; Wuest, W. 1979: Experiments on the transition from the steady
to the oscillatory Marangoni convection of a floating zone under
reduced gravity effect. Acta Astronautica 6, 1073-1082
Chun, Ch.-H. 1986: Thermocapillary flow in surroundings of a bubble under a

heated wall. In: Proc. of 15th Intern. Symp. on Space Technology and
Science, 2127-2136. Tokyo
Chun, Ch.-H.; Raake, D.; Hansmann, G. 1991: Oscillating convection modes in

the surroundings of an air bubble under a horizontal heated wall.
Exp. in Fluids 9, (in press)
Gaddis, E.S. 1968: The Thermal Equilibrium of a Vapour Bubble on a Heated

Solid Surface. Ph.D. Thesis, Manchester University, UK
Huplik, V.; Raithby G.D. 1972: Surface-Tension Effects in Boiling from a

Downward-facing Surface. J. Heat Transfer 94, 403-409
Kao, Y.S.; Kenning, D.B.R. 1972: Thermocapillary Flow near a Hemispherical

Bubble on a Heated Wall. J. Fluid Mech. 53, 715-735
Larkin, B.K. 1970: Thermocapillary Flow Around Hemispherical Bubble.

AIChe J 16, 101-107
McGrew, J.L.; Bamford, F.L.; Rehm, T.R. 1966: Marangoni Flow: An Additional
Mechanism in Boiling Heat Transfer. Science 153, 1106-1107
Raake, D.; Siekmann, J.; Chun, Ch.-H. 1989: Temperature and velocity fields
due to surface tension driven flow. Exp. in Fluids 7, 164-172
Schwabe, D.; Scharmann, A.; Preisser, F.; Oeder, R. 1978: Experiments on

surface tension driven flow in floating zone melting.
J. Crystal Growth 43, 305-312
Applications
Distortions of Parallel Flow in Continuous Flow
Electrophoresis
M. S. BELLO and V. I. POLEZHAEV
Institute of Macromolecular Compounds,

Ac. Sci. USSR, Leningrad, USSR.

Ac. Sci. USSR. Moscow. USSR.
Summary
Fluid dynamics of contInuous flow electrophoresis is studIed
on the basis of the Navier-Stokes equations averaged over a
transverse coordInate. Development of a parallel flow at the
entrance ot the electrophoretIc chamber is discussed for the
case of zero-g conditions and the case of a body force exerted
on the fluid. The instability of the fluid flow in the chamber
related to the non-uniformity of the fluid viscosity is evalu-
ated analytically.
I. Introduction
Continuous flow electrophoresis (CFE) has been a subject of

experiments under mlcrogravity conditions since the
mid-seventies. It is a method for the separation of biological
mixtures consisting of particles which can move under the
combined influence of the electric and flow fields. The CFE
fractionatIon occurs In a parallelePlPed chamber of hlgh aspect
ratio (flg. I-a) wlthln a steady laminar parallel flow of
aqueous electrolyte solution called buffer. Attempts to
increase throughput and resolution of the method by increasing
the chamber width and concentration of the mixture fails due to
distortions of parallel flow under terrestrial condltions. The
distorting flows in a wide-gap CFE chambers are assocIated with
thermal lnstability and zone sedimentation [I). The experiments
of Rhodes and Snyder (2) and Naumann and Rhodes (3) have shown
extremely high sensitivlty of the fluid flow to temperature
gradient!>. Symmetric and asymmetric reverse flows have been
observed in the electrophoretic chamber [2J. The dlstortlons
H. J. Rath (Edltor)
I UTAM Symposium Bremen ]991
© Springer-Verlag Berlm HeIdelberg 1992
446
have been treated as a result of thermal instability caused by

temperature gradients at the chamber entrance [4].
2s
Ld1
'\.~/ z'/
/
~~
y'
0.125
1/ a '----_---'d
2l
Fig. 1 a - Sketch of the CFE chamber; b - Streamlines for

h/l = 6.4, Re = 200, a/l = 0.1. LId = 10, G = 0; c Stream-
lines and isotherms (dl for h / l 6.4, Re = 60, a / l = 0.5 ,
l/d = 15, G -7.5'10 5 , Pr = 7. a = 0.02
Our previous studies [5,6] have shown that other mechanisms of

reverse flow generation in wide-gap CFE chambers are posslble.
This paper discusses briefly our previous numerical investiga-
tions showing formation of a stream and symmetric reverse flows
at the wide-gap chamber entrance for zero-g conditions and for
parallel orientation of the chamber and the gravity force.
Using the same approach as in [6], the fluid flow and tempera-
ture field in the CFE chamber were calculated for non-parallel
orientation of the chamber and the gravity force and compared
with the previous results. Another part of this paper considers
an additional source of the chamber flow instability in micro-
gravity. A parallel flow of two liquld layers with different
viscosities in the chamber was considered as a model for inho-
447
symmetric reverse flows at the entrance of the chamber (Fig.

1-b). The flow characteristics depend on the Reynolds number,
aspect and expansion ratios [5].
It was shown that when the body force is not negligible and its
direction coincides with that of the axial flow, the flow
structure can be qUIte similar to that shown in fig. 1-b [6].
However, in this case the stream is produced by lateral tempe-
rature gradients which occur when the average temperature of
the entering fluid is different from that in the bulk of the
chamber. Asymmetry of the flow and the temperature field shown
in figs. I-c,d IS due to small deviation of the body force vec-
tor from the axial direction. Fig. 2 shows symmetric and asym-
metric axial velocity profiles calculated for two distances
from the chamber inlet.
*r-------------~------------,
- 1~----77----~~----~----~
-1.0 -0.5 0 0.5 1.0
z
Fig. 2. Vertical velocity profiles at y = 1.6 (a) and y = 3.2
(b) for hn 6.4. Re = 60, rid = 15. an = 0.5, G = -7.5'10 5 ;
solid line: a = 0.02; dashed line: a = o.
Note that thIS small angle of deviation (a = 0.02) leads to a

conSIderable flow asymmetry. The calculated asymmetric profiles
qualitatively agree with those measured experimentally [2].
Therefore, the approach presented here enables us to estimate
the influence of thermal convection on the parallel flow under
448
mogeneous flow of the buffer with the mixture. The instability

of the interface between the layers was studied analytically.
2. Mathematical Model and Governing Equations
We will now consider a rectangular chamber of a high aspect

ratio formed by front and rear cooling walls maintained at a
temperature Tw and by thermally insulated edge walls (fig.1.a).
Viscous. incompressible. homogeneous and electrically
conductive fluid is pumped through the chamber. It is assumed
that the electric field in the chamber is uniform and the Bous-
sinesq approximation for the Navier-Stokes equations is valid.
Conservation laws for mass. momentum and energy give:
'V 3 'V = 0 (1)
o'V ~3P 2
lIT + (V''V3 )V + V 'V3 V + g~(T -T) (2)
P w
2
pCp (V''V3 )T X ~3T + q (3 )
-
-;-1 a '7 a {j
'V3 ox' + J Oy' + k
az'
V being the fluid velocity vector. p the pressure. t the time.
g the acceleration due to body force. ~ the coefficient of
thermal expansion of the fluid. X the thermal conductivity. V
the kinematic viscosity. T the temperature. p its density taken
at a temperature equal to the temperature of the cooled chamber
walls Tw . q the heat generation rate. Cp the specific heat
capacity. x'. y'. z' the Cartesian coordinates. and i. j. k the
unit coordinate vectors.
The specific feature of the CFE chamber. even of the wlde-gap
chamber. is that its width 2d is much smaller than its length
2l and height h. This condition is used here and in [5.6] to
simplify eqs. (1-3) by neglecting the transverse velocity of
the flow and by representing the velocity components and tempe-
rature as follows:
vY,z (4)
T = 1 T
2 c
try' ,z' )'(1 - x,2/d2 .) + Tw (5)
(V> being the mean velocity of the fluid and T
c
the charac-
449
teristlc temperature difference: Tc = qd2 /X.

The substitution of eqs. (4)-(5) into eqs. (1)-(3). the
averaging over the coordinate x' and the representatlon of the
flnal result in dimensionless form give:
'V2 ' V 0 (6)
1 G -
riV 'V 2 P + Re
Lv + - tln (7 )
3Re 2
1
m't =
Re Pe
Ltl (8)
(v> 7. pc V
G Re , Pr --p-
V X
y = y'II, z = z'll.
G belng the Grashof number, aTo the difference between the in-
let fluid temperature To and the temperature of the wall Tw ' Re
the Reynolds number, Pr the Prandtl number, y,z the dimension-
less coordinates, n the unit vector of the body force forming
the angle a with the y axis, tl the dimensionless temperature
defined as follows [6]: t = (3aTolTc - 1)·tl + 1.
The boundary conditions for eqs. (6)-(8) were the no-slip and
adiabatic conditions at rigid boundaries; the axial velocity
and the temperature at the inlet were taken equal to 7./a and 1,
respectively. At the outlet the axial temperature derivative
was equal to zero, and the axial velocity was equal to unity.
EquatIons (6)-(8) were solved by a finite difference method
the details of which can be found in [5,6] and in references
cited therein.
3. Development of a Parallel Flow in the CFE chamber.
In a very narrow chamber lid »1 the fluid flow

becomes parallel outside the relatively short entrance region.
The length of the entrance region was shown to be independent
of the Reynolds number the aspect ratio and
logarithmically dependent on the expansion ratio all for large
lid [:,]. A weakening of the wall friction resulting from an
lncrease in the chamber width leads to formation of a stream and
450
microgravity environment. Our calculations showed that a de-

crease in G corresponding to microgravity makes thermal convec-
tion in CFE chamber negligible.
~ Stability of Parallel Flows
Injection of a mixture into the parallel buffer flow under

microgravity conditions can also lead to flow distortions owing
to the differences in the viscosities of the buffer and the
mixture. To study the nature of these distortions, we neglected
the influence of chamber boundaries and considered a parallel
flow of two liquid layers with different viscosities confined
by two infinite parallel plates (Fig. 3). Viscous interaction
of the layers was neglected in comparison with the wall drag.
I z
I
I
I
I
I 1'2
I
I
l v1 1 I I
I I I
I I I
L___ --\~)L---- -~ t
Fig. 3 Basic flow of two layers with different viscosities and
a disturbance of their interface.
Heat effects were also neglected, and eqs. (6,7) were assumed
to be valid for each layer. Thus, the following dimensionless
equations were used:
(9 )
Red i = 1, 2
where subscripts denote the layers, ~ the viscosity, m the vis-

cosity ratio, and (V>1 the average velocity of the first layer
451
used as the velocity scale. Unlike eqs (6-8), eqs. (9) use the
half-width of the chamber d and the ratio d/<V>1 as the length
scale and the time scale, respectively, because the chamber is
assumed to be lnfinite and effects of the edge walls, entrance
and outlet are neglected. The basic steady parallel flow of the
layers is given by
Viz O. i = 1,2,
1
(10 )
m
According to the theory of linear stability, eqs. (9) were
linearized, small disturbances of pressure, velocities and
lnterface between the layers were taken proportional to
exp ( tRY + st) for a comp I ex constant s and a wave number R
[7]. The real part of s is the time growth rate. It can be ob-
tained from the dispersion relation given by
o (11 )
For (Re d )1/2 R « 1 the real part of s can be represented as

follows:
!(m) 1 [ .......::::.8_-:::- 22 ] (12)

(m+ 1) (m+ 1 / 5m
o~_~~_~ __ __~ ~_~

1 6 11 16 21 m
Fig. 4 Dependence of the scaled time growth rate on

viscosity ratio
452
The function !(m) has a maximum at m ~ 4.33 (Fig. 4) The

maXlmum value of !(m) determines the most dangerous viscosity
ratio at which instability develops at a maximum rate The in-
stability considered above is a kind of Kelvin-Helmholtz insta-
bility differing from it in that the time growth rates depend
on the Reynolds number and the viscosity ratio.
5. Conclusions
The analysis of the fluid flow in the CFE chamber shows that an
increase in the chamber width and in the concentration of the
mixture can lead to parallel flow distortions even under zero-g
conditions. The mechanism of flow distortions consists in the
formation of a stream and reverse flows at the entrance of the
chamber and in the lnstability of the buffer and the mixture
flows caused by their different viscosities. The viscosity
ratio corresponding to the maximum growth rate of the flow dis-
turbances is approximately equal to 4.33. Thermal convection in
the CFE chamber caused by steady or slowly varying body force
is shown to be negligible in microgravity.
References
1. Todd. P. in: Low-gravity Fluid Dynamics and Transport Pheno-

mena. Koster. J.N.; Sani. R.L. (Eds.) Progress in Astronau-
tics and Aeronautics. 130 (1990) 539-602.
2. Rhodes. P.H.; Snyder. R.S. in: Materials Processing in the

Reduced Gravity Environment of Space. G.E.Rindone (Ed.)
New York: Elsevier (1982) 225-232.
3. Naumann. R.J.; Rhodes. P.H.: Thermal Consideration in

Continuous Flow Electrophoresis. Sep. Sci. and Techn. 19
(1984) 51-75.
4. Saville. D.A. in: (COSPAR) Space Research. Rycroft. M.J.

(Ed.) Oxford. New York: Pergamon Press. XIX (1979) 583-597
5. Bello. M.S .. Polezhaev. V.I.: Fluid Flow in Free Flow

Electrophoresis Chamber in Microgravity. Microgravity sci.
technol. 3 (1990) 3-7
6. Bello. M.S.; Polezhaev. V.I.: Thermal convection and fluid

flow in continuous flow electrophoresis. Microgravity Sci.
Technol. 3 (1991) 231-237.
7. Drazin. P.G.; Reid. W.H.: Hydrodynamic stability. Cambridge:

University Press 1981.
Propellent Management for Satellite Propulsion
System under Microgravity
Li Benru, Guo Shuling
Beijing Institute of Control Engineering
Summary
From application point of view two kinds of propellant

management devices have been developed in China, and one of
them has been used in communication satellite successfully.
In this paper a brief introduction about the simulation test
to PMD is given, and the PMD was designed based on these
results.
h Introduction
Used to store and support propellant, the propellant

tank is one of the unlacked parts in a propulsion system of
the satellite. There are pressurization gas and liquid
propellant in a tank usually. To f ire the engine, the
propellant must be pressed into the engine from the tank
outport by pressurization gas. It is required by the
propulsion system that no matter what condition only a gas
free propellant support can keep the system working
normally, otherwise an oscillation will happen, the system
efficiency will decrease, then the satelli te could not
operate on a predict orbit in a desired attitude.
It is well known, that under microgravity the motion

regulari ty of gas and liquid in a container is different
from under normal gravity. So not only theoretical analysis
but also experiment is nessary for a tank designer to
master the fluid mechanical rules and to find out a method
of liquid management under microgravity.
In order to develop Propellant Management Device (PMD)

for our satellite, both theoritical analysis and experiment
H 1. Ralh (Ed liar)

MlcrogravllY FluId MechanICS
© Springer-Verlag Berhn Heidelberg 1992
454
were conducted, and the following rules have been proved by

our work.
Under microgravity, an obvious character of fluid

mechanics is that the surface tension of the liquid becomes
an unneg1igib1e quantity compared with the other factors
such as gravity, resistance of air, solar radiation,
magnetic, inertia force caused by thrust and etc. It means
that surface tension, i.e. molecular force, rises to a
dominant force effecting the action of the liquid. This
results in:
. In the tank the slosh amplitude of the liquid

increases, and the slosh frequency decreases while the
engine is shutdown;
.The liquid propellant exists in a state of energy

minimum,formed big or small ball floating in tank, it could
not be positioned related to the tank. So, when engine is
started, geysering will happen seriously;
The large amplitute slosh and geysering both could cause

the liquid leave from the output area, which lead to the
difficulty for gas free propellant support .
. To hydrophilic liquid, the contact 3ngle between liquid

and container wall is between zero and n/2 , and in most of
cases, the contact angle between propellant and the wall of
metal tank is zero, when liquid is moving from one side to
another side in tank, it appears cl inging along the rigid
walls of the tank or other devices;
As a PMD, its first important function is to position

the propellant at the outport area of tank. The second is to
transport propellant to the outport continuously from any
part in the tank.
According to the application and stablization method of

455
the satellite, the type of PMD is quite different. Related

experiment should be carried out on ground or under
microgravity simulation condition to verify the theoritical
analysis.
In this paper, drop tower tests as a kind of means for

microgravity simulation were carried out for 2 kinds of
tank. The miniscale models were made of transparent
plexiglass, and an ionless water was taken as the test media
in both tests.
2. Experiment result QQ ~ pearform tank
A pearform tank used in a spin stabilization satellite

was tested first. The shape of interface between gas and
liquid, the flowing phenomena of the expelled liquid, the
gas ingestion and the critical volume of the residual liquid
at the moment of gas ingestion happening were determined.
These results provided very good evidence for the design of
tank, and the tank has been used on the communication
satellite of China sucessfully.
The results are shown (Fig 1).
As mentioned before gas ingestion is not allowed before

the tank drained out. The expulsion efficiency is calculated
in this way; when gas ingestion happened, the liquid height
is measured from the film got from the test by a high speed
camera, the residual volume of the liquid could get, the
ratio of residual volume to tank volume is the expulsion
efficiency. ( Fig 2).
~ Experiment results on ~ surface tension tank
Suface tension management device can prior position the

liquid at the outport of tank.
A sphere shape tank with a kind of surface tension

Propellant Management Device was tested. From the test
456
following results were obtained such as the equilibrium

position of the gas-liquid interface, the response of the
interface to engine firing, the expulsion efficiency of the
tank and the phenomena related to liquid slosh and etc ..
3.1 From the test results, the propellant could cover the
outport of the tank throughout the draining period,
expulsion efficiency in about 99%.
3.2 The equilibrium position between gas and liquid

interface coincides with the theoretical analysis.
3.3 The motion regularity of the interface between gas and

liquid and liquid resettle action were observed under the
given gravity condition.
L Conclusion
From engineering point of view, microgravity simulation

test has verified the theori tical analysis to microgravi ty
fluid management under normal temperature, which provides
the very good evidence for satellite propellant tank.
457
liqu id
Figure 7 The phenomena of gos ingestion

under microgravity in the tonk
tt o-=--
·0--- .:
~Q:
-
oas
x iquid
(/) Microgravity without disturbance (2) Microgravity with disturbance
Figure 2 The shapes of interface between gas

and liquid under microgra vity
1 Hasica, W.J., Petrash, D.A. and Otto, R. W., "Hydrostatic

Stability of the Liquid Vapor Interface in a Gravitational
Field, "NASA TND 2267, May 1964.
2 Blatt, M.H .• and Betts, W.S. ,Jr., "Low Gravity Propellant

Control Using Capillary Devices in Ldrge Scale Cryogenic
Vehicles, "Twentieth Monthly Progress Report, Harch 10,1970.
Fire Modelling under Microgravity Conditions
A. CRESPO
E.T.S. Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
J. HERNANDEZ
E.T.S. Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad de Murcia
Paseo Alfonso XIII 36, 30071 Cartagena, Spain
Abstract
It is shown that, under microgravity conditions, the dominant mechanisms of fire spread
are radiation and forced convection due to a ventilation system. A burning object is
supposed to pyrolize because of the heat radiated from the flame, and the resulting velo-
cities of the evaporated gaseous fuel can be of the same order of magnitude of the ambient
ventilation velocity, which is relatively small; the mixing region and the flame are then
at a finite distance from the burning object. Infinitely fast chemistry is assumed, and
the flame i 3 a surface inside the mixing region. The thickness of the mixing region near
the forward stagnation point is much smaller than the size of the body and increases
downstream with distance, until far enough it occupies a region of the order of the size of
the body. The initial part of the mixing region can be analyzed using a boundary-layer
approximation, and the downstream region is considered as a self-similar, fully-developed
jet or wake. From typical orders of magnitude of the involved quantities it is found that
a significative part of the mixing region can be laminar. Simple expressions are obtained
to calculate the characteristic parameters of the fire.
1 Introduction
Fire is one of the most important hazards in technological activities, and microgravity
research in space laboratories should not be an exception. Mathematical models are
extensively used in fire research; they are usually ofthe zone type (Emmons [1], Mitler [2]),
in which the fire compartment is divided in several 'zones', one of them being the flame.
Gravity is one of the dominant mechanisms in fire spread; therefore, under microgravity
conditions cJternative approaches to the classical ones should be used. In this work a flame
model is presented to be used as a basis for the future development of a compartment
fire model in microgravity. This flame model is described in the next section and shown
schematically in Figure 1: the burning body is surrounded by a mixing region whose
thickness is small compared to the body size until a region far enough downstream is
reached, where both become of the same order.
The ambient air velocity due to the ventilation system is supposed to be responsible
for convective transport. As this velocity is low, significative parts of the mixing region
could be laminar, the flame will be long, and typical residence times will be large. The
low air velocity could also be of the order of the pyrolization velocity of the burning
H J. Rath (EdItor)
MlcTogravlly FlUid MechaniCS
lUTAM Symposium Bremen 1991
@Sprmger-Verlag Berlm lIeldelberg 1992
460
Air "- - - - - - -
------
-----
Fuel
------------ -----
Figure 1: Schematic showing the flame model
body, resulting in a considerable detachment of the flame from the body surface; then,
the only mechanism of feed back of heat from the flame to the body is radiation. Due
to the large residence times, soot formation and radiation cooling are enhanced in flames
in microgravity, which show significant changes in color and luminosity when compared
to normal gravity flames [3]. Then, radiative heat transfer to the body is expected to
be more important than in normal gravity, although the flame temperature would be
smaller because of the larger radiative energy losses. In Section 3 the balance between
radiative heat transfer and vaporization heat at the body surface is used to estimate the
pyrolization velocity; then, ideal flow theory is used to calculate in first approximation
the flame position.
The mixing region is thinnest in the forward stagnation point, where the largest gra-
dients of mixture fraction could lead to flame extinction. This possibility is investigated
in Section 4. In laminar flows, typical conditions seem to be far from extinction. Bahadori
and Stocker [3] argue that larger radiation cooling in microgravity is also responsible for
the observed quenching at the tip of the flame; this other effect has not been considered
here, but it is expected to produce shorter flame lengths than predicted.
In Section 5 the far-downstream mixing region, where the flame tip is located, is
investigated. The character of this region depends strongly on the ratio of the densities
of air and fuel. The value of this ratio is uncertain: on one hand the gaseous pyrolization
products are supposed to have a larger molecular weight than air, and on the other hand
their temperature is also larger.
2 General description of the model

A schematic describing the model is presented in Figure l. There is a uniform air stream
of velocity U oo and density Poo incident over the burning object, which is vaporizing with
a velocity Vv and a density Po. In order to simplify the analysis the body is supposed to
be a sphere, and the problem axisymmetric. Fuel and oxidizer meet along a dividing stre-
amsurface whose position is calculated in first approximation using ideal theory, resulting
a Rankine half-body. The ventilation velocity U oo is low, of the order of 10 cm/s, and it is
assumed to be of the same order of magnitude of the vaporizing velocity Vv; consequently,
461
the distance of the dividing streamsurface to the body is of the order of the body radius.
The heat needed for the vaporization of the body is transferred by radiation from the
flame, which is imbedded in the streamsurface. Sufficiently far at the rear of the body the
ideal theory predicts that the dividing streamsurface, and consequently the flame, would
be a cylinder of radius bo extending to infinity.
If diffusion is taken into account, fuel and air will meet along a mixing layer of finite
thickness, whose inner structure is analyzed assuming infinitely-fast, one-step chemical
reaction; Prandtl and Lewis numbers for all species equal to one; constant specific heat
at constant pressure, and that the thickness of the layer is much smaller than its length.
Laminar mixing can also be assumed in a significative part of this layer near the front
stagnation point. For a typical body size of the order of 10 cm, and downstream distances,
s, of this order, the Reynolds number is of the order of 1000, giving a typical thickness
of the mixillg region of U.1 to 1 cm and a Reynolds number based on this thickness of
10 to 100, thus justifying the laminar flow assumption around the stagnation point. The
typical diffusion time is of the order of 1 s, which is expected to be much larger than
typical chemical reaction times. In the limit of infinitely fast chemistry all the mass
fractions of all the components can be expressed as functions of the mixture fraction Z;
this can also be done with the temperature if radiation losses are neglected, although
this assumption is less justified in a large fire, particularly in microgravity. Tamanini [4]
assumes instead that the radiated power is a constant fraction, (, of the heat of reaction;
then, the temperature and density can also be expressed as known functions of Z. The
flame will be the surface where Z is equal to its stoichiometric value, Zst.
The ideal theory will be a valid approximation if the layer thickness is much smaller
than bo; for downstream distances of the order of and even much larger than the body
diameter, do, this approximation is expected to hold. On the other hand, for sufficiently
large values of s or x mixing will occur across the whole wake in a fully developed fashion
with self-similar profiles of the flow magnitudes.
3 Inviscid model
Let us assume that the overall heat transfer by radiation from the flame to the body can
be expressed as /Ofu(TJ - T~)7rcPa, where /Of is an average value of the flame emissivity,
considering the flame as an emitting and non-reflecting surface enclosing the body, which
is assumed to be a black body. The average velocity of the fuel leaving the body surface
will then be
/Ofu(TJ - T~)
Vv = QvPo . (1)
Using Modak's procedure [5], the value of /Of could be obtained from the composition
and properties of the hot gases in the mixing layer, whose governing equations will be
described in the next section. However, there still remains the problem of calculating the
soot volume fraction in microgravity. The flame temperature is given by
Tf = Too + Yooo/rs
1 + Yooo/rs
[To - Too + Q(l -
cp
0] . (2)
If Vv were uniform over the body surface, the ideal flow solution would be the supe-
rposition of a source at the origin and a uniform stream with a doublet. However, there
462
is more radiation from the rear of the flame were the mixing region is thicker and tf
is also larger, so that Vv would also be larger in the back of the body. This situation
is better approximated with the superposition of a uniform stream and a single source,
omitting the doublet. With this simplification, there is a favorable pressure gradient and
no boundary-layer separation in the body is expected.
Due to the different densities of fuel and air, the ideal flow solution has a discontinuity
in velocity and composition, but not in pressure, along the streamsurface separating fuel
and air. Inside it, the flow field is the superposition of a source of intensity
(3)
and a uniform stream of velocity
_
Uo - U oo
(Poo )1/2 , (4)
Po
and outside is the superposition of a uniform stream of velocity u= and a source of
intensity q(po/ p=)1/2. The equation of the dividing streamsurface is
(5)
which, for x -+ 00, tends to a cylinder of radius
(6)
The velocities along the dividing streamsurface in the air side and in the fuel side are,
respectively,
T1
Yint -
_ T1 (P=)1/2 .
Vext - (7)
po
4 Thin mixing layer surrounding the body

The laminar boundary-layer equations describing the initial region of the mixing layer are
the following:
au s aus av.,xt a ( aus
pusa;+pwTz=poov.,xt---a;-+ az pTz)' (8)
aZ aZ a aZ
pusa; + pw az = az (pD az ), (9)
a a
as (pusT) + az (pWT) = 0, (10)
p=J(Z). (11)
This system of equations can be solved, with the appropriate boundary conditions, to
estimate the overall characteristics of the mixing layer and the flame.
In this section the extinction conditions of the flame near the stagnation point are
discussed. Flame extinction occurs when the dissipation rate of the mixture fraction
X == 2D 1"\7 Z 12 at the flame, Xst, exceeds a critical value Xq. In the analysis of Lilian [6] for
463
counterflow diffusion flames an expression for Xq is obtained assuming Lewis number equal
to one, constant density across the flame, and strain rate equal to the value corresponding
to the external inviscid flow. However, due to density variations across the flame, a jet is
formed in the region of higher temperature, and the strain rate is increased at the flame
location. Also, if Lewis number of fuel and oxidizer are not equal to one, the combined
effects of the nonuniform strain rate due to density variations and the variation of flame
location due to non-unity Lewis number, make the actual value of Xst different from that
obtained from Linan's analysis. On the other hand, the value of Xq obtained in [6] is still
valid if density-variation effects are retained, but is not longer applicable for non-unity
Lewis numbers.
Kim and Williams [7] have performed an analysis of the counterflow mixing of two gas
streams having different temperatures, with density changes taken into account, which
can be apphed to study the extinction conditions near the stagnation point. We have
applied this model to flames with different values of Zst, strain rate a and Pool po, and for
Lewis numbers equal to one. From Eqs. (8) to (10), introducing the similarity variable T)
and the non-dimensional stream function F( T)) as defined by
(12)
(13)
where a = dVext/ds Is=o= uoolbo, and assuming Poo/1oo = Po/10, the following equations are
obtained:
F'" + FF" = ~(F'2 - p;), (14)
Z"+FZ' = o. (15)
The boundary conditions are
F'(oo) = 1, Z(oo) = 0; F'(-oo) = (POO)I/2, Z(-oo) = 1. (16)

Po
Due to the indeterminate flame position, a further condition, i.e. F(O) = 0, should be
added to solve these equations.
From the previous equations, Xst = 4(u oo /b o)Z;;. Although the effect of density va-
riation across the layer is to increase the factor Z;7,
for typical conditions mentioned in
Section 2, Xst turns out to be smaller than Xq for some gaseous hydrocarbons (of order
of 10 S-I). However, although Xq for pyrolization products is unknown, and may be
of a lower order, conditions for laminar extinction seem difficult to be reached before a
transition to turbulence occurs downstream.
5 Flame in the downstream region

In the downstream region, the ideal theory predicts the formation of a coaxial jet of fuel of
diameter bo and velocity uo, immersed in an external air stream of velocity U oo (see Figure
1). Due to diffusion effects, the streamsurface separating fuel and air becomes a mixing
region whose thickness grows with downstream distance x. Three regions can be identified
464
(Abramovich [8]): an initial region where the mixing thickness is much smaller than bo, a
transition region, and a fully-developed mixing region, extending to infinity downstream,
where the cross profiles of mixture fraction and other flow quantities are self-similar. The
flame is the surface of stoichiometric mixture fraction, and, for small values of Zst, as it
is the usual case, the tip of the flame will be located in the fully-developed region. Only
this region will be studied, although this means that the origin of x will be undetermined
in a distance which is much smaller than the flame length L.
Three limiting cases are considered to study this region:
a) Turbulent jet: Poo ~ Po, so that U oo ~ Uo.
b) Turbulent wake: Poo ~ Po, so that U oo ~ Uo. In the case that the difference between
U oo and Uo is not small, or even when U oo ~ Uo, it is expected that the convective terms
may be linearized taking u = U oo for large enough values of x.

c) Laminar wake: for the limiting case of Poo = Po (and consequently Uo = u oo ), the
solution of the previous case becomes singular, giving an infinite value of L and zero
turbulent velocity. This case is then studied assuming laminar mixing. If the molecular
diffusion coefficient is substituted by a turbulent one, the results of this case can be
extended to the case in which the fuel and air streams are both turbulent before mixing.
5.1 Turbulent mixing

Cases a) and b) are studied using the results of Peters and Gottgens [9], particularized
to a non-buoyant situation and extended to cases with Uo < Uoo . The diameter of a cross
section and the area averaged velocity and mixture fraction are defined by
(17)
(18)
, roo
Poc,11Zb 2 = 2 Jo puZr dr. (19)
Conservation of momentum and mixture fraction are expressed by the equations
PooU(U - uoo )b 2 = pouo(uo - uoo)b~, (20)
PoouZb2 = Pouob~. (21 )

The following entrainment law is used to predict the spreading of the mixing region:
(22)
Eliminating the velocity between Eqs. (20) and (22) and integrating, the following equa-
tion is obtained giving b(x):
(23)
{
K = I, U oo < uo, y > 0,
K = -I, U oo > Uo, y > 1.
465
The parameter y is the non-dimensional radius of the mixing region,

b
(24)
y = 2bo 11 - Uoo/uo 11 / 2 •
For f3 it is suggested [9] the value 0.23(Pst/ Poo)I/2.

Substituting b(x) into Eqs. (20) and (21), it(x) and Z(x) are obtained. The tip of the
flame corresponds to the position where Zcl(L) = Zst. It is suggested [9] that the ratio of
the centerline and average values of Z is 2.42, so that the flame length satisfies
Z(L) = Zst/2.42. (25)
Turbulent jet
If Uo ~ Uoo , then y <t:: 1, and in Eq. (23) the first term will be dominant, giving
(26)
It is also expected that it ~ u oo , and from Eqs. (20) and (21) it is obtained
it = UO(~)1/2~, (27)
Pst 0.23x
Z = (Po )1/2~, (28)

Pst 0.23x
and from Eq. (25) the flame length can be calculated
(29)
Turbulent wake
If Uo and Uoo are nearly equal, so that t =Il-u oo /uo 11 / 2 is a small parameter, then y ~ 1,
and in Eq. (23) the third term of the l.h.s. will be dominant, giving
(30)
it will be nearly constant, equal to U oo , and, from Eq. (21),
(31)
Then, from Eq. (25) the flame length is obtained
(32)
5.2 Laminar wake

If t = 0, Eqs. (30) to (32) are singular, the r.h.s. of Eq. (22) becomes zero and the wake
doesn't grow. It may be shown that this term is proportional to the turbulence velocity,
and if t = 0 there is no turbulence generated by shear, so that the diffusion process will
466
either be laminar or associated to the turbulence that the fuel and air jets would have
before mixing.
The conservation equations for mass, momentum in x direction and mixture fraction
will be
o(pu) + ~ o(pvr) _ 0
(33)
ox r or - ,
ou ou 0 ou
pur- + pvr- = -(rf-l-), (34)
ox or or or
oZ oZ 0 oZ
pur- + pvr- = -(rpD-), (35)
ox or or or
for the three unknowns u, v and Z. As it was stated before, p = J(Z). Taking into
account the boundary conditions for u, the solution of Eq. (34) is obviously u = uo = u oo .
A similarity variable based on the Howarth-Dorodnitzyn transformation has been chosen:
~ = f; pr dr u, (36)
PooDooxC
where C is the Chapman-Rubesin parameter, which is assumed to be constant,
lDr2
C = ----'---- (37)
PooDoo f; pr dr
If Z is supposed to be of the form
Z = G(O/x, (38)
introducing Eq. (38) into Eq. (35) the resulting equation for G(O is
_ d(~G) = .!!.-(~dG) (39)

d~ d~ d~·
The solution of Eq. (39) satisfying the condition Z -+ 0 for r -+ 00, is canst· exp( -0.
The constant is determined by the condition that the total flux of Z should be equal to
that at the initial section, as expressed in Eqs. (19) and (21), giving
Z = b5 u o exp( -~) .
(40)
2DooC x
The flame length will then be
(41 )
6 Conclusions
A model has been presented that describes the behavior of a flame in a fire in microgravity
conditions, and gives simple analytical expressions to calculate the characteristic magni-
tudes. Quite long flames are obtained from Eqs. (29), (32) and (41), indicating that in
practical situations the flame could not be fully developed because it would be larger than
the compartment. The possibility of flame extinction has also been investigated, and it
does not look possible in laminar conditions. This model is ready to be incorporated in a
more general fire model.
467
7 Acknowledgments
This work has been made under contract ESP88-0586-C02 of the Space Research Program
of the 'Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia' of Spain. We are very grateful
to professors 1. Da Riva, A. Linan and F.A. Williams for their encouragement and fruitful
discussions.
8 Nomenclature
a Strain rate
b Radius of the downstream mixing region
bo R"dius of fuel jet
cp Specific heat at constant pressure
C Chapman-Rubesin parameter
do Diameter of burning body
D Diffusion coefficient
F Non-dimensional stream function
G(O Defined in Eq. (38)
L Flame length
q Source intensity
Q Heat of reaction per unit mass of fuel
Qv Heat of vaporization of fuel per unit mass
r Radial cylindrical coordinate
rs Stoichiometric ratio
s Coordinate along dividing streamsurface (origin at the stagnation point)
T Temperature
Tj Flame temperature
To Temperature of fuel
Too Temperature of ambient air
U Velocity in x direction
u A verage value of U in cross section
Us Velocity in s direction
Uo Velocity of fuel jet
U oo Air velocity
v Velocity in r direction
Vv Vaporizing velocity of fuel
Yint Internal velocity along the dividing streamsurface
Vext External velocity along the dividing streamsurface
w Velocity in z direction
x Axial coordinate (origin at the center of the burning body)
y Non-dimensional radius of mixing region (Eq. (24))
Yooo Mass fraction of oxygen in ambient air
z Coordinate normal to s
Z Mixture fraction
Z Average value of Z in cross section
468
Centerline value of Z
Stoichiometric mixture fraction
Spreading rate parameter
Small parameter, Eq. (30)
Emissivity of the flame
Fraction of Q to account for radiation losses
Similarity variable in stagnation point
Viscosity
Similarity variable for laminar wake
Density
pst Density of stoichiometric mixture
po Fuel density
Poo Air density
(J' Boltzmann constant
Scalar dissipation rate of Z
Scalar dissipation rate of extinction
Stoichiometric X
Stream function
References
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Transfer, 105, 151-158, 1983.
[2] Mitler, H. E., "The Physical Basis for the Harvard Computer Fire Code,"
Home Fire Project Technical Report 34, Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard
University, 0-91, 1978.
[3] Bahadori, M. Y., and Stocker, D. P., "Oxygen Concentration Effects on Micro-
gravity Laminar Methane and Propane Diffusion Flames," 1989 Fall Technical
Meeting. The Eastern Section of the Combustion Institute, 71- 1 to 71-4, 1989.
[4] Tamanini, F., "An Integral Model of Turbulent Fire Plumes," XVIII Symp.
(Int.) on Combustion, 1081-1090, 1981.
[5] Modak, A. T., "Radiation from Products of Combustion," Fire Research, 1,
1521-1531, 1979.
[6] Lilian, A., "The Asymptotic Structure of Counterflow Diffusion Flames for
Large Activation Energies," Acta Astronautica, 1, 1007-1039, 1974.
[7] Kim, J .S. and Williams, F.A., "Theory of Counterflow Mixing of Fuel with Hot
Reaction Products," Meeting of the Western States Section of the Combustion
Institute, 1990.
[8] Abramovich, G., "The Theory of Turbulent Jets," MIT Press, 1963.
[9] Peters, N. and Gottgens, J., "Scaling of Buoyant Jet Turbulent Diffusion Fla-
mes," to be published in Combustion and Flame, 1991.
Thermal Scaling of Two-Phase Heat Transport
Systems for Space: Predictions Versus Results
of Experiments
A.A.M. DELIL
National Aerospace Laboratory NLR, Space Division

P.O. Box 153, 8300 AD Emmeloord, Netherlands
Summary
Measured low-gravity two-phase flow pressure drops are compared with ther-
mal gravitational modelling and scaling predictions, as a first step to as-
sess the possibilities of the modelling and scaling approach and to define
experiments with the NLR ammonia test rig for the development of the capil-
lary pumped ESA two-phase ammonia experiment (TPX) in Get Away Special 557
and of the mechanically pumped ESA two-phase R114 heat transport system.
Nomenclature
A area m2 Pr Prandtl number

Cp specific heat J/kgK Q power W
D diameter m q heat flux W/m 2
Eu Euler number Re Reynolds number
Fr Froude number S slip factor
g gravitational acceleration m/s2 T temperature K
H enthalpy J/kg v velocity m/s
h heat transfer coefficient W/m 2K We Weber number
h heat of vaporisation J/kg X vapour quality
kR;\7 thermal conductivity W/mK z axial coordinate m
L length m CI. vapour fraction
M molecular weight kg/mol f::. difference, drop
Ma Mach number Jl viscosity Ns/m 2
Mo Morton number a surface tension N/m
m mass flow rate kg/s 11 dimensionless number
Nu Nusselt number p density kg/m3
p pressure Pa=N/m 2 v angle with g- vector rad
Subscripts
P prototype m momentum
M model p pore
c condenser s entropy
f friction tp two-phase
g gravitation v vapour
g, liquid w water
H.l Rath (EdItor)

Mlcrogravlty FluId Mechanlcs
470
Introduction
Scaling gpRce-oriented two-phase heat tr~nspcrt systems (components) i~
done to develop reliable space systems whose proper non I-g performance can
be predicted using results of experiments with scale models on earth. Sca-
ling considerations can be useful also for in-orbit technology demonstra-
tion (predicting proper performance of space heat transport systems using
outcomes of in-orbit experiments on model systems having reduced geometry
or different working fluids) or for defining in-orbit experiments to ex-
clude gravity-induced buoyancy effects, for a better understanding of mel-
ting, diffusion, crystal growth, etc. The magnitude of the gravitational
scaling varies with the objectives from to 10- 4 g for terrestrial scaling
of orbiting spacecraft, 1 to 0.16 g for Moon base and to 0.4 g for Mars
-2 -4
base systems, 10 or 10 to 1 g for excluding gravity-induced distur-
bances on physical phenomena under investigation, low-g to another or the
same low-g level for in orbit technology demonstration.
Even in single-phase systems scaling is not a simple problem, since flow
and heat transfer are equivalent in the model and the prototype system only
if the corresponding velocity, temperature and pressure fields are iden-
tical. Dimensionless numbers can be derived either from the conservation
equations for mass, momentum and energy or from similitude considerations,
based on dimension analysis. Identity of the velocity, temperature and pres-
sure fields is obtained if these dimensionless numbers are identical in
model and prototype system.
Scaling two-phase systems is much more complicated because, in addition to
the aforementioned fields, the spatial density distribution must be consid-
ered and also because geometrical scaling makes sometimes no sense e.g. as
dimensions as bubble diameter and surface roughness are system independent.
Previously presented similarity considerations [1] identified the set of 18
dimensionless numbers shown in Table 1. These ~-numbers describe the phy-
sical phenomena involved. If all dimensionless numbers are identical in
prototype and model, there is perfect similitude, perfect scaling. It is
evident that this is not possible for two-phase flow and heat transfer: the
phenomena are too complex, the number of important parameters is too large.
Fortunately also distorted scaling can be useful. Therefore a careful esti-
mation of the relative magnitudes of the various effects is required: ef-
fects identified to be minor, make the identity of some ~-numbers to a su-
perfluous condition. Therefore a first step in scaling two-phase systems is
identifying important physical phenomena to obtain the ~-numbers for which
471
TABLE
Importance of TI-numbers in the various loop sections [I]
Liquid Parts Evaporators Non-liquid Condensers

heating swirl Lines
adiabatic cooling capillary vapour /2-phase
51l"1 -
Tf2=Re~ ..
oIL ,. geometry
(O;D/]..I) 1, = inertia/viscous
··· ··· ··· ·· ···
·
-I.
·· ·· ·· ··
113 '" Fr £ '" (v /gD~l = inertia/gravity
TI4 = Ell R, (/::"pjpv ) R- .. pressure head/inertia
·· ·• ··
"5 "" cos J '"' orientation with respect to g -I.
11& "" S '" Elipfactor = vv/v R,
°v ip t
·· ··
117 density ratio
·
= =
'!fa '"' viscosity /8t10 '" Vv/\.l£,
·· ·· ··
1f'j = Wet'" Cpv 0/0) 1, = inertia/surface tension -I.
TllO'" Pr.2. "" (Cpv/ k ) ,
··· ··
1f11'" Nu i = (hUlk) i = convective/conductive
Tl12"" kv/kR, " thermal conductivity ratio
·
1 j S Cp)Cp t - specific heat ratio
· ··
'If
·
n1l." lili/h =0 enthalpy number"" X '" quality
tv 3 4
·
1T15- MOl'" (p£O /\.ltgi,; capillarity/buoyancy -I.
vI capl ap)
·· ··
'If Ib= Ma =
2 1/3'
TI17= (~/~,) (J,g)
1118= L ptShi:\/kt1JR,(T-To)
identity is required. Distortion will be permitted for TI-numbers of less

important phenomena. Table 1 also shows the relevance of the different TI-
numbers in the various sections of a two-phase heat transport system, e.g.
the ESA TPX for Get Away Special G-557 depicted in figure 1 [2].
Some remarks can be made. Thermal conduction is important for liquid metals
only. For other fluids forced convection heat transfer overrules conduc-
tion. Hence TI10 to TI12 are not critical. TI16 can be neglected, since system
maximum power and line diameters correspond with flow velocities far below
local sonic speeds. Concerning TI3/TIS: inertia overrules buoyancy, in pure
vapour flow, in low-gravity environment and in horizontal liquid lines on
earth (v + TI/2). Hence there is TI-number identity for these sections in
low-g prototype and terrestrial model, if the latter has a horizontal orien-
tation. In the porous capillary evaporator surface tension forces (2a/D )
p
are dominant over inertia (TI9 + 0), hence the evaporator exit quality ap-
proaches 1 and gravity is not important for the vapour sections. TI14 redu-
ces for equilibrium conditions to TI14 = X (vapour quality)= mv/(mv + m~).
Important conelusions can be drawn now. The condensers and the adiabatic
two-phase lines, are crucial in scaling with respect to gravity. They deter-
mine the conditions for the evaporators and single-phase sections. In adia-
batic two-phase lines under low-gravity conditions shear forces separate
472
the phases, leading to annular flow (fast moving vapour core and slowly mo-
ving liquid annulus for the lower flow rates. For increasing flow rate the
slip factor increases introducing wavy annular/mist flow). Such a behaviour
is reported [3,5] to occur for vapour fraction a > 0.76, within the range
29 < p /p < 833. It was confirmed during KC-135 experiments [4,7]: annular
R. v
flow is the only flow pattern observed in adiabatic lines for X ~ 0.13. The
above confirmation can be easily verified using the a-X-relation
(l-a)/a (1)
while inserting the simplified Zivi correlation for the slipfactor [8]
S (2)
leading to
(3)
a,"
EVAPORATORS
I
a,"
HLATERS FOR
o p .'
u
,•,
Oe"RIMINGa MOw · ~
il'RIE _HEATirtG
p.. • 103 ~tlml
T,
•• ~•
a"",
• 10--3 Ph/",'2
,. l' .3_10- 2 NJIft
• • ,. '.Im/12
II.: (I.-X)'
•,,
L
a OU1
,ol"----r--r-l ";
Ffl~ · tD · ~ 7·;:X2}
OIU-WA'I'
...... lyE
& FllMfRlVUtET
OIME - WIlY
V"'!.VI:
----
'DO
CORING BU!Ii8LV
ur' ,00 10' I 10 3 10'

FlUERVOIFl ~MQt/MoWi . FI IP ------'"
Fig. 1: Two-Phase Experiment Baseline Fig. 2: Flow pattern map for

[2] vertical downward flow [9]
473
Similar behaviour can be predicted for vertical downflow on earth, as it

follows from the map for downward two-phase flow: figure 2 [9J. The two-
phase Froude number used is defined by
Fr (4)
tp
When comparing low-g and vertical downward terrestrial flow one has to cor-
rect the latter for slip factor reduction by gravity (assisting the down-
flowing liquid layer). Anyhow, vertical downflow is the preferred two-phase
line orientation for a terrestrial model because of the axial-symmetric
flow pattern.
Similar conclusions can be drawn for the straight condenser. For a swirl
type condenser the orientation is expected to be far less critical because
of inertia effects (like in a swirl evaporator). In the condensers the flow
will change from pure vapour via wavy annular mist to pure liquid flow.
Two-Phase Pressure Drop Equations
An important quantity in two-phase experiments, is the pressure drop e.g.

in adiabatic sections and in condensers. Since these sections are consi-
dered crucial for two-phase system modelling and scaling, we focus on pres-
sure drops in condensing and adabatic flow. The discussion is restricted to
straight tubes, assuming that the heat removal is uniform, which implies
for the local axial vapour quality X(z)
X(z)/Xentrance = 1 - Z/Lc' (5)
LC being the total condensation length. As gravity-induced separated flow

in horizontal tubes leads to heat transfer coefficients far above low-g
annular condensation, restriction is made to annular condensation in low-g
and vertical downflow on earth.
The friction pressure loss is [10]:
(dp(z)/dz)f
with local quality X acc. (5).

474
The momentum pressure loss is [10]:
(dp(z)idz)m
B = 2 for laminar, B = 1.25 for turbulent (liquid) flow.

dX/dz -xentrance /L c .
The gravitational component is [10]:
(dp(z)/dz)
g
(8)
The total pressure drops along a condenser follows from
L
c
f [(dp/dz)f + (dp/dz)
m
+ (dp/dz) ]dz.
g
(9)
o
For calculating pressure drops in adiabatic lines the same equations can be
used, keeping in mind that (dp/dz)m approaches zero (which means a negligi-
ble vapour quality gradient in the adiabatic flow).
Quantitative Considerations
Figure 3 shows the relative magnitudes of the contributions to the local

pressure gradient, according to equations (6) to (8), for 0.04 kg/s Rl14,
flowing in a straight condenser with uniform heat removal. The line dimen-
sions are the dimensions of KC-135 experiments [5] i.e. length 1.83 m,
I.D. 15.8 mm. Calculations were done for - 15°C and 64.3 °c, the latter
being the KC-135 experiment temperature. The curves show that at 64.3 °c
gravity is dominant for qualities below say 0.6, the impact of gravity de-
creases with decreasing temperature (hence terrestrial experiments at very
low temperatures properly simulate low-g normal operating temperature con-
ditions, especially in adiabatic lines where the momentum drop vanishes),
low-g curves can be obtained by shifting the 1-g curve the appropriate num-
ber of decades, momentum loss is almost independent of the quality and is
important only for the lower quality range in a low gravity environment.
475
t 10- 1 10- 1
. -... C
i
pt1Pw·510
!
~
...
~t' ·51
10- 2 FAICTION 10- 2 UD -118 fAICTIQN"
':'E ':'e
::; M
.;;-
.
Q GIllAVITV '"~
Q
{ 10- 3 N
10-4
••..,. C
Ptlpw _21..s
10- 1 Slllll,,-'. 10- 1
L,ID ·n•
.1 .3 .5 .7 .9 .1 .J .5 .7 .9
)(OFlI- :rIle X OR I - llLc _______
Fi!;. 3: Pressure gradients versus vapour quality and axial position,

for 0.04 kg/s Rl14 flowing through a straight condenser tube
(length 1.83 m, diameter 15.8 mm) 64.30 C and -15 0 C resp.
Figure 4 compares measured low-gravity pressure drops [5] with predictions

calculated according to the equations presented. Two sets of curves are
shown i.e. for the experiment mass flow rates 0.044 and 0.04 kg/so Each set
consists of three curves i. e: one for pure friction, one for friction plus
-2
the reduced gravity (10 g) pressure drop, one for friction minus the re-
duced gravity pressure drop. The comparison shows that predictions and ex-
periments agree well. Deviations are due to the fact that annular model
predictions can not represent bubbly/slug flow of low quality and pure mist
flow at high quality values.
I>P IPII
'<00
10IIII
600 • 1(C-115 1"-.2. EXPERIMENTS

10". 11
- PURE '::IIItCTION
- - FllltCTHJN ... GflAVI'TV ( 10 -l.)
--- FRICTION - GRAVITY 110-1,1
100
.' .3 .5 .7
QUALITY X
.9
Fi,;. 4: Comparison of measured and predicted adiabatic pressure drops

476
Scaling Experiments Definition
To support the development of the ESA TPX, experiments will be carried out
using the NLR two-phase test rig: figure 5 lllJ. This ammonia rig, having
the same line diameter as the TPX loop, can be used for development, tes-
ting and calibration of TPX components and for scaling low-gravity adiaba-
tic and condensing flow as discussed in the preceding section (terrestrial
low temperature vertical down flow minimises the impact of gravity, hence
simulates low-gravity behaviour).
X 2WAVVALVE T••
tK 3-WAY V"tYE
-0 CONfIICl VALVE
--m ON/ OFf; VALVE
-{ MAN UAL VALVE

___ SAJ:ETY VALVE
'VALVE
CIEJ Sl'RUIG- L.ClADED SAFETY VAlve
I!J FILTER
CE:J V,fJIQUIII QUALITY SENSOFI
-
PRIE:$S.U III [ SENse III
0 TEM.PERATUR!E :U;8S0ft
0 FLOW METEI';
TfilANSI'AREM' SECTIOII
FLOW DllllEcnON
LIQUID LINE Ii UQUID Anun LIlliE
V.t.PQull , TWO.f1I...u LINE
DATA LINES
PaSSI au EnE QlOIlil
Fig. 5: Schematic of ammonia test rig (11)
In addition to previously presented scaling examples [1], we can identify a

very useful scaling application of the above ammonia test rig, using the
3 4 ~
temperature dependence of the groups g*M0R, or PR,o /~f and (o/PR,) (Fig. 6).
The figures show that a full size low-gravity « 10 g) two-phase system,
like the mechanically-pumped Rl14 ESA Two-Phase Heat Transport System (Fig.
-2
7 [12]) can be adequately scaled by the ammonia test rig, since the 10 to
10-3 g, Rl14 prototype and the terrestrial ammonia model have approx. iden-
tical Morton numbers and this fluid to fluid scaling leads towards a corre-
sponding length scaling Dp/DM = (~/ gp) ~ (0/ PR,)!/ (0/ P R,)~ '" 4.5 to 6.5,
which is in agreement with the ratio of the actual diameters (21 mm for the
Rl14 prototype, 4.93 mm for the ammonia model).
477
Qi.Mo a PtoJ/lJt4
1...- 2)
0.001
1~ ~~1±00~2~00~~~~4oo~~!00~~~~1±00~8oo 100 200 ~ 400 SOO ~ 100
TEMP€RATURE IDC) TEMPERATURE 1°C)
Fig. 6: The groupings P£cr3/~£4 and vo/P£ for various fluids, as a function of
the temperature [1]
X l-WAV VALVE
t:K J-WAY VALVE
-0 CONTROL VALVE
-co ON / OFF VALVE
-f MANUAL VALVE
SAFETY VALVE
-I VALVE
CEJ SPRING -LOADED SAFetY VALV E
[!] f lLTEA
(9 VAPOUR QUALITY SENSOR
® PRESSURE SENSOR
CD nMPERAlURE SE.NSOA
® FLOW METER
TRANSf'AREIfT SECTION
""""""" flOw DIRECTION
UQUIIl LI NE A LIQUID RfTURN LINE
VAPOUR /TWO ·'H.t.SE LINE

DATA LIN ES
POSSII LEE XTENSION

FILL AAO VI!HT
' 'r'fT ~''
Fig. 7: Reference configuration of the ESA Two-Phase Heat Transport System

[ 12]
478
Conclusion
Two-phase pressure drops measured in low-gravity environment agree well

with predictions resulting from the modelling/scaling approach discussed.
The mechanically pumped NLR two-phase ammonia test rig offers limited pos-
sibilities for scaling the ammonia TPX, but a promising scaling application
for the ESA mechanically pumped two-phase Rl14 heat transport system.
References
1. Delil, A.A.M.: Two-phase heat transport systems for spacecraft. Scaling

with respect to gravity. NLR TP 89127 U, SAE 891467, SAE 1989 Trans.,
J. Aerospace, 98 (1989) 554-564.
2. Delil, A.A.M., et al: TPX: Two-phase experiment for Get Away Special
G-557. 21st Int. Conf. Environmental Systems, San Francisco, July 1991.
3. Crowley, C.J.: Discussions of the slug-to-annular flow pattern transi-
tion for microgravity conditions. Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 15 (1989)
657-677.
4. Dukler, A.E., et al: Gas-liquid flow at microgravity conditions: flow
patterns and their transitions. Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 14 (1988)
389-400.
5. Chen, I.Y. & Downing, R.S.: A reduced gravity flight experiment:
observed flow regimes and pressure drops of vapor and liquid flow in
adiabatic piping. AIChE Symp. Ser., 84 (1988) 203-216.
6. Chen, I., et al: An experimental study and prediction of a two-phase
pressure drop in microgravity. AlAA 89-0074, AlAA 27th Aerospace
Sciences Meeting, Reno, Jan. 1989.
7. Hill, D.G., et al: Reduced gravity and ground testing of a two-phase
thermal management system for large spacecraft. SAE 881084, 18th Int.
Conference on Environmental Systems, San Francisco, July 1988.
8. Zivi, S.M.: Estimation of steady-state void fraction by means of the
principle of minimum entropy production. Trans. ASME C, J. Heat
Transfer, 86 (1964) 247-252.
9. Oshinowo, T. & Charles, M.E.: Vertical two-phase flow, Flow pattern
correlations. Can. J. Chem. Engng., 52 (1964) 25-35.
10.Soliman, M. & Schuster, J.R. & Berenson, P.J.: A general heat transfer
correlation for annular flow condensation. Trans. ASME C, J. Heat
Transfer, 90 (1968) 267-276.
11.Delil, A.A.M. & Heemskerk, J.F.: Test loops for two-phase thermal
management system components. NLR TP 90155 U, SAE 901272, 20th Int.
Conference on Environmental Systems, Williamsburg, July 1990.
12.Dunbar, N. & Siepmann, R.: European two-phase heat transport technology.
SAE 901271, 20th Int. Conf. Environmental Systems, Williamsburg, July
1990.
Experimental Study of Capillary Effects for Fluid
Management under Microgravity Conditions
M. Dreyer, A. Delgado, H.J. Rath

Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity
University of Bremen, W-2800 Bremen 33, FRG
Abstract
The transient rise of a liquid under microgravity into a capillary gap formed by two
parallel plates of breadth b and distance a is studied experimentally and theo-
retically. The experiments were performed in drop tower runs of the FALLTURM
BREMEN. The theoretical approach via Bernoulli's equation is outlined in some detail.
The results show good agreement between the theoretical and experimental data.
Introduction
The primary design objective for a surface tension tank is to cover the tank outlet
with propellant whenever outflow is demanded. This ensures that only the propel-
lant, and none of the pressurisation gas, will leave the tank until the propellant is
nearly depleted. Surface tension propellant management systems consist of devices
to establish propellant flow under low acceleration levels to the outlet from whe-
rever the bulk liquid is located in the tank and to hold enough propellant to sup-
port all engine operations when the acceleration on the tank is not settling liquid
over the outlet [1]. During the 4.74 seconds of the drop tower flight we have inves-
tigated the liquid inflow in a special vane. The vane is configured to form a liquid
column between two parallel plates which provides the flow path. Under micro-
gravity conditions the fluid rises into the capillary perpendicular to the previous flat
fluid sudace. The drop tower operation (step from 19 to zero-g) simulates the low
acceleration level after firing of the thruster for satellite path control.
Formulation and Analysis
Consider a liquid column moving under its own capillary pressure in a gap of rec-
H J. Rath (Editor)
Mu:rogravlty FlUid MechanlC~
IUTAM Symposium Bremen [991
CO Spnngcr-Verlag Berlm lIeldelberg 1992
480
tangular cross section. The geometry and the system of coordinates is shown in
figure 1.
[ross section
between 3 and 4
..2 [ross section

between 4 and 5
1 9 surface -
l4--L..-L--<C-.....'--L--L-f-"---<---<'--''--''--.L-...L..I 0 9 su r fa ce ••• •
Figure 1: Geometry and the system of coordinates of the experimental setup
As a result of earlier performed experiments and analysis [2] the reservoir is de-
signed to fit the boundary conditions of the theoretical model. In the new design
the curvature in the reservoir and the volume of fluid to be included in the analysis
are better known. For the following equations, a list of symbols is provided at the
end of the paper.
The Bernoulli equation for unsteady incompressible flow reads:

s
J Cit~uds+.!.(u2-U2)+.!.(P
2 s t PSt
-p)+g(z -z )+.!.6pls=o
S t Pt'
(1)
t
Evaluating the first integral yields

5
J~~ ds = z[z + Zo + As 0/At +12/A3 )]. (2)

481
relating all velocities to the meniscus velocity dz/dt (equals u.) and setting
A.IA, ~ O. The second term of (1) reads
(3)
assuming u1 to be zero because of the relation As/Ai "" O. The Gauss-Laplace

equation for the pressure difference across the curved liquid surface for the outer
annulus can be approximated as:
(4)
assuming the contact angle to be zero. For the inner area one must distinguish
between the rectangular closed area 134 and the open cross section 145 .
closed area (Sa)
open area (Sb)
For complete ly wetting fluids, the Friz formula [3] is a good estimation for the dy-
namic contact angle:
cos~=--------~--~~~-- (6)
213 1/2
[1 + 11.S6(z1]/0) ]
The third term in equation (1) now becomes
1 1 +20(--) 1
1
-20cos~ (-+-) for zs;x-z.,
1 (p _p ) = a b R-r (7)
pSi _20(cos~_1) +20(_1_) for z>x-z •.
a b R-r
Assuming vanishing gravity, the fourth term in (1) equals zero. For the pressure
drop due to dissipation, one must take into account three terms: pressure drop at
the entrance, head loss in the rectangular channel and the capillary gap.
For the pressure drop at the tube entrance we write
.6p I3 = ~£z2
2 . (8)
The loss coefficent ~ for the rectangular inlet (ab) is assumed to be 0.62 ... 1.28, ac-
cording to the loss coefficent for the parallel plates and cylindrical tube, respecti-
vely. The pressure drop due to laminar friction for the rectangular channel reads,
482
from [4]
(9)
The pressure drop in the capillary gap is computed from laminar flow between pa-
rallel plates
121] ( z-x+z ) Z.
= --u (to)
o .
cp a
The pressure drop now reads
a +-
9.121] {- b}2. P .2
zz + ~-z for z,;x-zo,
1
- L>p I =
P 1
5
1 ab 2
2
(11)
9.121] {a+b}x7o + 121] (z-x+z)7o +~£702 for z>x-z o .

ab cp 2a2 0 2
The equation for the acceleration of the fluid volume now reads from eqs. (1)-(11):
j
2
1 1 1
20cos(x(a+1»-20(R_r)-9.121] {a + b}.
----;;:b 70 2
zz-(1+~)2 forz,;x-zo
.. 1
z=- 2
z+~5 1
20(~- -b) -20(-R )-9.121] - -
1 {a+b}. 121] . 70 2
xz ---u(z-x+zo)z-(t+~)-2 forz>x-zo
a -r ab cp a
(12)
and cos 0:= ----~---;2::-/-:-:3:-:1--,/:::-2 .

[1+11.56(701]/0) ]
Integrating twice eq. (2) using a Runge-Kutta method with the initial conditions
for t=O:z=z=O yields the graphs in figures 2 -4. The program runs were performed
with different ~ (Ksil and cp (Phil- factors for the entrance pressure loss and the
form factor of the wetted area, respectivly, as stated in the parameter field.
Experlmenu
The weightlessness environment was obtained in a drop tower (FALLTURM BRE-

MEN) with a useable height of 110 meters that yields a free-fall time of 4.74 se-
conds. Air drag on the drop capsule was kept to the order of to- 4 g (g .. gravity
acceleration) by evacuating the drop tube to a pressure of 1 mbar.
The liquid under investigation was contained in a cylindrical plexiglass tube (R=50
mm) with the capillary gap (a=5mm, b=20mm) mounted inside as shown in fig. 1.
483
Meniscus height [mm)

300 ,---------~----------------------------------~
Parameter:
250
Ksi/Phi- 1.011.0
Ksi/Phi- 0.75/1.0
200
Ksi/Phi- 0 .75/0.9
+ Ex perimen!
150
100
50
0 +-~-----+--------~------~-------4------~
o 2 3 4 5
Time [sec)
Exp. and computed data for SF 0.65 cSt
Figure 2: Experimental data for Silicon fluid 0.65 cSt compared with computed results
Meniscus height [mm)

300 .---------~------------------------------------~
Parameter:
250
Ksi/Phi- 1.0/1.0
Ksi/Phi- 0.75/1.0
200
Ksi/Phi- 0.75/0.9
+ Experiment
150
100
50
0 +-~------r-------~--------~--------4-------~
o 2 3 4 5
Time [sec)
Exp. and computed data for SF tOO cSt
Figure 3: Experimental data for SF 1,00 cSt compared with computed results
484
Meniscus height [mml

300 ~--------~------------------~--------~-------.
Parameter:
250
KsilPhi • 1.0/1.0
Ksi/Phi • 1.0/0.9
200
Ksi/Phi • 1.25/0.9
+ Experiment
150
100
50
0 +-~-----+--------+--------+--------1-------~
o 2 3 4 5
Time [secl
Exp. and computed data for FC-77
Figure 4: Experimental data for FC-77 compared with computed results
The cylindrical (r=20mm) inlet was designed to establish a calculable surface in the
outer annulus. The rise of the meniscus into the capillary gap was observed with a
video camera and a photocamera. Figure 5 shows two photographs of silicon fluid
1,00 cSt after 1.1 and 2.4 seconds.
The liquids used in this investigation are Dow Corning 200 Silicon Fluid 0,65 cSt
and 1,00 cSt and FC-77. A small amount of color was added for better visibility of
the fluid meniscii. The properties of the test fluids are:
p [g/cm 3 ] o [mN/m] 11 [cP]

Silicon fluid 0,65 cSt 0,761 15,9 0,5
Silicon fluid 1,00 cSt 0,818 17,4 0,818
FC-77 1,78 15 1,424
As figure 5 shows, the capillary gap is filled with fluid up to the meniscus. At the
485
border of the gap one notices a small shadow due to a curvature of the free sur-
face. This is taken into account by the factor cp for the area between the plates.
The shape of the meniscus at the top is semicircular in the paper plane as assum-
med for the calculation. At the bottom a small amount of liquid is located at the
outer side of the capillary plates.
Figure 5: Photographs of rising silicon fluid after 1.1 and 2.4 seconds
Conclusion
Good agreement between experiments and the calculation is reached. The slope and
the character of the penetration velocity of a liquid in a capillary gap is predictable
by the theory. The entrance pressure loss factor for a rectangular inlet is not
exactly known. Values between 0,75 and 1,25 were assumed for the calculations.
Further investigation is needed to explain why one cannot use the same ~-factor
for all liquids to obtain good agreement with the experimental data. The second
parameter to investigate is the form factor cp accounting for the area filled with
fluid between the parallel plates. As figure 5 shows, not the whole area is filled,
thus a cp-factor of 0,9 is assumed.
486
Best agreement between experimental and computed data for the silicon fluids is
reached with the parameters cp=0,9 and ~=0,75. For FC-77 the curve with the para-
meters cp=0,9 and ~=1,25 fit the experimental data. First, it is to be remarked that
the ~-factors used are reported for stationary flow which is violated in this case.
Second, the entrance lengths to establish a laminar Poiseuille flow are different.
The entrance length reads, from [5],
le= (0.01 Re dh + 0.2) 2a with Re = 2apz (13)

dh 1)
The data for SF 0.65, SF 1,00 and FC-77 are:
z [mm/s] Re dh
Silicon fluid 0,65 cSt 40 - 70 615 - 1077 64 - 110
Silicon fluid 1,00 cSt 30 - 70 300 - 700 32 - 72
FC-77 20 - 40 250 - 500 28 - 53
Because steady state is not reached, the lowest and highest velocities are used to
calculate the Reynolds number. It is obvious that the higher dynamic viscosity of
FC-77 leads to lower Reynolds numbers and shorter entrance lengths. This may
have an influence on the entrance pressure loss. The factor ~ accounts for the ad-
ditional dissipation at the entrance to the flow channel. The boundary layers at
both sides of the channel grow together, the laminar Poisseuille profile is reached
after the entrance length. The boundary layer leads to a higher wall shear stress
and thus to higher viscous friction at the wall.
Acknowledgement
The drop tower experiments were performed in the frame of the surface tension
tank development for MBB-ERNO. The technical support and the trustful coopera-
tion with Dipl.-Ing. G. Netter and Dipl.-Ing. H.D. Bruhn are gratefully acknowled-
ged.
487
list of symbol
a capillary gap distance A Area

b capillary gap breadth R radius of cylindrical tube
g gravity acceleration
123 ,1 0 lengths, 10 =zo IX contact angle
p pressure p density
r radius of cylindrical inlet Cl surface tension
t time 1] dynamic viscosity
u velocity 'P form factor
x length of cylindrical inlet ~ loss coefficent
z meniscus height
Z meniscus velocity Re dh Reynolds number based on hydraulic
z meniscus acceleration diameter
References
[1] Netter, G., Beig, H.-G., Preliminary results from the EMTE fuel slosh flight ex-
periment, Proceedings of symposium: 'Fluid dynamics and space', VKI, Rho-
de-Saint-Genese, 25126 June 1986 (ESA SP-265, August 1986)
[2] Dreyer, M., Delgado, A., Rath, H.J., Kapillarer Pumpmechanismus zum Bewegen
von Fluiden unter Schwerelosigkeit, DGLR-Jahrestagung 1990, Friedrichshafen
[3] Friz, G., tiber den dynamischen Randwinkel im Fall der vollsUindigen Benetzung,
Zeitschrift fUr angew. Physik 19.4 (1965), p. 374-378
[4] White, F.M., Fluid Mechanics, McGraw Hill New York 1986
[5] Atkil1lson, B., Brocklebank, M.P., Card, C.C.H., Low Reynolds number develo-
ping flows, AIChE Journal, Vol. 15, No.4, 1969, p. 548
Microgravity Liquid-Gas Interface Configuration
and Surface-Tension Device Design
Zhang Xiuqing
Beijing Institute of Structure and Environment Engineering
Abstract
This report consists of two parts.one is an experimental

investigation of the liquid-gas interface configuration of a
spherical tank in microgravity environment. which was
conducted in a drop tower. The test results explain the
importance of liquid-gas interface configuration to design
of a surface-tension device. The other is the design method
investigation of surface-tension device and gives an example
to explain the application of the method.
Introducti'ln
The liquid-gas interface configuration in microgravity

environment is a curved surface. it is the fundamental to
amy study of the dynamics and design of liquid propellant
management system (refs.l and 2) , it depends on tank
geometry. Bond number (BJ. contact angle (8) and liquid
value (~~liquid volume/tank volume) in the tank. This
report presents experimental liquid-gas interface
configuration of spherical tank with a middle-bottom under
microgravity environment. which was conducted in a drop
tower.
Orbit space vehicles (shuttles.spacecrafts, satellites)
H J. Ralh (Edltur)
Mlcrogravlly FlulU Mcchanlc~
IUTAM Sympo!>lum Bremen 199\
(~) Spnng,cr-Vcrlag Berlin I\clde!hcrg. 1992
490
require propulsion systems with propellant management

devices, which provide a pure continuous liquid propellant
supply to the attitude control amd maneuvering thrusters in
the condition of microgravity environment. many orbit
vehicles utilize a surface-tension propellant management
device, which is a network of stainless steel channels. The
channel is made up of channel wall and fine mesh screen.
Propellant can be retained in the channel and gas is
prevented from passing through, but the gas wili enter into
the channel if the total pressure differential of the liquid
flow inside the channel is bigger than the bubble point (BP)
of the screen during outflow of liquid from tank. Thi§
report utilizes a pressure network theorem to analyze the
distribution of liquid flow rate and pressure differential
in the channel of a surface-tension device.
Liquid-Gas Interface Configuration in Microgravity
Environment
Test Apparatus and Procedure

1. Dorp tower: The height of the drop tower located at
Beijing Institute of Structure and Environment Engineering
is 45 metres, free-fall time is about 2.8 second.
2. Drop vehicle: The drop vehicle consists of two parts.

W Outer vehicle: It is a cylindrical vehicle with a cone,
whose length can be adjusted for various experiments. The
function of the ourter vehicle is to make the inner vehicle
free from air drag.
Inner vehicle (experiment framework): It is a cube

framework, which is made up of aluminium beams. Model tank,
measure system, loading system etc are mounted on it. The
491
inner vehicle will drop in the outer vehicle and will be

free from air drag.
3. Recover system: It is a big cylinder shell which is full

of foamed plastics globule. The function of recover system
is to reduce the shock force during drop vehicle fallen down
in order to prevent the experimental instrument and model
from damage. The peak value of shock load is about 50-60 g ..
duration time is about 25-30ms.
4. Hodel tank and test liquid:
00 Hodel tank : The model tank is a spherical tank with a

middle-bottom which is made of transparent plexiglass and is
similar to prototype tank in geometry. The middle-bottom is
a curve barrier and there is a screen window in the center
of it for liquid pass through, it connects with the wall of
the tank to seperate the tank into two parts in order to
provent the liquid slosh. The part that is near the head
of the orbit vehicle is called up-tank. the other is called
down-tank. (fig.l)
middle-bottom
down-tank
fig.l model tank

492
is easy to make the dimensionless Bond number B.=B. and

provide similar of geometry and physics between model and
prototype.
5. Measure system: Liquid-gas interface configurations in

this experiment were recorded by a high-speed photography
system. which was mounted on the experimental
photographic frequencey is 48 sheets/sec. A high pressare
gas system is used to exert thrust on the experimental
framework if Bond number is necessary to be changed.
Experiment Results
The liquid-gas interface configuration in a partially filled

closed tank under microgravity environment can be predicted
by minimum-energy principle. it is approaching to a
spherical surface or a part of it if the contact angle of
the liquid is zero (refs.l and 3).
1. The case of ~z50": In this condition. the position of

the interface was located in the up-tank and the down-tank
was full of liquid. The shape of the liquid-gas interface
depended on the ~ value (~~liquid volume/tank volume) The
condition that the interface is a integral spherical surface
can be calculated by geometry method.
4lt
~">l- (--[(R,+R,-(R',-R',)1JI)/2]') /(
3 3
where R,: rad i us of the tank

R,: radius of the middle bottom
Liquid-gas interface configuration of this experiment was a

arc ring located at the join of up-tank and middle-bottom.
493
It is not a integral spherical because ~(50~) is less than

~.(70'''. (fig.2)
,-1.0 &.
fig.2 liquid-gas interface configuration •• 50~
2. The case of .·25~: The liquid of the up-tank has been

deple1:ed if the design is appropriate and the interface will
locato in the down-tank. The condition that the interface
shape is a integral sphere is
4x 4x
,">1- {--[(R,-R,t<R',-R',)1II)/2]'} 1 ( - - R',)233~
3 3
The 1;est configuration of the liquid-gas interface is also

a arc ring (fig.3) and the liquid gathered at the join of
down-tank and middle-bottom.
494
,-1.0 '"
fig.3 liquid gas in terface configuration ~·25~
The experi.ental results explain the significance of the

liquid-gas interface configuration to design of
surface-tension device under microgravity environment, those
are:
1. There is a strong capillary property to retain liquid and

remove gas in the region of the acute angle between
down-tank and middle-bottom, so some elements of screen have
to be put in this region, which can transfer liquid to
outlet of the tank and reduce residual liquid of the tank.
2. There is a function of retaining liquid too in the region

of obtuse angle constructed by up-tank and middle-bottom.
liquid will gather there when ~<~., so designer ought to
put a screen window on the middle-bottom of this area to
make liquid passing ~hrough the window into the
down-tank. The liquid will remain and the expulsion
efficiency will decrease if there is no screen window.
495
The Method of Surface-Tension Device Design
A surface-tension device is made up of channels. whose cross

sections are various (refs.4 and 5) (fig.4)
channel
tank channel coss section
fig . 4 surface tension device
Option of design case.
1. Flow rate of the tank is maximum.

2. The screen area that contacts with liquid is minimum.
3. The distance from liquid pool to outlet of the tank is
the longest .
Under above condition. the total pressure differential

consisting of liquid passing through the screen.viscous flow
and folw velocity is maximum. gas may pass through the
screen at the outlet of the tank . that will result in
failure of the device .
496
Design equation
The condition of design.which .u~t be eeti~fied. is that

total pressure differential of the liquid in channels most
be lesser than screen bubble point BP (ref.6). Thus
ElIh,~ lIh.tllh,tllh.tllh,<BP I f (I)
Where ElIh,: total pressure differential of the liquid flow

lIh,: Pressure differential of liquid passing through
the screen
lIh,: Pressure differential of viscous of liquid
lIh.: Pressure differential of flow velocity of liquid
lIh,: Static pressure head under microgravity
environment
BP: Surface-tension screen bubble point
f: Safety factor
M, , lIh, in the equation can be calculated by experimental

formula and theoretical formula but lIh, lIh. are related to
flow velocity of the liquid inside channels. The liquid
velocity depends on the structure of the surface-tension
device and the form of cross section of channle. The
distribution of flow rate in the device is very importance
to design of a surface-tension liquid management device.
This report presents a calculation method of distribution of
flow rate and loss of flow drag.
Calculation model and solution
1. Calculation model: Any complicated channel device can be

looked upon as a network. whose channels are parallel
connection or series connection (fig.5)
497
fig.5 ~urface tension device calculatluu wudal
00 Continuous equations: Input liquid flow rates are equal

to the output at the same node of the network.Thus
Where: X, is liquid flow rate of channel.
00 The rule of liquid flow drag losses: Liquid flowing from

one node to another node in a closed loop can be locked upon
as a parallel connection network. the unit energy losses are
equal during liquid flowing along the different directions.
(3)
where h,-A,X,'
A,- A,L,IK,
A,: factor of flow drag
498
L,: Length of channe 1

K,s2g,d,S.'
____ ___ 1 __ ...J ! _ _ _ ... _ _ _.I.: L _
..I_"')-.L..II _ IL\
~ ~ ~
~,-~Q''''II \ G,TU,I .., ... u ... yCll.a ..... U.LtlUlO'-OI va. ... ut:J
rectangular cross section of channel

a"b,: side length of rectangular cross section of
channel
S,: cross section area of channel
g,: gravity acceleration at surface of earth
The relations among channel number (n,). closed loop number

(n.> and node number (n,> are:
n,=n.+n,-2
We can obtain some equations from formulas 00 and 00. which

are independent of each other and the number of equations is
equal to channel nuaber. X, can be obtained by solving
equations. It must be noticed that the h, is positive if the
direction of X, is clockwise. otherwise it is negative in a
closed loop. we reW"l'ite the equaion (%) and (3) for solving
equations by computer conveniently.
(4)
(j s l.2.3.--.n)
Where K. B.: square matrix releated to structure form of

the device.
A,: factor releated to flow drag

Q,: known column matrix of the flow rate putin or
putout at the nodes of the calculaton nodle
X,: unknown column matrix of the flow rate of the
channel
499
00 Solution of equations: Newton iteration method is used to

solve equations. A, is calculated based on previous
iteration flow rate at each interation.
Applied example of the method
The example is a surface-tension device of a spherical

tank (fig.S), (ref.7).
1. Design state: There is a little liquid in the tank which

gathers on one side of the tank (fig.5)
2. Formula: Calculation model is illustrated in fig.5. n~6.
n.-8, n.-12 , the number of equations is equal to

n-n.+n,-2-12'·n,. Thus
•Ek ,.A ,X ,'t E8.)(,

• -Q," 0
.-. '"
(j-l,2,3,-,n)
The value of A, can be calculated by experience for.ula for

circular cross section but the A, of screen channel is not
only dependent on the R, (Reynolds number) but also on the
kind of screen and form of cross section of channel. We can
obtain the precise calculating results if we use test data
of A, of prot.otype channe I .
Solving equations 00 we obtain the distribution of the flow

rates (fig.6)
500
fig.6 flow rate distribution of surface tension device
3. Results of calculation and analysis: Multiple branch

device with equator channel can decrease the .axi.um flow
rate of the channel owing to the function of separating flow
of equator channel, so the flow drag loss is lesser than
without equator channel, which is very important for big
flow tank.
Conclusion
The test configurations of liquid-gas interface under

microgravity environment, stated in this report, are
important to design of surface-tension device. It must be
noticed that there is a capillary property in any angle
region constructed by the wall of tank and middle-bottom or
barrier , so the screen elements ought to extend to angle
501
region as far as possible. in order to transfer liquid to

the outlet of the tank and decrease residual liquid.
This report offers a calculation method of the distribution

of flo'~ rate and flow drag loss for surface-tension device.
whose calculation model is simple and the convergence of the
equations is very good. It may be seen that the method given
in this report is a simple and applied based on calculatng
exampl~ of surface-tans ion device of spherical tank.
References
1.W.H.r.Loh" Jet.Nuclear.lon and Electric Propulsion Theory

and D~sign" Cor. Applied Physics and Engineering Series
Vol.7 1968.
2. H.G.Bieg"Slosh Dynamics of Fluid Filled" N86-l4549.
4. "Low Gravity Propellant Contuol Using Capilary Devices in

Lage Cryogenic Vehicles" N71-1065 General Dynamics Convair
Division.
5. W.W.Regnier and D. Hess "Design and Development of a

Passive Propellant Management System" AIAA77-853.
6. J.J.Chapter and S.B.Rider "Surface Tension Propellant

Management System Computerized Flow Analysis" AIAA80-1098.
Modelling of Binary Systems with Miscibility Gap
Behaviour underWeightlessness and
Quasi-Weightlessness
Yu. M. GELFGAT, M. Z. SORKIN
Institute of Physics, Latvian Academy of Sciences

229021, Salaspils-1, Riga, Latvia, USSR
It was the prospect of the possible development of new materials

with unique properties which motivated the carrying out of
experiments under space conditions relevant to the production
of "frozen emulsion" type composites from immiscible metals:
AI-Pb, 2n-Pb, Bi-Ga and others. It has been assumed that as
g 0 in the melts, there would be no gravitational sediment-
ation of components and we would be able to produce materials
with a finely dispersed phase which are uniformly distributed
throughout the whole volume of the main metal. However, the
result obtained has been negative since we have not been able
to reach the necessary distribution of finely dispersed
particles of a sedimentation phase [1].
A team of researchers at our Institute has proposed a magneto-

hydrodynamic (MHD) technique to simulate weightless conditions
(quasi-weightlessness) in conducting media [3]. The main idea
of this technique is based on a concept that electromagnetic
forces in melt are similar to gravity forces due to buoyancy
effects, and might be arbitrary oriented in space and thus
have a selective ability to affect melt components depending
on their conductivity.
In fact, current density J 6 grad E in the various alloy

components is determined by the conductivity of each phase. In
an external magnetic field B, perpendicular to the current
vector, each component of the medium will be affected by a
different force density fe jB. When this force is directed
H. 1. Rath (Editor)
MlCrogravlty FlUId Mechamcs
504
parallel or antiparallel to the gravity vector, the buoyancy
.
of the suspended particles can be controlled accordingly (Fig .
-,
1<1) •
The above allows one to produce a situation in the binary system

in which the sum of all the forces (gravity and electromagnetic)
affecting each component are equal and the two components are
under conditions of equilibrium with respect to each other. For
a binary melt placed in perpendiculary crossed electric and
magnetic fjeld, the above condition can be expressed in the form:
f 9 + 6 E B =pp 9 + 6p E pB
Here, p , pp and 6 , 6 p are the respective densities and
conductivities of the matrix and disperse components, E and E
P
the electric field tensions in the matrix melt and disperse
component particles, B - the external magnetic field induction,
g - the acceleration due to the gravity. A similar situation is
also characteristic of weightlessness which allows one in some
cases to model it on Earth and maintain it in experiments and
technological processes for an unlimited time interval.
The results obtained under weightlessness using the same metals

exceed significantly the analogous data of space samples [3].
The above results can be illustrated, for example, by manufact-

uring a "frozen emulsion" type composite consisting of the im-
miscible metals lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn).
In accordance with the Pb-Zn constitutional diagram (Fig.lb),

a molecular solution of a specified percentage of Pb in Zn can
exist only at temperatures T above a critical temperature T cr .
When T < Tcr the system starts disintegrating and the heavier
component (Pb) sediments on the bottom of the vessel. A disin-
tegrated model of such systems is shown to occur in three stages
(Fig.lc), each of which is characterized by its own mechanism of
how, at T < T cr ' the particles coalesce to produce larger ones.
In the first stage, nucleating centres of the new phase appear
505
in the mother solution due to diffusion of atoms of the disperse

component. This process is governed by phase transfer laws. As
soon as the dispersed particles are sufficiently large, a second
coalescence mechanism takes over: the particles coalesce as a
result of collisions during Brownian motion (Brownian coagulat-
ion). The layering of the system takes place only at the third
stage when the energy of Brownian motion is not sufficient to
keep the particles in a disperse state, and they start sediment-
ing and at the same time they grow more rapidly (gravitational
coagulation).
If the alloy is placed in crossed electric and magnetic fields

(Fig.1a) of suitable magnitude, equilibrium gravitational and
electromagnetic forces affecting each component can be maintain-
ed according to (1):
(2 )
If we assume that the particles are close to spherical, the

necessary parameters are [3]:
(3 )
In this situation, the effective density of zinc and lead are

equal and the two components are in gravitational equilibrium
(quasi-weightlessness). Obviously, sedimentation will not then
occur, and a material with uniform finely dispersed structure
will be obtained. Theoretical estimates and experiments show
that rather moderate magnetic fields and currents are required
to achieve this result.
Fig.1d-f show photographs of microsection metallic specimens

produced under various conditions. Fig.1d shows a control
sample with j = 0, B = 0, where the heavier component (Pb)
has sedimented on the bottom of the vessel. Figure 1e shows
the macrostructure of an alloy produced with the initial
506
temperature T < T cr ' when there is no mixing. The effect of

"Weightlessness" manifests itself here clearly, but it is restr-
icted to neuLral equilibriuHl of the entiTE volume of Pb in Zn.
Figure 1f shows the microstructure of a sample which has under-
gone analogous electromagnetic treatment at the initial alloy
temperature T > T , i.e. when the process started with a
cr
molecular solution of Pb in Zn. In this case, the heavier com-
ponent has been homogeneously distributed, the main particle
dimensions being 30-50~.:m, in the lighter carrying medium. With
the above Pb-Zn system, a positive electromagnetic influence
was obtained in fields B = 0.3 - 0.4 T at current density
j = 0.2 - 0.3 A mm
-2 1
, the alloy cooling rate being 1-2 k s- .
In real situations, equation (2) can be satisfied only with a

limited accuracy which is characterized by the coefficient
k = 1 - jB~joBo' where jo and Bo are the current density
and field at infinity, respectively. As a result, there may
occur a slight gravitational sedimentation of the heavier com-
ponent. The sedimentation then results in gravitational coagulat-
ion, with large particles trapping smaller ones, and thus
avalanch unmixing.
Figure 2 shows theoretical results of such sedimentation and

associated particle size for Zn-Pb. Even a density compensation
within a range of 10% increases the unmixing time very consider-
ably and makes it possible to obtain the required structure with
realistic cooling rates. Similar studies have given the limiting
current density, the magnetic field inhomogeneity, and the cur-
rent distribution, as well as the maximum permissible induced-
convection speeds. Figure 3 shows the characteristic unmixing
times for Zn-Pb under various conditions and various particle
enlargement mechanisms: gravitational (Fig.3a), convective
(Fig.3b) and electromagnetic (Fig.3c).
In all cases, the parameters providing the desired course of

the process could be achieved in practice.
Thus, we can summarize that the suggested melt decay model and
507
the technique of its experimental study allows us to evaluate

the necessary time regimes of cooling under space conditions
as well as under earth ones that ensure the sample production
has the required dispersive structure.
References
1. Wal te;~ H. U. In "Material Sciences in Microgravi ty", Springer-

Verlag, Berlin, 1986.
2. Aug C.J., Lacy L.L. Monotectic and Syntectic Alloys. Experi-
ment MA- 044. In: Apollo-Soyuz Test Proj ect, Preliminary
Science Report, MTX-58173, Sec.26, NASA, Johnson Space Center,
February, 1976.
3. Gelfg.lt Yu.M. In "Hydrodynamics and Transfer Processes under
Weightlessness", Sverdlovsk, 1983. - P.57-71 (in Russian).
508
a) b)
S
400
ZI1g + Pbs
f=P9+ jS Zrlg + Pbs
200
f =ppg+ ~ 0 20 40 60 %Pb
C)
". r-..
STAGE I STAGE If STAGE III
T> Tcr T< Tcr T< Tcr T< Tcr
.
• • ••
Zn+ Pb - -
•• ••••
- 1
-/. ,,- . -
--If, • 9
•• ••• •
d) e) t)
Fig.1. MHD method of making composites of immiscible metals:

a) scheme for realizing quasi-weightless conditions; b) Zn-Pb
phase diagram showing wide immiscibility region; c) decay stages
in the Zn-Pb system; d) macroscopic structures o f casting made
under ordinary conditions; e) quasi-weightlessness without
mixing at T < Tcr; f) under quasi-weightlessness conditions
with physico-chemIcal mixing at T > Tcr
509
1 - net) 10- 2
h/a.~ Rc..M
---Rclt)
0,8 103
0,6 2"-:
--..j 10- 4
1~
I / 10- 5
--
0,4 I ,.,'
0,2. v~ .. --
~
J~ -- ~--: ~.- ~- - _.- 10- 6
.J t,s 10- 7
o 20 40 60
fig.2. Thickness h of lead layer

deposited at the bottom and mean
particle radius R as functions
of time: 1) control specimen (K=1);
2) in electromagnetic treatment
(K=0.1 )
510
,
a) b) c}
1 iB
k=1--.
kg v JoBo
e) f)
1- a. =2.MM
2. - a. = 1CM
1-a.=1cM
10~ 2 -a. = 5CM
3 - a. :10C'1.tO,M/S
Fig.3. Basic mechanisms and theoretical decomposition relation-

ship for a system of Zn-Pb type on electromagnetic treatment
under quasi-weightless conditions: a,d) gravitational coales-
cence in dispersed component (k is the accuracy in balancing
out gravity); b,e) convective coagulation eu is the velocity
profile for the induced convective flows); c,f) electromagnetic
coagulation (v is the particle speed produced by the BEF)
Measurement of the Thermal Conductivity
of Fluids with low Viscosity under Microgravity
R. Greger, A. Delgado, H.J. Rath
Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, ZARM

University of Bremen, Germany
Abstract
Under normal gravity conditions the measurement of the thermal-conductivity A is often stron-
gly influenced by the occurrence of thermal convection. Heat transfer by convection superposes
the heat transfer due to thermal conduction. For liquids with low viscosity such as aluminium
melts discrepancies of up to 85 % have been reported in literature [7]. Errors in measurement
caused by convection are of great importance in this case. These errors can only be reduced by
suppressing natural convection. Systems in which the gravity effects are compensated (micro-
gravity) offer decisive advantages.
In this paper a new apparatus based on the transient hot-wire method which enables accurate
measurements in fluids with low viscosity is described. First measurements in which ambient air
is used as the test fluid are presented. The measurements were carried out aboard an aircraft
and in the Drop Tower Bremen. The results obtained are compared with those measured when
gravity effects are present and with literature data available. A very good agreement of the
microgravity results with the latter has been found.
Introduction
The exact determination of thermal conductivity of fluids is centrally important for the model-
ling of molecular transport processes and for the optimization of terrestrial and orbital processes.
Molecular transport mechanisms in pure media are dependent strongly on temperature and
less on pressure. Also important in the case of mixtures is the concentration [10,11,12]. For
ideal gases and simple solid bodies there are well-founded theories to explain the heat conduction
mechanism. In the presence of a liquid phase the modelling of heat transport becomes more
difficult because of complex molecular interactions, so that a satisfactory theory does not exist.
The model development and testing is complicated because the existing data available are un-
certain. For example, values for A-values obtained by different experimentators show differences
of up to 85 %. A chief source of error is the influence of gravity.
The importance of precise data on thermal conductivity ,\ for the optimization of physico-
chemical processes is directly evident. Firstly, a large number of processes exists, in which
thermal energy is exchanged as a result of temperature differences in fluids at rest and for
which exact data are required for design and optimization. However, a study of the relevant
H J Rath {EdIlOr)
Mlcrogra\'\t} Fluid Mechanics
512
literature shows that such data for the common industrial media are still relatively uncertain.
Heat conduction data for mixtures have only been measured in individual cases, although these
are of prime practical importance. The calculation equations given in the literature are only
approximate (errors of 50 % are common).
For the determination of the heat conductivity), of fluid media in a terrestrial laboratory, the
gravitation vector leads to restrictions in the measurement technique. The temperature gradient
which is necessary for the determination causes interference through convective currents (natural
convection or density stream). A large part of instrument development has been concentrated
on reducing this interference.
The experiment presented here allows the accurate measurement of the heat conductivity of
low viscosity fluids with the help of the unsteady hot-wire technique (time-dependent tempera-
ture field) under microgravity, without the interference of thermal convection.
The insteady hot-wire method depends on the measurement of transient temperatures, the-
reby requiring much shorter measurement durations as compared with a stationary method like
the two-plate method. Also advantageous is the relatively low apparative requirement for the
reduction of error parameters, such as the undesired heat transfer on the boundaries of the
measurement cell. Because of the short experiment times, one does not require an auxiliary
heater to compensate for possible changes in enthalpy.
20.00
17.50
15.00
~
12.50
I..
0 10.00
I..
I..
LLJ 7.50
m 5.00
a:
2.50
0.00
0.000 4.000 8.000 12.000
Measuretime [sec]
Figure 1.1: Time-dependent error [%]
However, one major problem in measuring the thermal conductivity), in fluids with low
viscosity using the transient hot-wire method is the early onset of convection in the presence of
gravity. Depending on the viscosity of the fluid e.g. on the Prandtl number, which is typically of
the order of 1-102 for the fluids in question the time between starting measurement and starting
convection may be less than 0.5 seconds. Unfortunately, the short remaining measuring time
causes errors in measurement which are of a higher order of magnitude than the disturbancys
caused by the apparatus. Figure 1.1 shows the behavior of the time dependent error in percent
versus the measuring time. This error is due to the correlation of the data within a sample. It
can be clearly seen that the error rises up to 20 % if the measuring time is less than 1 second.
513
Therefore a longer time for measuring is necessary. Under microgravity convection is strongly
suppressed and the measuring time can be long enough to minimize errors due to time limitation.
Principles of the Hot-Wire Technique

The hot-wire technique makes use of a thin hot-wire, which from the time to is heated with
a constant current producing a heat flow per unit length ql and an increase of the hot-wire
temperature. A small part of the supplied heating current is used to heat the wire, the major
part goes towards heating the surrounding medium via conduction. The variation of wire and
medium temperature with time depends directly on the heat conductivity of the medium and the
supplied thermal energy. The temperature field can be calculated under following assumptions:
1. the medium 1 is an infinitely long cylinder with the radius Tl and a linear heat source with
constant heating power (hot-wire)
2. medium 1 is surrounded by medium 2
3. for t= 0 both media have the initial temperature (ill ilo ), and medium 2 has the
temperature of medium 1 (ill = il 2).
The temperature field is then given by the following equation[2]:
ql 4. a ql
=- -In(-) + --lnt -
?
il2(t) R (1.1)
4 . 11" • >'2 Tl 4 . 11" • >'2
Using the slope of this function the heat conductivity>. can be calculated.
The temperature change (dil2) of the hot-wire is measured as a change in its ohmic resistance.
Experimental Set-up
Figure 1.2 shows schematically the set-up of a measurement cell using the hot-wire technique
and the necessary electronic equipment. The experimental set-up for the measurement of the
thermal conductivity consists of a cylindrical measurement cell in which a platinum hot-wire
with a diameter of 0.025 mm is mounted. Two peltier-heaters fixed to the measurement cell
regulate the fluid temperature in the cell under test.
The .hot-wire is fed by a constant current source to guarantee a constant heat flow per unit
length ql. To measure the temperature rise of the wire via its ohmic resistance the hot-wire was
used as a resistance of a Wheatstone Bridge circuit in former experiments. In this application
however errors in the determination of the constant heat flow are caused by the variation of the
resistances of the Wheatstone Bridge due to thermal effects. Because of the resulting current
fluctuations, an in steady heat flow arises.
514
"0
>. ~
1i.
Q.
Microprocessor Board c
0
"
III
U
; i
~
:;;.,
0
I
Q. Data Aquisition Control Unit ::I:
3-Axis
Accelero
meter
1<J I
Current
Source
I
L
r
Figure 1.2: Scheme of the experimental set-up using the hot-wire

technique
In this experiment another circuit is used to avoid these errors. The hot-wire is fed directly
by a constant current source without any other ohmic resistance. The voltage across the wire
is compared to a reference voltage given by a digital-to-analog converter which is fixed at a
calculated value taking into account the fluid temperature at the beginning of the measurement
and the heating current supplied to the hot-wire.
A special microprocessor unit adapted to the JLg-environment requirements of parabolic - and

drop tower flights takes control of the performance of the whole experiment.
Information about residual accelerations disturbing the quality of the measurement is obtai-
ned additionally by a three-axis accelerometer.
Results
The experimental-setup described above has been tested during parabolic flights with Cara-
velle as well as during drop tower tests. These two facilites offer microgravity for short periods
with a different level of microgravity. Compared to the drop tower with a microgravity time of
about 4.7 seconds the time when gravity is compensated increases up to 20 seconds in parabolic
flights. The main disadvantage of parabolic flights however is a poorer microgravity level as
compared to the drop tower.
In these tests the fluid tank was filled with air. Figure 1.3 shows a typical measurement curve
for this experimental set-up obtained during a hardware test under 1 g - conditions. Compared
to equation 1.1 the behaviour of the plotted curve differs very strongly with the theoretical
515
20.00
18.00
,---,
U
lS.00
ci>
a>
a
L.........I
14.00
a> 12.00
L-
::>
~ 10.00
L-
a>
Co 8.00
E
a>
I- S.OO
4.00
2.00
10-2 10- 1 10 0
Time [sec]
Figure 1.3: Measurement curve under 1 g - conditions
description after less than 0.3 seconds thus leading to a very short measuring time. The early
onset of an additional convective heat flow leads to a higher cooling rate of the hot-wire than
that predieted by assuming pure thermal conduction. An additional disadvantage of the short
time for measurement is the error caused by time ( see also figure 1.1 ). As clearly shown in
figure 1.4, these disadvantages are avoided by carrying out measurements under rnicrogravity
conditions.
Figure 1.4 shows two similar measurement curves recorded during a parabolic flight with
Caravelle (left plot) and a drop tower flight (right plot). It can not only be seen that in both
cases the predicted curve of equation 1.1 is fitted much better over a longer time than under 1 g
- conditions (see also fig. 1.3), but also that very low residual accelerations available in the drop
tower leadB to significantly extended measuring times. Comparing the two measurement curves
the level of the residual accelerations is not so decisive for the quality of the measurement as
supposed.
One major problem in determining the thermal conductivity with this method is evident.
In calculating the temperature rise versus time on the base of theory one makes use of fluid
material constants which are not dependent on temperature. In reality this assumption is only
approximately valid. Increasing the temperature the thermal conductivity increases, too. This
means that the temperature rise of the curve as calculated from theory 1.1 when plotted versus
the logarithm of time does not fit equation 1.1. The measurement curves under microgravity
conditions show this effect very clearly as illustrated in figure 1.4.
It may be helpful to attempt to indicate a criterion for choosing the temperature gradient
required to achieve a given degree of accuracy in the determination of the corresponding thermal
conductivhy. Using a lower temperature difference the measured curve fits the predicted linear
shape over the whole temperature range much better as it is shown in figure 1.6. Further cor-
rections concerning the temperature dependence of A are also faciliated for small temperature
differences.
516
8.00 8.00
7.00 Equation 1.1

ro 7.00 Equation 1.1 ro
U U
.en 8
.en 6.00
8
.... .....
5.00 5.00
4.00 4.00
.!! :J
.....'" .
;;;...
c.. 3.00
.
E
I-
c.. 3.00
2.00
.
E
I- 2.00
1.00 1.00
0.00 0.00
-2 1 2 -2 -1 0 1 2
10 10 -1 10 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Time [sec] Time [sec]
Figure 1.4: Measurement curves during a Caravelle parabolic

flight and a drop tower flight resp.
By preventing thermal convection in measurements under microgravity the errors due to

an additional heat flow disturbing a precise measurement of the thermal conductivity and too
excessively short measurement times are eliminated. In figure 1.7 the thermal conductivity
determined under microgravity in these measurements is compared to the literature taking into
account the estimated systematic errors caused by the apparatus. The measured data seem to
be in good agreement with those cited in the literature.
Nomenclature
A thermal conductivity
Ii heat flow per unit length
to starting of the measurement
{)l temperature of the wire
{)2 temperature of the fluid
a temperature conductivity of the hot-wire
Tl radius of the hot-wire
K a constant
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the Bundesminister fiir Forschung und Technologie (BMFT) of the
Federal Republic of Germany and the Senator fiir Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kunst des Landes
Bremen.
517
8.00 ~---------------------.
7.00
U 6.00
..
C.
o
..5
5.00
4.00
-:;;
...
:t 3.00
..E
I- 2.00
Equation 1.1
1.00
0.00 '---'-...L.-LU.J..lJJL-....L...LJLJ...J.J.W_...L.-..L...l...L.Ll.W_..L.....L....L...L.IJLLJJ
10- 2 10 0
Time [sec]
Figure 1.5: Measurement curve under jl.g - conditions with a lower

temperature difference
30.00
29.00
I Measurement
,......., 28.00 C Literature
E
~
• 27.00
..... 26.00
3:
E
L......I 25.00
<II 2• .00
-c
.0
E 23.00
<II
-I
22.00
21.00
20.00
10.00 14.00 18.00 22.00
Temperature [Oe9. c]
Figure 1.6: Measured data compared to literature

518
References
[1] de Castro,N.;Calado, G.;Wakeham, A.; Dix, M.: An apparatus to measure the thermal
conductivity of Jiquids;J. Physics E,90(1976),1037
[2] Carslaw, H.S.; Jager, J.C.: Conduction of heat in solids; Second ed. Clarendon Press, Oxford
(1959)
[3] Haarmann, J.W.: A contribution to the theory of the transient hot-wire method; Physica,
52(1971),
605
[4] Healy, J.J.; de Groot, J.J.; Kestin, J.: The theory of the transient hotwire method for
measuring thermal conductivity; Physica, 82(1976); 392
[5] Clifford, A.A.; Kestin, J.; Wakeham, W.A.: A further contribution to the theory of the tran-
sient hotwire technique for thermal conductivity measurements; Physica, 100a(1980);370
[6] Stalhane, B.; Pyk, S.: Ny metod fOr bestamning av varmeledungskoefficienter, Tekn. Tidsk.,
61 (1931),389
[7] Hahne, E.; Song Y.W.: Messung der Warmeleitfahigkeit von R1l5 bei hohen Driicken nach
der Hei6draht-Methode, Warme und Stoffiibertragung 24,79-85, Springer-Verlag (1989)
[8] Greger, R.; Delgado, A, Rath, H.-J: Measurement of the thermal conductivity of fluids with
low viscosity under microgravity, The Forum on microgravity flows, first joint ASME-JSME
fluids Engineering conference, Portland, Oregon, to be presented (1991)
[9] Rath, H.-J: Transport coefficient measurements in drop tower experiments, Gordon Research
Conference, Plymouth State College, Plymouth N.H, to be presented (1991)
[10] Iglseder,H.; Rath, H.-J; Beeck, J.; Konigsmann, H.J.; Oelze, H.: BREM-Sat: A small Uni-
versity Satellite,ESA SP-298,Frascati,Italy,(1989) Research programm of the german spacelab
mission D-2, 1. Experimenters working group meeting D-2, Aachen (1989)
[11] Iglseder,H.; Rath, H.-J; Schlomm, P.: BREM-Sat: A small University Satellite,ESA SP-
298,Frascati,Italy,( 1989)
[12] Iglseder,H.; Rath, H.-J; Beeck, J.; Konigsmann, H.J.; Oelze, H.: BREM-Sat: Ein Uni-
versitats-Satellit zur Durchfiihrung von Raumflugexperimenten in den Forschungsbereichen
Umwelt-, Hyperschall- und Reentry Technologien,Pressemitteilung, Bremen (1989)
Free Motion of an Unsupported Tank
that is Partially Filled with Liquid
J.P.B. Vreeburg
National Aerospace Laboratory NLR
P.O. Box 90502, NL - 1006 BM Amsterdam
INTRODUCTION
At NLR, the motion of a partially filled tank is studied for its relevance
to the control of manoeuvering space vehicles with liquid stores. For
numerical simulations a number of computer programmes has been developed.
An experimental programme with investigations on parabolic flight, in
suborbital and orbital trajectories has been defined and is in
preparation. The present immediate objective is the synthesis of the so-
called Wet Satellite Model experiment which includes the development of a
diagnostic instrument (nballistometer n ) and the launch of a test article
in a seven-minute parabola by sounding rocket. The scientific
justification of this experiment is elaborated in somewhat greater detail
in reference 1.
The next sections report on analyses that have been performed in support
of the NLR investigations and contain some preliminary results obtained
during parabolic aircraft flight.
THEORY
Basic Formulas
The equations of motion for a partially filled tank are obtained from the
principles of conservation of linear and angular momentum. The derivation
of these equations is somewhat complicated since they are wanted in a
coordinate system attached to the tank. Use will be made of the Reynold's
transport theorem (Ref. 2) that allows to pass from a Lagrangian
description to an Eulerian description of the motion, viz.
H 1. Rath (EditOr)
Mlcrogravlty flUid MechantcS
520
d
at
J f dr
D
Dt J f dr (1)
"t "t
where "1 is the fixed region in space, enclosed by (regular) surface a"l
that coincides with a moving and deforming region "t at time t-t 1 .
f represents a scalar field, with certain restrictions on its behaviour,
while Y.n represents the (outward) normal velocity on a"l and use has been
made of the divergence theorem:
J V. (fy)dr = J f y·n do (2)

"1 a"l
Also required is the relation between the rate of change in a moving
coordinate system with respect to the rate in an inertial system, i.e. for
any field ~:
..".:;:/
aK
at
=-=/
aK
at"
l£
- [ (YA+Oxr).V
- - -
1K+OxK
- - -
(3)
where .l!. position vector in inertial system with origin 0

position in system with origin A that rotates with angular rate
then!:
-
=-x-x-A and -A
V = a~A
at
/ l£ =-A
x
and a velocity in the inertial system, y, becomes y-~+~+QxI (4)

where ~ - velocity relative to coordinate system A (Ref. 3).
The rate of change of the linear momentum of a (moving, deforming) parcel

"t of material is equal to the total force on the parcel, or
(5)
Similarly, the rate of change of the (external) angular momentum is equal

to the total torque on the parcel, provided that the material does not
allow for exchange with internal angular momentum stores (nonpolar liquid,
Ref. 2).
Then
dT ~ J 1: x P y dr (6)
"t
521
Integration of equations (5) and (6) over a compound body yields
_
F~m{V
-A +Oxr
- -c +Qx (Q x !:c) } + JV
P { :~ /
.£
+ (!!. \1) !! + 2Q x !! } d.,-
L
(7)
!! + 2Q x !! } d.,-
(8)
where m - body mass, !:c - body center of mass location, B- inertia tensor
about A and VL indicates the volume of the body that contains (incompres-
sible) deformable material and use was made of equations (1) to (4).
Deformable Material
The integral terms in equations (7) and (8) represent the contributions to
the (internal) force and moment on the compound body due to velocities
relative to coordinate system A. These velocities are related to the
forces that act on the material (solid, fluid, etc.) continuum, by the
Cauchy equation (Ref. 2):
P~
(9)
where ~ - body force and ~ - stress tensor.
If a Newtonian fluid is considered:
Dy
P Dt (10)
and viscous stress tensor

~ shear viscosity coefficient
\ second viscosity coefficient
p hydrostatic pressure
~B - body force potential
522
It is noted that y in the expression for L can be replaced by y

(use eqn. 4). Integration of equation (10) over a quantity of fluid yields
volu..tne integral terms. These can be transformed to su.rface .::inrl 1 i TIP-
integrals by use of the divergence theorem and various forms of Stokes
formula. The latter can be written conveniently as:
If [ (!! x Q) . V90 - 9o!!. (V x Q) +!! x V (Q.9o) 1da = - fc E x (90 x~) d-y (11)
S
where E and g are arbitrary vector fields and surface S, contour C and
unit vectors!! and ~ are depicted in figure 1.
For a liquid volume VL enclosed by a solid tank wall Sw and a free liquid
surface S5' as in a partially filled tank, particular boundary conditions
apply:
on the tank wall Sw o (12)
at the free surface S5 (Ref. 4):
(13)
where surface nabla (& - identity matrix)

H 1/2 V.!! - mean curvature
a - surface tension
Then, the RHS of equation (10) can be integrated for incompressible liquid
to:
-f (-Vp + J1./',~ + ~) dr f t/l B !! da + f {P!! - J1. (!!. V) ~ } da +

VL S Sw (14)
+ f (a~ - J1.~ x ~) d-y
c
where ~ - -!! x ~ (Fig. 1), and:
-f .r x (-Vp + J1./',Y + ~) dr = f .r x !! t/l B da + f [.r x {p!! - J1. (!!. V) ~} +

VL S Sw
+ J1. !! x ~l da + fc .r x (a~ - J1.~ x ~) d-y

(15)
where liquid enclosure S is separated by contact line C in parts Sw and

S5. The orientation of S5 relative to Swat C is to be specified by a
contact angle condition. The liquid velocity at the moving contact line
523
merits closer investigation (Ref. 5). Equations (14) and (15) have not
been found in the literature.
Although equation (10) can be used to replace the volume integrals in

equations (7) and (8) by integrals over the wetted surface of the tank and
the contact line (neglecting effects from the ullage gas) one still needs
to consider the equilibrium of the liquid in order to determine the values
of these integrals. This amounts to solving the Navier-Stokes equation in
the tank coordinate system (equation 10) with initial and boundary
conditions. The boundary conditions were specified already by equations
(12) and (13) but need to be completed by the equation F ~ const. for the
location of the free surface, where
DF
Dt
~~ + (~. 'l)F 0
If equation (10) is substituted in equations (7) and (8) one will find
that as a consequence m,Kc and R are to be calculated by integration over
the rigid part of the body only. Thus, in the new formulation the liquid
effects are introduced as external force or torque acting on the rigid
body.
Tank Model
The configuration of interest is sketched in figure 2. It consists of a
rigid tank with an annular cylindrical void, partially filled with liquid.
Attached to the tank, at location Kw, is a momentum wheel (rotor) with
variable angular speed ~. The liquid flow in the tank can be modelled by
the Navier-Stokes equations wherein the radial velocity, i.e. normal to
the cylinder walls, has been put to zero. Origin A of the tank- fixed
coordinate system is on the tank axis of symmetry. The aggregate body is
denoted by EB for Ejectable Ballistometer, which is the name of the test
article in the WSM experiment.
Simulations
At NLR has been developed a method for the simulation of a solid body with
a cavity partially filled with liquid (Ref. 6). The coupled problem is
partioned into two subproblems, viz. the motion of the solid body and the
motion of the liquid in the cavity. The two subprocesses can be integrated
with different time steps.
524
Results obtained with this method for the EB tank model are presented in
figures 3 and 4 (Ref. 7). Figure 3 represents a solid body motion with the
liquid frozen in its iniLlal L:onfiguration. It then occupies 20 em of the
full tank length of 28 cm. Liquid mass is 2740 gr; the tank mass is 4507
gr. The motion of the tank is initiated by the constant transfer of
angular momentum during a period of 1 s, totalling 0.12 kg m2 s-l. The
angular momentum vector is inclined 45' with the tank axis. Figure 4 gives
the tank response for inviscid liquid; all other parameters are equal.
Clearly, the nutation rate of the tank is much reduced in comparison to
the frozen liquid case. More details, including plots of the liquid motion
in the tank, are given in the reference.
EXPERIMENT
Breadboard models of the EB have been flown on parabolic flight. The

objective has been to release the tank for free-float in the aircraft
cabin without any motion. It soon became apparent that this cannot be
achieved; the entry in the parabola generates motions that result in an
uncontrolled liquid distribution in the tank. However the motions of an
empty, rigid tank can be investigated with success.
Therefore, the tests of the EB breadboard had as primary purpose the

assessment of the performance of the instrumentation to determine the EB
motion. This instrument will consist of nine linear micro-accelerometers
that are arranged about the EB. Similar instruments are used in
biomechanics, e.g. for dummy impact in car crashes, and other fields
(Ref. 8). In the breadboard tests, an orthogonal configuration of three
Sundstrand Q-flex accelerometers has been used. The sensitive axes of
these accelerometers were trained at the center of mass of the empty test
article.
If the nominal attitude of the accelerometer in the EB coordinate system
is specified by orthogonal matrix U, the acceleration at the sensor
location can be written as:
(~ - ~) ],I (.!! + 9 x (9 x~) + Qx ~) (16)

525
where: ~ acceleration in the sensor-fixed coordinate system
~ skew-symmetric misalignment matrix

~ acceleration of origin A of the EB coordinate system
~ location of accelerometer.
Altogether the data of about forty parabolas have been considered.

Each free-float period was categorized under one of three headings, viz.
zero-level, spin-up, rotation. From the zero level results the bias values
at no load of the accelerometers was determined. The spin-up shows the
transfer of angular momentum during the braking period. Rotations induced
by hand (Fig. 5), and as modified by liquid effects provided extensions of
the data base.
The free, unsupported motion of a rigid body is described by an analytic
solution of the Euler equations. This solution allows to verify the
consistency of the measurement data, in dependence of parameters. The
choice of parameters is wide; they can be inertial properties of the body,
sensor instrument or alignment errors, initial conditions, etc. A variety
of parameter determinations was tried until it became apparent that for
some conditions the sensor data could have been contaminated by cross-talk
effects. At that point the decision was taken to refly the upgraded
breadboard and collect new data.
CONCLUSIONS
The paper presents a derivation of the equations of motion for a partially
filled tank. A closer investigation of viscous effects at the contact line
is warranted. Reference is made to reported results of a numerical
simulation, performed at NLR, of a free motion in microgravity conditions.
The configuration of an instrumented breadboard model for parabolic flight
is described and initial experiences with data interpretation are
reported. An illustrative example of the data records is provided.
REFERENCES
1. Vreeburg, J.P.B.: Scientific justification of the Wet Satellite Model

experiment. NLR Memorandum RS-87-030 L, May 1987.
2. Aris, R.: Vectors, tensors and the basic equations of fluid mechanics.
Prentice-Hall, 1962.
526
3. Gantmakher, F.R.; Levin, L.M.: The flight of uncontrolled rockets.

Pergamon, 1964.
4. Landau, L.D.; Lifshitz, E.M.: Fluid Mechanics. Pergamon, 1959.
5. Dussan V, E.B.: On the spreading of liquids on solid surfaces: static
and dynamic contact lines. Ann. Rev. Fl. Mech. 11 (1979) 371-400.
6. Vogels, M.E.S.: A numerical method for the simulation of liquid-solid
body dynamics. Proc. 12th World Congr. Sci. Comp., IMACS 1988.
7. Vreeburg, J.P.B.; Dam, R.F. van den: Effects of low Bond number liquid
motions on spacecraft attitude.
AGARD-CP-489 (1990) 30.
8. Mital, N.K.; King, A.I.: Computation of Rigid-Body Rotation in Three-
Dimensional Space from Body-Fixed Linear Acceleration Measurements.
J. Appl. Mech 46 (1979) 925-930.
surface S
Figure 1: Geometry for Stokes formula.

527
tank with liquid

and rotor with
spin vector !!1
Figure 2 : Tank model
10
-\l
...,....... Wx
.; 0 .75
>-
I-
U
0
..J 0 .'
W
>
II:
<
..J
:::> 0.25
(!)
z
<
0 .0
10
TI M E (SECI
Figure 3 : Angular velocities of the tank (with frozen liquid) with respect to
the body-fixed coordinate system.
528
\b
r ,
-~
I>- 1
-
/
'.0
g
f0-
~~ ~~
...J
--
W
>
/
cr: Ob
~
::J
CI
z "'v
«
0 ,0 /
8 ,0
TIME ISEC)
Figure 4: Angular velocity of the tank (with liquid) with respect to the
body-fixed coordinate system.
FLlGHT1 / QFLEX SENSORS

05.04.1VVO
90
eo
70
50
'0
40
'6
D
30
20
10
-10
- 20
1.721 1.723 1.72' 1.727 1.729
(Thou.and.)
tJrneba •• 2 em/.
-- QF1 -- QF"2 -- QF....
Figure 5: Accelerometer output following impulsive spin-up of the empty EB

breadboard.
Calibration of Thermal Anemometer at Very Low
Reynolds Numbers under Microgravity
F. R. Stengele, A. Delgado, H. J. Rath
Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, ZARM

University of Bremen, 2800 Bremen, West Germany
Introduction
In the experimental fluid mechanics the hot wire and the hot
film anemometry still belongs to the standard measuring tech-
niques. This is because of the simple design, the easy hand-
ling and the high temporal and spatial resolutions. Thermal
anemometers are therefore very often used for measuring the
velocity components in different directions. They represent
also an important aid in investigating turbulence and
combustion processes.
A definite interpretation of the anemometer signal is not

possible at very low velocities in the presence of gravity.
This is case e.g. in the ambient air in climatized rooms and
in the generation region of turbulence near a solid wall. Due
to the temperature field of the sensor, which arises as a
result of the electrical heating, a local change of the
density takes place, whereby a free convection is initiated
in the surrounding of the sensor. This free convection lies
in the order of the forced convection and causes a deviation
of the measurement result. Because the free convection is
strongly reduced under microgravity, thermal anemometers can
be calibrated adequately at very low velocities.
In this paper an experimental configuration for carrying out

well-defined measurements with hot wires at very low
velocities is presented. Futhermore, first results obtained
aboard a KC-135 aircraft and in a small drop tower facility
are iscussed. From the experimental data available as yet it
H J. Rath (Editor)
Mlcrogravlty Fluid Mechanics
530
may be deduced that the influence of the Grashof number Gr

is more significant even for relative high velocities than
expected in literature.
Basic considerations
~he physical principle of thermal anemometers is based on the

transport of heat into the surrounding medium depending on
the relative velocity between both. The heat is generated by
a wire that is electrically heated at a constant temperature
in general. The first systematical investigat.ions concerning
thermal anemometers were carried out by King [1]. King's law
is usually written as
A + BUD (1)
where E is the anemometer output voltage, U is the fluid ve-

locity, and A, Band n are constants. Further improvement of
this relation has been suggested by References [2,3,4].
Equation (1) concerns the energy required due to a flow field

veloci ty U. But the forced convection is not the only cause
for heat tansfer of the hot wire probe. The free convection
and the conduction of heat into the fluid and the prongs add
to the heat transfer. Thermal exchange through radiation can
be ignored. While the behaviour of thermal anemometers at
higher velocities of flow is well known, due to regarding
heat transfer by free convection and conduction as secondary
effects of neglecting order, there are serious difficulties
in the range of lower velocities. The reasons for this is the
increased importance of the free convection and the
conduction. At velocities below 20 cm/s [8,9] in air a clear
interpreting of the anemometer output signal is not possible
under terrestrical conditions.
The dimensionless heat transfer at the hot-wire is
characterized by the Nusselt number Nu. For the range of the
combined free and forced convection, an appropiate relation-
ship for describing the thermal exchange is of the type
Nu = f(Re, Gr, Pr, ~, d/l, ... ) (2)
531
where Nu is the Nussel t number 12. R.. I ('Tr - 1 • A .. (T.. -Teo) ), Re

is the Reynolds number u - d/'i) Gr is the Grashof number
S-g·d 3 (T,,-T...,)hP, Pr is the Prandtl number "VIa, ~ is the
angle between the forced flow and the dirction of gravity and
d/l is the aspect ratio of the hot wire. I is the electrical
current, R.. the electrical resistance of the hot wire, I the
length of the sensor. Although in combined convection several
alternative ways of accounting for free convection have been
suggested [2,5,6,7], the description given seems to be am-
bigous as the experimental confirmation is extemely tedious
in the presence of gravity effects.
Because the free convection of the wire under microgravity is

strongly reduced therma 1 anemometers has been examined and
calibrated here at very low velocities in the drop tower and
during KC-flights.
Apparatus and experimental techniques
The calibration of thermal anemometers is only possible if a

flow with a known velocity is available. At higher velocities
the probe is usually held quiescent in a passing fluid. The
flow velocity is then measured with Pitot- or Venturi-tubes.
At very low velocities difficulties occur with this
calibration method because the dynamic decrease of pressure
which is taken by the Pitot-tube is too small and therefore
it is not possible to determine the velocity of flow,
accurately. Theses are the reasons why it is more sensible at
lower velocities to move the probe through a quiescent fluid_
Within the framework of the present investigation the hot-
wire probe is moved continously at a predefined speed through
a measuring tunnel in ambient air, see fig .1. A stepping
motor is driving the linear platform on which the probe is
attached via a special arm. The effective measuring distance
is 800 mm. A longer distance would be a great advantage but
for the Parabolic-flights it was not adequate to use a longer
design.
532
With this apparatus it is possible to study the hot-wire

probes in a velocity range of 0 to 0,55 mls (0~ Re:::S: 0.078)
while the maXJ.ffium speed is determined the critical
revolution of the spindle of the linear platform. The minimum
measuring time is 1,2 seconds which is limited by the neces-
sary start and stop procedure of the stepper motor.
The measuring tunnel with the inner dimensions of 8 x 6,5 em
is made of acrylic glass with hollow profiles. The probe is
moved in t,he middle of the tunnel (fig.l). 'I'he tunnel's
dimensions are designed so that occuring influences by the
wall are to be neglected. There is a 20 mm wide gap all along
the top of the tunnel for the arm to hold the probe. To
eliminate disturbing environmpntal influences like non-
constant temperatures and airflow a brush cover was attached
to the top of the tunnel.
In order to be able to study the influence of the temperature

of the surrounding a i I' on the measurements hoI] ow prof i I es
were used for the tunnel walls. Air which is moved by fans
flows through the hollow profiles in a circular system.
Inside the system there are three peltier elements installed
to control the temperature. Currently it is possible to vary
the temperature in the measuring tunnel between 25 and 28°C.
The tunnel temperature is measured by a NTC- res is tur'
(resolution ± 0.1 °C).
The flexible way of holding the probe allows analysis of the

measure signal depending on the attack angle ~. With this
construction it is possible to adjust angles in three per-
pendicular planes.
The hot wire and hot film probes were run by a TSI constant-
temperatur-anemometer of the 1150 series. The probes used are
all industrially produced standard probes (TSI hot wire pro-
bes 1210-T1.5, 1211-T1.5 with a diameter of 4 llm and an
aspect ratio lid 312.5 and hot film probes of the type
1210-20, 1211-20 with a diameter of 51 and an
aspect ratio lid 24.5). The temperature of the wires is in
all cases hold fixed at 250°C. In the tests performed so far
533
the probes were always hold perpendicular to the direction of

flow. Storing and analysing of the gained data is done by a
computer. Tests revealed a high accuracy of the whole system.
The error at measurement was below 0.5%. Fig.2 shows the root
mean square error of the mean voltage as a function of the
velocity. Because of the error propagation the root mean
square error is much smaller for the curves Nu versus Re.
.--__--=" ======.----__
l'_D_W(_._"~_~_PL_Y__~I ----~-----·
-r.-:::~:::::=__=~=;---..--l COt~UI:Ol.'Ml(l
•
•
f'0$11I0.-. ~WSCijt
""'(O(D
A(j; · (t ....' •• l
J(tfl'(1lA IUR( ~(otIIUl
flOl( . SI.N'OlI
IU"Ul.lO
,klil; (llAt."l
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus

534
1.26
1.24 -
1.22 -
1.2 -
1.18 -
~
~
~ 1.16 -
1.14 -
1.12 -
1.1 ~It l*
1.08
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
velocity [cm/sJ
Figure 2: Root mean square error of the mean voltage as a
function of the velocity
Because of the design and the accuracy the system is suitable

for systematical investigations of the influences of the free
convection on the measuring results.
Results
The system described above was tested on earth as well as

aboard an aircraft (KC-135). The plane flew a series of
parabolas, which provided a pg-quality of ± 0.02 g (g: earth
gravity) for about 18 seconds. Further experiments have been
carried out with a smaller system in the little drop tower
facility at Bremen with a pg-quality of 0.01 g and an
experimentation time of 1.5 sec.
Figure 3 shows different calibration curves with data plotted

as the Nussel t number versus the Reynolds number. As the
expression (2) demonstrates, the Nusselt number Nu depends
535
the heating current produces hardly any heat in the prongs

jenabling them to receive the temperature of the fluid.
Because of this temperature difference between the hot wire
and the prongs the hot wire is continously loosing heat not
only 1: 0 the medium but also to the prongs. The total heat
loss is therefore the higher the smaller the quotient of wire
length and wire diameter.
o.~
0.6
.8E
::J
z
0.55
~
~
:J
z
0.5 .,og sxperhatIa 121(Hl.5

- Terresttial experimer1ts 121()'T1.5
- "g axpertnenIs 1211·11.5
- Terresbi!l experimer1ts 1211·11.5
0.45
o 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
Reynolds - Number
Figure 4: Comparison between pg and terrestrical measurements

for two different hot-wire-probes. Too= 25°C
The comparison of the measured pg and terrestrical conditions

is dipicted in fig.4 for two different probes. Well re-
cognizab l e is that the curves for pg data lie beneath the
curves obtained in the presence of gravity effects. A.lso
interesting is the similar shape of all curves. For pg as
well as under the effects of gravity there are finite values
of Nu for Re _ 0. Further both curves run through a local
minimum for small Re values. This minimum could be explained
by the assumption that the hot wire is driven at these very
low velocities of flow through a medium which previously has
536
further on the Prandtl number Pro But due to the small

temperature deviation the dependence on Pr can be neglected.
0.7
0.6
1»
J:J
E
::J
z
0.5
~
~
::J • An<tews [5)
z o CollIs &. Wiliams (6]
• Hatton (7]
• Hegge Zijnen [2]
0.4 ~ Kilg [1]
- Kremers &. UIsamef [4]
~ McAdams (3]
0' - /IQ elCpefments
- TerrestrillJ experi/TIeIQ
0.3
o 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
Reynolds - Number
Figure 3: Comparison of own measurements with existing

formulae for forced and mixed c onvection.
Probe 1210 - Tl.5, d = 4-10- 6 m, 1 = 1,25 mm, T~= 25°C
The data depicted in fig. 3 show the results of a series of

KC-135 flights, the terrestrical results and the calibration
curves due to existing formulae in literature for forced and
mixed convection. Analysing these it is obvious that the
measured curves lie slightly above the already known curves
extracted from lit e rature. This is a result of the fact that
the aspect ratio of the probe used in the present
investigation (lid = 312.5) takes on a value much smaller
than that given in literature (e.g. lid = 2070-8660 in [6]
and lid = 553 in [2]).
The two prongs that hold the hot wire have always a much
larger cross section than the hot wire itself and therefore
537
already been heated by conduction and free convection. This

may be the reason why the total heat transfer is smaller.
For higher Reynolds numbers a steady difference between the
curve for pg and the curve obtained in the presence of
gravity for both probes can be observed. The influence of the
Grashof number seems to go further than it has been assumed
in literature so far. This tendency was also confirmed by
tests
in the small drop facility [l0]. Further investigations are
necessary at higher Reynolds numbers to confirm this
hypothesis.
~_~knowledgment
The financial support by the Bundesminister fur Forschung und

Technologie is gratefully acknowledged.
References
1. King. L. v.: On the convective heat transfer from small

cylinders in a stream of fluid. Determination of
convective constants of a small platinum wires with
application to hot-wire anemometry. Phil. Trans. R. Soc.
214A. 373 - 432 (1914).
2. Van der Hegge Zijnen. B.G.: Modified correlation formulae

for the heat transfer by natural and forced convection
from horizontal cylinders, Appl. Sci. Res. A6. 129-140
(1956) .
3. McAdams. W.H.: Heat Transmission, third edition. Chap. X

McGraw-Hill, New York (1954)
4. Kramers. H.: Heat transfer from spheres to flowing media.

Physica 12,61 (1946).
538
5. Andrews, G.E.; Bradley; D. and Hundy, G.F.: Hot wire

anemometer calibration for measurements of small gas
velocities, J. Heat Mass Transfer, 't1 ...... 1
wv..J... •
It::
...LJ.
............
}.J1J-
(1972 )
6. Collis, D.C.; Williams, M.,J.: Two-dimensional convection

from heated wires at low Reynolds numbers, J. Fluid Mech.
357-384 (1959).
7. Hatton, A.P.; James, D.O.; Swire, H.W.: Combined forced

and natural convection with low-speed air flow over
horizontal cylinders, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 42, part 1, pp.
17-31 (1970).
8. Joergensen, F. E.: An Omnidirectional thin-film probe for

indoor climate research, DISA Info., 24, 24-29 (1980)
9. Rasmussen, C.G.: Das Luftstrahl-Hitzdraht-Mikrophon, DISA

Info., 2,5-13 (1965)
10. Stengele F.R.; Delgado A.; Rath lL.}' Calibration of

thermal anemometers at very low velocties under
microgravity. To be published in the Proceedings of the
International Symposium on hydromechanics and heat/mass
transfer in microgravity (1991)
Non-Newtonian Fluid Flows,
Solidification, Applications
Particle Migration at Melting
and Solidification Fronts
Dieter Langbein
Battelle Europe, Frankfurt am Main
INTRODUC'TION
This paper reports on particle pushing and engulfment by so-

lidification fronts and on respective microgravity experi-
ments. The absense of thermal convection and of sedimentation
under microgravity conditions renders possible a direct ob-
servation of the relevant forces and the corresponding criti-
cal growth rates.
First, particle pushing by solidification fronts is a topic

of basic research. It is due to van der Waals repulsion be-
tween the particles and the solid. Van der Waals forces be-
tween different particles generally are attractive. However,
if particles incorporated in a melt are less strongly attrac-
ted by the solid than the melt, an effective repulsion re-
sults. Van der Waals repulsion hence is the difference of two
attractive contributions.
Van der Waals forces are known to be very short ranged. They
hardly extend over more than hundred nanometers. For a parti-
cle to experience van der Waals attraction or repulsion by a
solid, its spacing has to be very small. Particle pushing, if
at all, therefore arises at very small distances from the
solidification front only.
Second, particle pushing by solidification fronts has strong

impact on zone refinement during crystal growth. By repeated
melting and solidification the unwelcome particles get driven
out of the matrix material, such that increasingly clean and
faultless fractions may be obtained. The short range of van
der Waals repulsion together with the increase of the viscos-
ity of t~he melt near the melting temperature require very
slow melting rates and the absence of residual accelerations.
Third, clue to the absence of thermal convection and sedimen-

tation, microgravity conditions render good chances for pro-
ducing fairly dispersed samples of composite materials. In
that case particle pushing by the solidification front has to
be avoided, which requires fast cooling rather than slow
cooling. The solidification front has to move faster than the
critical velocity required for particle pushing.
H, J. Ralh (Editor)
Microgravity Fluid Mechantcs
542
Fourth, investigations on the behaviour of particles at melt-

ing and solidification fronts have been stimulated by the
problems arising during freezing and thawing of physiological
suspensions. Both the erythrocytes and the lymphocytes sur-
vive freezing and thawing of blood only to a maximum of about
60 percent. The cooling rate required for achieving maximum
survival is larger by two orders of magnitude for the ery-
throcytes than for the lymphocytes. The two types Of cells
therefore must first be separated and then subjected to dif-
ferent freezing processes for obtaining high survival rates
(Korber 1988).
In the following, an overview is presented in elaborate fig-

ures, tables and captions
on the theoretical analysis of particle attraction and

repulsion, heat and melt flow, balance of forces and
on relevant ground and space experiments, their require-

ments and results.
EXPERIMENTS, RESULTS AND ANALYSES
Fig. 1: Pile-ups of particles at a solid-liquid interface:

(a) salol + MgO (b) thymol + Zn
Particles at, and moving along with the interface,
have often been observed to impinge upon other
particles in the liquid. These are in turn pushed
by t~e particles at the interface and move along as
the 1nterface advances. They may impinge upon still
othe 7 particles, and in this way large pile-ups of
part1cles can be pushed. Pile-ups, extending dozens
of particles in the direction normal to the inter-
face, have been observed (from Uhlmann et al. 1964).
543
I mm
30
60
90
120
ISO
I
180
~"tl"'r' ',,'. ~
~.s.1~·;: ,j ...•.- :' ':'~, ', .. ' ~~' 0)
~
210
I
G
Fig. 2:
1
A typical sequence of micrographs representing the
transition from particle repulsion to encapsula-
tion, The sample consisted of latex (sterene divi-
nyl benzene) spheres of 5.7~m mean diameter in dis-
tilled water. As the planar ice-liquid interface
advances through the sample, three different phases
of the process may be distinguished.
(1) Initially, all particles are being repelled and
accumulate ahead of the ice-front which is still
propagating rather slowly with velocity below the
cri tical value V e '
(2) The particles are gradually left behind as
their critical velocities are reached. Some
particles are only swept along for a very short
distance before they get entrapped.
(3) Finally, the interface velocity has increased
to a value beyond v e , all particles are seen to
remain in their initial position while being encap-
sulated immediately upon arrival of the front (from
Korber 1988).
544
melt 3 melt 3
particle 2
particle 2 radius R,
solid 1
solid 1
Fig. 3: Phenomenological analysis of the contact energy. If

(left) particle 2 contacts solid 1 with the area of con-
tact a c ' the surface energy a co l 2 is required. Since
at the same time the interfaces 13 between solid
and melt and 23 between particle and melt vanish,
the total change in interface energy equals
aE = ac(012-013-023)
If aE is positive, contact requires energy, which
is equivalent to particle repulsion. If aE is nega-
tive, contact releases energy, which is equivalent
to attraction between the particle and the solid.
The interface energy therefore represents a limit-
ing value for the attraction between two half-
spaces at large separations d. In order to achieve
particle repulsion, bad wetting is required. Making
use of Young's condition on the contact angle y
along a solid contact line, one obtains alterna-
tively
Attraction of the particle by the solid increases

with increasing surface energy 023 between melt and
particle and increasing contact angle y.
Fig. 4 : Sketch of particle 2, as it migrates with velocity

(right) in the melt 3 before the growth front of solid 1.
Particle repulsion requires a continuous flow of
the melt into the small spacing d. If a quadratic
flow profile is assumed, one finds for the viscous
force of the intruding melt
Fvsc = 6 n:T1V R~ /d
545
Table 1: Asymptotic power laws for the van-der-Waals energy

between particles with different shapes. The molec-
ular interaction energies proportional to r- 6 and
r- 7 in the non-retarded case and in the retarded
case, respectively, have been integrated over the
volumes of the particles considered. d is the par-
ticle separation.
Separation d Interacting Non- Retarded

particles retarded limit
limit
small separations sphere + sphere -1 -2

d « charact . + cylinder
lengths + half - space
crossed cylinders
parallel cylinders -3/2 -5/2

cylinder + half-space
half-space + half-space -2 -3
large separations half-space + half-space -2 -3

d » charact. plate perpendicular
lengths to half-space
rod perpendicular
to half-space
crossed plates
film parallel to half-space -3 -4

cylinder parallel to half-
space
sphere + half space
plate perpendicular to film
parallel films -4 -5
cylinder parallel to film
sphere + film
crossed cylinders
parallel cylinders -5 -6
sphere + cylinder
sphere + sphere -6 -7
546
10-9
--
Z
( I)
10-18
\
-
()
~
"'-" ."
0
10-11
de ." Fvee
ur12 ...........
---_V > Vc
--.-
ur13
(1)1
Hr14 gl
cal
1i) V < Vc
:Sl
10-15 ()
'Sl
01
10
ur16 1
I
10- 17
10-1 10 8 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4
distance d (nm)
Fig. 5: Van-der-Waals force F"dw and viscous force F"se of

the intruding melt vs . distance d of the particle
from the solidification front. The viscous force is
shown for three different velocities, v < v e , v=ve
and v > Ve . The curvature of the van-der-Waals
force always is negative, that of the viscous force
positive . If the growth rate v is l ow, v < v e , van-
der-Waals repulsion exc eeds the vis c ous force at
small distances d. The particle migrates with the
distance d shown by a circle. When the growth rate
increases, the distance d of the particle from the
solidification front decreases and a critical dis-
tance d e and a critical velocity Ve show up.
547
3- ~
I~) \ ~t 1
7 '.iJ;' .......
'"
particle 2-
n
~ ~4tJ
W {l/:l:o, Id 1 -
Fig. 6: Heat flow (vertical lines) around an insulating

(left) particle 2 in front of a solid 1, whose thermal
conditivity is five times larger than that of the
melt 3. The isotherms (horizontal lines) are bend
towards the insulating particle. If the solid is
growing from a melt, the solidification front
actually follows an isotherm, which means that it
is bend toward the particle too. Its local curva-
ture increases with decreasing distance from the
particle. If the thermal conductivity of particle 2
is higher than that of the melt and the solid, the
curvature of the solidification front becomes nega-
tive.
Fig. 7: Melt flow around particle 2 (radius Rz ) to the so-

(right) lidification front with radius Rj • The stream lines
have been obtained by repeated transposition of the
stream function to and fro the centers of sphere 1
and sphere 2. For the viscous force of the melt 3
on particle 2 one obtains in the limit of small
spacings d
548
.,t
",mi.)
30r-----~----_r----~
...
•c - R1 ~. 78
10
_, _ Rw,
...:: . ., - R-t
• , -R~
O+----r----~--~--~----+_--_+ 0
2 6 0 100 200 300
Ru.m) _ C(K lan) _
Fig. 8: Critical velocity Ve (mean ± standard deviation)

(left) vs. particle radius R. As predicted by all theoret-
ical models, the critical velocity is seen to de-
crease with increasing particle size. For relating
the data to the various functional relationships
derived, curve fits were performed according to v e
- R-q. Different values were chosen for the expo-
nent q as proposed by the various authors, i . e. q =
1/2 (Potschke, 1988), q = 1 (Uhlmann et al. 1964;
Hoekstra & Miller, 1967; Chernov et al. 1976;
Omenyi et al. 1980), q = 3/4 (Chernov et al. 1976)
and q = 3/2 (Bolling & Cisse, 1971) and fitted to
the data points. Best agreement with the experi-
ments was achieved for q = I, implying that the
assumption of a flat solidification front repre-
sents a reasonable approximation. Regarding
possible extrapolations, however, it has to be
noted that the experimental results exhibit a rela-
tively large standard deviation, and that the range
of particle diameters investigated is rather small
(from Korber 1988).
Fig. 9 : Relationship between critical velocity v e , and the

(right) thermal gradient G at the interface, determined for
latex spheres. An increase of Ve with increasing
thermal gradient in the matrix is predicted by some
of the theoretical models taking into account of
non-uniform temperature distribution (Hoekstra &
Miller, 1967; Chernov et al . 1976, Potschke, 1988).
A linear relationship as proposed by Hoekstra and
Miller is in satisfactory agreement within the rel-
atively small range of values studied, but extrapo-
lation to vanishing G would yield v e(O) = 9.7 m/s.
In contrast, a rather good correlation with the
549
ng. 9: experimental results is obtained for the square-

c:ontd. root type of functional dependence proposed by
Potschke (1988): the solid line shows the curve
resulting from a least squares fit, i.e. Vc =
1.3 G1/2 • Chernov's model suggests Vc - G which is
seen to agree less well with the experiment. Both
models, however, have to be evaluated with respect
to the concurrently predicted functional dependence
of the particle radius R, i.e. Vc _ Gl/2 R- 1/2 and
Vc - GIl R- 4/3 (from Korber 1988).
~rable 2: Microgravi ty experiments on the displacement and

coagulation of incorporated particles during melt-
ing and solidification of composite metallic
materials
mission crucible matrix particles vol-\ size (~m) shape density
Tl Mo-alloy Ag 1000 spheres

Mo-alloy
Mo-alloy
Ag
Ag
20
75
100-200
100-200
spheres
spheres
0.7
0.7
...
Mo-alloy Ag 75 250-350 spheres 0.7 !
iii
---------------------------------------------------~
T2 Mo-alloy Ag+Cu.Ni W 20 250-315 spheres 1
Mo-alloy Ag W 20 250-315 spheres leak
Mo-alloy Ag sapphire 20 50,2000 spheres 1
T6 Mo-alloy Cu SiC 0.25 125-160 angular leak

Mo-alloy Cu SiC 0.25 125-160 angular leak
graphite Cu SiC 0.25 125-160 angular leak
T7 Mo+C Cu Si02 1.1 32-45 angular c

graphite Cu Si02 1.1 32-45 angular
graphite Cu W :1:30 0-45 spheres ~
o
-----------------------------------~
T9 graphite Cu Mo 0.5 0-45 spheres ~
graphite Cu Mo 0.5 0-45 spheres ~
graphite Cu Si02 1 0-32 angular ~
graphite Cu Si02 1 0-32 angular ~
---------------------------------------------------~
S1 graphite Al A1203 4.2
:l
0.1-0.5 rounded ...
~
graphite Al SiC 0.38 0-3 angular C
graphite Al SiC 0.15 0-15 angular
T3A,B corundum Cu 2 0-100 rounded

corundum Cu 2 0-100 rounded
A1203 Cu 2 30- 60 spheres
T5 Ta Cu 2 2x20 fibers iii

Gi
T9 corundum Cu Mo 1 20 rounded ~
~
J:!
Mo-alloy Cu 1 2-4 rounded I.l
1/1
Tll/12 corundum Cu 0.2 0.1-1 rounded CO-pores ;0
Mo-alloy Cu 0.2 0.1-1 rounded CO-pores Q.
D1 Ta+A1 203 Cu 2 100

Ta+A1 203 Cu 1 1-2 spheres compens.
550
'. . -T
.:.-: ... -
.0.0 • -. .
. "t.-. o~ e.
-. ...." .., ..0., .,.9'

00
00 ~ • • O. 0 I_
.0
0
0
•
o •
•
0 0
• 0
••
• ".. •.••••• °0
#
0
a, ~ .-01
. . .r.
• •0 0 0
0
~.
~
0 o ••
• ; • •
o
.,
•
• 0 0• •
O •
0 0
. , . . . • •: .0 0
• •,
0
-' ... : ••• f ot
· • ,0.0··. 0 -t..
0 o • • ~.
o· 0 ° ••0 • • • •
....
.... _".0,_ ...o.9
0" o . : eo
0
• 0
3% 6% 9%
C/) C/) 1.0

o -
Q)
~
:e:e
0
0.8
--
ca ca
c.c.
0 Z
a...
Q) 0
0.6
-
.c C/)
a...
E Q)
:::l C/) 0.4
C :::l
Q)-
> 0
:;:::c: 0.2
co-
Q)
...
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
volume fraction of particles
Fig. 10: The investigation of particle migration in non-
transparent matrices requires a careful choice of
the size and number of incorporated particles. A
too small number of particles does not enable
detection of their final displacement, a too large
number provokes coagulation. (a) Cuts of mathemat-
ical samples containing 3, 6, 9 and 12 percent by
volume of particles. The cuts have been obtained by
randomly distributing particles with equal diameter
into a given volume and adapting the diameter shown
accordingly. (b) Relative particle number in
clusters of N particles. At 10 percent by volume of
particles only 50 percent of them exist as singles,
2 percent belong to pairs, 13 percent form trip-
lets, etc.
551
·· ............................
o 0 0 0 000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
x • K X • • )( • )( )( )( x x x X JC
+ + +
00000 a 000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 000 0 0

x )( K X )( X X )( X X )( X X X X X X X X X X
electrolyte copper
0.' mmtmln :\
55 min
5.5mm
0.4 mmtmln '
25 min
10 mm
·· ·
·· . ·• ·• •
+
·
0 0 x x 0 0 0
·...·• • ·· ·· • · • ··.
x 0 0
x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x
+ +
9.Bmm 0 0 0 ••
• Cb (
0 • 0 x
0 + 0
x 0
0
...··• · · · · • • • ..
0 0 0
o 0 0 x + 0 0
' ,
000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
o • x x x
..
1.0 mmtmln Q 8 x x x x x x x x x x x x x
· " • · · • " ··
10 min 0 (>"8 + 0 0 +
10 mm 0 x x 0
0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
" "
Fig. 11: The Dl-experiment "Particles at Melting and Solidi-
(left) fication Fronts" was aimed at unidirectional melt-
ing and solidification of a copper sample contain-
ing 1 percent by volume of molybdenum particles
with 2 to 4 ~m in diameter. Five different melting
rates (from top to bottom) and solidification rates
(from bottom to top) where chosen within the range
of the critical velocity estimated from theory. In
order to avoid Marangoni convection, on the top of
the sample (at the hottest side) a magnesium sili-
cate cylinder was placed, into which 19 holes with
1 rom in diameter had been drilled. The melt could
penetrate into the holes during heating (expansion)
and was rejected from the non-wetting capillaries
during cooling (shrinking) . Although unidirectional
melting had to be cancelled for lack of time, the
flight sample revealed no hints on global convec-
tion in the melt.
Fig. 12: Displacement of tracers in the outer fluid during

{right) upward Marangoni migration of a drop or bubble. The
flow velocity has been integrated along the flow
lines from plus infinity to the local position. A
cubic grid of tracers has been assumed, with the
grid spacing corresponding to 10 percent of the
diameter of the fluid particle. Tracers, which are
located in the same height before approach of the
552
Fig. 12: particle, are indicated by the same symbol. On

contd.: approach of the particle, all tracers close to its
path are first shifted upwards outwards. They move
rapidly downwards, when the particle has reached
their height, and move upwards inwards, when the
particle has passed. The rapid downward motion does
not balance the upward motions during approach and
departure, such that a final upward shift of the
tracers is left. It is the larger, the closer the
tracers are located to the axis. The shift of
tracers shown at the same time represents the bend-
ing of the isotherms, if zero conductive heat
transport, that is an infinite Marangoni number, is
assumed.
Table 3: Systems used or considered for volume balance dur-

ing heating and cooling, melting and solidification
under microgravity conditions
Pistons squeezed by quartz, metal, or graphite springs

Nonwetting crucibles with conical ends
Nonwetting capillaries made from ceramics
Nonwetting conically or stepwise narrowing capillaries
Viscoelastic springs based on glass bulbs
Porous materials surrounded by flexible materials
Volume balancing on the basis of memory metals
REFERENCES
Bolling, G.F.; Cisse, J.: A theory for the interaction of

particles with a solidifying front. J. Crystal Growth 1Q
(1971) 56-66
Barnocky, G.; Davis, R.H.: The lubrication force between

spherical drops, bubbles and rigid particles in a viscous
fluid. Int. J. Multiphase Flow 12 (1989) 627-638
Chernov, A.A.; Temkin, D.E.; Mel'nikova, A.M.: Theory of the

capture of solid inclusions during the growth of crystals
from the melt. Soviet Phys. Crystallogr. 11 (1976) 369-374
Chernov, A.A.; Temkin, D.E.; Mel'nikova, A.M.: The influence

of the thermal conductivity of a macroparticle on its capture
by a crystal growing from a melt. Soviet Phys. Crystallogr.
11 (1977) 656-658
Cisse, J.; Bolling, G.F.: A study of the trapping and rejec-
tion of insoluble particles during the freezing of water.
J. Crystal Growth 1Q (1971) 67-76
553
Clancy, P.F.; Heide, W.; Langbein, D.: Sounding-rocket flight

test of an acoustic mixer by manufacture of a lead-zink emul-
sion alloy in microgravity. ESA SP-191 (1983) 99-104
Deruyterre, A.M; Froyen, L.: Melting and solidification of
metallic composites. ESA SP-219 (1984) 65-67
Froyen, L.; Deruyterre, A.: Melting and solidification of

metal matrix composites under microgravity. ESA SP-222 (1984)
69-78
Hoekstra, P.; Miller, R.D.: On the mobility of water mole-

cules in the transition layer between ice and a solid sur-
face. J. Colloid. Interface Sci. 12 (1967) 166-173
Korber, Ch.: Phenomena at the advancing ice-liquid interface:

Solutes, particles and biological cells. Quarterly Review of
Biophysics 11, 2 (1988) 229-298
Langbein, D.: Theory of Van-der-Waals Attraction. Springer

Tracts in Modern Physics II (1984)
Langbein, D.: The motion of particles ahead of a solidifica-

tion front. In: Intermolecular Forces. B. Pullman (ed.),
Reidel Publ. Compo (1981) 547-562
Langbein, D.: Fremdteilchen an einer Erstarrungsfront. Metall

~ (1984) 399-402
Langbein, D.; Potschke, J.: The engulfment of discrete parti-

cles. In: Composites, both artificial and in-situ in the
earth's and the space laboratory. C. Potard & P.R. Sahm
(eds.), CEN-Grenoble (1985) 9-32
Langbein, D.; Roth, U.: Interactions of bubbles, particles

and unidirectional solidification under microgravity.
ESA SP-256 (1987) 183-189
Langbein, D.: Separation of binary alloys with miscibility

gap in the melt. In: Low-Gravity Fluid Dynamics and Transport
Phenomena. J.N. Koster & R.L. Sani (eds.). Progress in Astro-
nau":;ics and Aeronautics 130 (1990) 631-659
Potschke, J.; Rogge, V.: On the behaviour of foreign parti-

cles at an advancing solid-liquid interface. J. Crystal
Grovlth.2.± (1989) 726-738
Uhlman, D.R.; Chalmers, B.; Jackson, K.A.: Interaction be-

tween particles and a solid liquid interface. J. Appl. Phys.
12 (1964) 2986-2993
Walter, H.U.; Preparation of dispersion alloys - Component
separation during cooling and solidifcation of dispersions of
immiscible alloys. ESA SP-219 (1984) 47-64
Thermal Convection of Non-Newtonian Fluids
under Low Gravity Conditions
T. P. LYUBIMOVA
Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics UB of USSR Academy

of Sciences, Perm, USSR
Summary
Thermal buoyancy convection under the influence of weak mass
forces is studied. Different models of non-linear viscous and
visco-plastic behavior and different orientations of the
temperature gradient with respect to the vector of mass force
acceleration are considered. Analytical methods of the theory,
variational methods and numerical finite-difference method
are used. The finite-amplitude character of the onset of
convection for pseudo-plastic and visco-plastic fluids in the
case of parallel vectors g
and 'V T has been found. The
conditions of the existence of convective motion of visco-
plastic fluid in the case of orthogonal and 'V Tare g
determined with the help of variational methods.
Keywords· thermal buoyancy convection, non-linear viscous

fluid, visco-plastic fluid, real microgravity conditions.
1. Introduction
The non-Newtonian behavior is displayed by many liquid media
participating in technological and biotechnological processes
in microgravi ty. These processes often occur under
non-isothermal conditions and may be accompanied by thermal
convection which significantly affects the properties of
obtained materials. This problem was poorly studied for the
non-linear viscous fluids and almost non-studied for the
visco-plastic media. We have investigated thermal buoyancy
convection under the influence of weak mass forces for
different models of non-linear viscous and visco-plastic
behavior and different mutual orientations of temperature
gradient and mass force accelerations.
H.J.Rath(EdllOr)
556
~ Thermal buoyancY convection cl non-linear viscous .flW.d

2...1. Mathematical IllQ.d.e.l
We considered thermal buoyaIlcy convection of non-1Ll"lear viSCOU_8
fluid in the enclosure under various thermal boundary
conditions. The governing equations for the velocity
...
v,
pressure p, temperature T and shear stress Ti k are the
equations for conservation of the momentum, energy and mass in
the Boussinesq approximation:
{ }
-1
a';; ...
Pr + (.;; 'V ) .;; = - 'V P + Div T - Ra T Y (1)
at
aT ...
+ (.;; 'V ) T = .t. T , div v = 0 (2)
at
Here r is the unit vector in the direction of the mass force

acceleration.
We used the power-law model for the description of
rheological behavior of the fluid:
(n-i.)/2 av. a Vk
= = -aX-
t
T
ik
I 2) e ik e ik + (3)
k ax.
t
All variables in (1)-(3) are given in dimensionless form. The

dimensionless characteristics are the Prandtl number Pr =
V ef Ix , the Rayleigh number Ra = g/1&L" Ivefx and rheological
(k/p ) 1 / (2 -n) L( 2 -2n)/(2-n)
parameter n , V ef = .
We solved the problem numerically in 2-D formulation for the
infinite horizontal cylinder of rectangular cross-section. All
the walls of the cavity were assumed to be rigid and the
condition of vanishing was put for the velocity on the walls.
~ Convective stability cl equilibrium

The conditions of mechanical equilibrium of power-law fluid are
the same as for the Newtonian fluid: these are the uniformity
of temperature gradient and its collinearity with the vector of
mass force acceleration. The results which we obtained by
-+
finite-difference method in the case of parallel g and 'V T
( heating from below ) for the aspect ratio 1 = 1 and Prandtl
557
number Pr = 1 are described in the Fig.1-2. The thermal

conditions on the walls in this case were assumed to be the
following: the isothermal conditions with the different
temperatures on the top and the bottom and the linear
temperature profile on the sidewalls.
The stationary solution ljJ m = 0 (ljJ m - is the extremal value of
streamfunction) corresponding to the equilibrium is possible at
any Rayleigh numbers Ra. If n > 1, the equilibrium is unstable
and the development of disturbances results in the stationary
finite-amplitude motion at any values of Ra Fig .. 1.. n = 1.2 ).
The J~egion of sharp increase of the amplitude exists near the
Raylei.gh number corresponding to the onset of convection of
Newtonian fluid.
In the case of pseudoplastics ( n < 1 the equilibrium is
stable not only with respect to the infinitesimal disturbances
but also with respect to the finite-amplitude ones at Ra < Ra*:
At Fta > Ra* two stationary finite-amplitude motions exist
Fig.2, n = 0.8 ), and besides, the less intensive motion is
unstable and the more intensive one is stable. Thus the
convection is generated at Ra > Ra* by finite-amplitude
disturbances and, besides, the lower part of the ampli tude
curve gives the threshold amplitude of the growing
disturbances. We managed to fix the unstable part of the
amplitude curve when studied the evolution of initial
disturbances with different amplitudes.
The finite-amplitude thermal buoyancy convection of
pseudo-plastic fluid heated from below has been investigated
numerically in [1,2] as well but the numerical methods used in
these works did not permit to find out the finite-amplitude
character of the onset of convection.
The particular feature of the power-law model is that it gives
zero viscosity for the case of n > 1 and zero fluidity for the
case of n < 1 at zero shear rate. But it does not describe the
real behavior of the media. That is why it was important to
study the influence of non-zero initial viscosity or fluidity
on the results of stability analysis. We solved this problem
analytically in the framework of regularized power-law model.
The obtained parts of the amplitude curves are presented
558
qualitatively in the Fig.1,2 by dotted lines. As one can see

from this pictures taking the non-zero initial viscosity or
fluidity into account leads to the appearance of finite values
of critical Rayleigh numbers Ra c •
Experimental investigation of thermal buoyancy convection of
pseudo-plastic fluids heated from below was performed in the
works [3-5]. The onset of convection was studied with the help
of extrapolation of the amplitude curve to zero. It must be
noted that these are the threshold Rayleigh numbers Ra* which
are responsible for the loss of stability of equilibrium with
respect to the finite-amplitude disturbances but not the
critical Rayleigh numbers Ra c corresponding to the instability
with respect to the infinitesimal disturbances.
---
'-...:---
Ra
----
'i)-E :I- y- 3-E "- Ra v - -
2.10 3 i4.;O~- - 2.'0 3 I
3 3 \
-1
Fig.1 Fig.2 Fig.3
k.3.. Convective flmi.a in .the. ~ Q! non-parallel g and "7T

The influence of the violation of the equilibrium conditions
connected with the violation of parallelness of the vectors
g and "7 T was studied numerically as well. The dependencies of
VIm on the Rayleigh number Ray which is proportional to the
vertical component of the temperature gradient are presented in
the Fig.3 for 1 = 1, Pr = 1, n = O.B. Curves a, b correspond to
the two values of the Rayleigh number Ra h characterizing the
horizontal temperature gradient: a - Ra,., 25, b - Ra h = 500.
It was possible to observe in the numerical experiment in the
case of pseudoplastics at small R~ (weak violation of
559
parallelness of g and " T) the structure of five stationary

solutions. Three of them ( lines I,II,III correspond to the
"natural" direction of circulation of the fluid and two
solutions lines IV,V correspond to the opposite circulation
direction. The solid lines I,III,V correspond to the stable
stationary motions, shaded lines II and IV describe the
unstable ones.
If we increase the angle a between g and " T then the range of
the values of Rayleigh number Ra v where three convective moti-
ons of "natural" direction of the circulation exist, decreases
and then vanishes at all. With the following growth of Ra" the
sharp change of the intensity of the motion also vanishes.
The value of Rav corresponding to the threshold of the
instability with respect to the finite-amplitude disturbances
of "unnatural" direction of the circulation increases and
gradually moves to the infinity with the growth of Ra h'
Thus with the growth of Ra" we observe the graduu.l transition

to the situation whldl tab:,,=; place in the case of orthogonal g
F1ncJ T when mechanical equilibrium is impossible and the only
stationary state exists at any Rayleigh numbers
.3.. Thermal buovancv convection Qf visco-plastic fluid

.3..l.. Mathematical IllQdru
The rheological behavior of visco-plastic media is
characterized by the yield stress T
o
at which the system
acquires fluidity. Such behavior can be considered as the
limit manif e station of pseudo-plastici ty. The rheological
behavior of visco-plastic media is often described by the
Bingham model which in the simplest case of one-dimensional
flow with the shear rate Y is the following:
T = To sign (y ) + I-loo -; (4)
The actual media often have small but nonzero fluidity at small
shear stress and only sharp change of the fluidity but not a
jump takes place at T T
o
. Such behavior in the case of
one-dimensional flow can be described with the help of
Williamson model:
560
T
= f
l a
T
0
+ jrj
+ fJ co 1;
)
(5)
If a -+ 0 then (5) turns into (4)At small a the model (5) is

the regularized Bingham model and a is the parameter of
regularization. We used in the non-one-dimensional case the
following generalizations of the model (5):
T
o
The model (6) is

a
rather
+ rr: convenient for the numerical
(6)
investigation of two or three-dimensional flows. It permits to

make the calculations with the help of one and the same
procedure in the whole region and hence to avoid the
difficulties which appear if one solves the problem with the
a priori unknown boundary between the zones of visco-plastic
and quasi-solid flows .
.3..2... Convective stability cl .the. equilibrium

Numerical investigations made for the case of parallel g and
'V T have shown that the mechanical equilibrium of visco-plastic
fluid is possible and stable at small Rayleigh numbers similar
to that as in the case of Newtonian or pseudo-plastic fluid. If
Ra reaches the threshold value Ra* then the equilibrium remains
admissible but it becomes unstable. However unlikely to the
Newtonian behavior the equilibrium remains stable with respect
to the infinitesimal disturbances at any Ra. The convective
visco-plastic motion is generated at Ra > Ra* by
finite-amplitude disturbances. Qualitatively results are close
to those which were obtained for the case of pseudo-plastic
behavior. The increase of plasticity leads to the increase of
Ra* Le. to the stabilization of equilibrium.
~ Convective ~ in .the. ~ cl orthogonal g and 'VT

In the case of orthogonal vectors g and 'V T the mechanical
equilibrium of Newtonian fluid is impossible. At any small
enough Rayleigh number the convective motion exists with the
intensity to be increasing proportionally to the Grasshoff
561
number Gr = Ra/pr. The specific feature of visco-plastic

behavior in the case of 'V T ..L g is that the convective motion
is impossible at small Rayleigh numbers . Convection appears at
the threshold value of the Rayleigh number when the stresses in
the fluid connected with the temperature non-uniformity reach
the yield stress. We succeed to formulate two variational
principles for the threshold conditions for the onset of
convection in Bingham plastics:
T
o = min dx dy I (7)
lJI
f}
o
'<I' = max (8)

X,Y ax oy
The minimization of the functionals (7),(8) made possible to

obtain the following estimates from above and from below for
the ratio of threshold Rayleigh number to the yield stress
Ra* ITo: 5.8 and 4.9 for 1 = 2, 4.6 and 4.3 for 1 = 5.
The streamlines and the structure of the visco-plastic and
quasi-rigid motions zones obtained with the help of numerical
minimization of the functional (8) for the stationary
convective flows near the threshold in the case of 1 = 2 are
presented in the Fig. 4a, 4b, correspondingly.
Numerical investigation of this problem with the help of
finite-difference method produced the close results for the
threshold conditions for the onset of convection and permitted
also to obtain the solutions in wide range of the parameters.
The maximal values of streamfunction versus Rayleigh number
o
V~~
~~~
10
5
~
a Ro.,... 2.10 4 ROo

FigAa FigAb Fig.5
562
obtained for the stationary convective flows at T 0= 250, 01
= 2.5, Pr =100 and 1 = 2 are plotted in the Fig.5 .
.4. Conclusions
The results of our investigations show that the difference
between Newtonian and non-Newtonian behavior is the most
relevant and must be taken into account at small and moderate
Rayleigh numbers Le. in the range of the parameters which are
typical for the real micro gravity conditions.
The analysis of the results which had been obtained for the
different orientations of the vector of mass force
accelerations with respect to the vector 9 T permits us to
conclude that the visco-plastic buoyancy convective flows are
in certain sense even more gravity-sensitive than the Newtonian
ones. At one and the same thermal conditions the convective
motion of visco-plastic fluid may exist at the Earth and be
impossible in the orbital conditions. In the case of Newtonian
fluid the similar behavior can occur only at strictly parallel
g and 9 T but as a rule it is not so in the actual conditions
of the spaceflight.
References
1. H.Ozoe and S.W.Churchill. Hydrodynamic stability and natural
convection in Ostwald-de Waele and Ellis fluids: the develop-
ment of a numerical solution. A.I.Ch.E. Journal 18 1196 (1972)
2. E.M.Parmentier, D.L.Turcotte and K.E.Torrance. Studies of
finite amplitude non-Newtonian thermal convection with
application to convection in the earth-s mantle. J. Geophys.
Res. 81 1839 (1976)
3. C.Tien, H.S.Tsuei and Z.S.Sun. Thermal instability of a
horizontal layer of non-Newtonian fluid heated from below. Int.
J. Heat and Mass Transfer 12 1173 (1969)
4. S.F.Liang and A.Acrivos. Experiments on buoyancy-driven
convection in non-Newtonian fluid. Rheol. acta, 9, 447 (1970)
5. H.-S.Tsuei, C.Tien. Free convection heat transfer in a hori-
zontal layer of non-Newtonian fluid. Can. J. Chem. Eng., 51 249
(1973)
Solidification of a Liquid Sphere
in Weightlessness
L.G.Badratinova, I.V.Belova, N.A.Leontiev
Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics
Novosibirsk 630090, USSR
Summary
As a sphere, initially fully mel ted and then cooled over the
whole surface, transforms into a solid state, stresses develop
there due to a spatial inhomogeneity of temperature field and
admixture concentration. Significant stresses may also develop
due to the change of material density upon crystallization. The
effects of thermoelastic, concentration and shrinkage stresses
on crystallization of semiconducting and metal specimens were
studied theoretically in /1-3/. A nonuniqueness of the solution
describing the process of liquid sphere solidification in a
spherically symmetrical cooling regime is the main result of
this paper.
A General Mathematical Model of the Process

The experimental results on crystallization of Cu and Ag speci-
mens in the form of a sphere under weightlessness are described
in /4/, where it is noted that the structure of the obtained
specimens points to an absence of convective flows in the melt.
A mathematical model of a spherically symmetric crystallization
is formulated in /1/, where the behaviour of a solid phase is
described by the system of equations of isotropic thermoelasto-
plasticity. Convective motion in the liquid core is not taken
into account. The heat equations for solid and liquid phases
are conjugated via the Stefan type condition (see formula(8)),
obtained from the general strong-discontinuity conditions. It
has been shown that as the crystallization front moves towards
the sphere center, pressure in the liquid phase increases and
the interface velocity decreases. For metals and semiconduc-
tors, the solidification time increases by a factor of 2 to 4
as compared to the value obtained from the Stefan problem with-
out taking into account normal stresses at the front. As the
shear stress intensity reaches the yield limit, a plastic de-
formation region develops. Stresses are maximum at the front.
H. J. Rath (Editor)
Microgravlty Fluid Mechanics
564
The interface between the elastic and plastic regions Co (t)

moves from the crystallization front So(t) towards the external
boundary of the sphere Ko(t) (Fig.i). In /2,3/ it is shown that
with alloying additives, significant concentration boundary
layers develop near the crystallization front, and admixture
storage in the liquid phase takes place. This results in dece-
leration of the front.
z
Fig .1.
Let us consider the axially symmetric solution of the liquid-

sphere-crystallization problem. It is assumed for simplicity
that the cooling regime is spherically symmetric and a spheri-
cal symmetry of the outer free surface of the liquid sphere,
conditioned by capillary forces,is not disturbed at the moment
when a solid phase is at the origin. The question arises whether
the process will be spherically symmetric up to full solidifi-
cation or whether a spherical form of a growing elastic shell
will be disturbed.
Let us introduce a spherical coordinate system r,~,~ with its

origin at the sphere center (fig.l). The material behaviour in
a solid phase is described by the system of equations of uncon-
nected quasi-static thermoelasticity. When S(~,t)<r<R(~,t):
( 1)
0, (2)
565
= o. (3 )
For a liquid phase 0 < r < S(~,t) the following relations are
valid
(4 )
Here T l , T2 , Xl' X2 are the temperatures and the coefficients

of thermal diffusivity in solid and liquid phases; I - is the
unit tensor, P - is the stress tensor, Uri rr~, cr~and v~ are
its nonzero components,p(t) is the pressure in a liquid phase.
In the elastic region C(~,t) < r < R(~,t) Hooke's low is valid:
(5 )
Here To is the crystallization temperature, E = Er + E~ + E~

is the volumetric expansion. The strain tensor components are
expressed through the displacement vector components u =(Ur'U~)
by the formulae
~[Ou~+
r O~
u],
r
E
~
= ~(u
r r
In the plastic region S(~,t) < r < C(~,t) the Tresca plasti-
city condition is fulfilled:
1
(J -
r
(J~)2 + a;~= 4K2 , (J= Z(Jr + (J~) ±K. (7 )
~
The heat expansion coefficient a,.
and the Lame coefficients ~,~
are almost independent of temperature and are taken to be cons-
tanto For simplicity it is assumed here that the yield limit K
is also independent of temperature. This is valid if a maximum
temperature drop in the plastic zone is not in excess of 20 o K.
At the crystallization front r=S(~,t) it is assumed that tan-

gential and normal components of the stress vector are conti-
566
nuous, phase are in local thermodynamical equilibrium and the

Stefan condition is valid /1/
T1 =T 2 =T 0,
(8 )
P2-Pl
(P2 A - ~ Gr ) D.nS=(~lV Tl-~2V T2 ) .ns , V=(~r'~ ~~].
On the outer boundary r=R(~,t), according to /1/, we have
(9 )
In (8), (9) A is the latent crystallization heat, P1 ,P 2 are the

densities of solid and liquid phases, D is the crystallization
front velocity, F(t) > 0 is the function of time determining
~ ~ ~~ ~~
the cooling regime. The values n s ' nr and ~s' ~r are the unit
vectors of normal and tangential vectors to the surfaces
r=S(~,t) and r=R(~,t), R(O) is the initiaJ radius of the liquid
sphere.~1'~2 are the coefficients of thermal conductivity.
If there exists an interface between an elastic state and a

plastic one, the continuity conditions for the stress tensor
components are prescribed there. The melt is assumed to be in-
compressible. The condition of conservation of total mass of
the material is of the form
']{; R (0) ']{; R
J J r2sin~d~dr -p*J Jr2Sin~d~dr (10)

o S o S
Equations (1)-(10) are supplemented by axial symmetry and ini-
tial conditions. In the numerical calculations, an initial tem-
perature distribution in the liquid sphere is known. Therefore,
when t=O it is assumed that S(~,O)=R(~,O)=R(o)'
T2(r,~,0)=¢(r)To. The calculations were made for
F(O)=¢(R(o) )=1.
A Spherically Symmetric Solution

Let us present the formulae describing a basic spherically sym-
metric solution of the quasistatic thermoelastoplasticity prob-
567
lem. If the total solid phase is in an elastic state, when

So(t) < r < Ro(t) the nonzero components of the stress tensor
~, ~=~ are determined from Ill:

R
of =cf 1 (r t) =
4~(2~+3~) [ SO 2
3(L 8r dr +
r r' 3(2~+~)r3-1
r
(11)
R
2~(2~+3~) [ SO
2
----3""" 3Cl-r 8r dr +
3(2~+~)r
r
and the pressure is found from
If there is a plasticity zone in the solid phase, in the plas-

< r < Co(t) the stresses are
4~ (2~+3~)
3(2~+X) [l-R Co )IRo -Cl-r8(t,Co (t))1,
~l= ~l±2K.
pressure in the liquid being p o _oIlo

(t)= r l (S (t), t), and the
stresses in the elastic region Co(t) < r < Ro(t) being deter-
mined from formulae (11). If at some instant t*, the whole re-
gion transforms into a plastic state (i.e. Co(t*)=Ro(t*)), for
the stress tensor components and pressure we have
ofr = ±4Kln(r/R0 ), ~u = ofr ± 2K, P0 (t) = ±4Kln(S 0IR

0
)
The temperature distribution T~(r,t),T~(r,t) and the crystalli-

zation front position So(t) are found by the interpolation me-
thod. The position of an outer boundary of the shell Ro(t) is
found from (10), which in a one-dimensional case provides the
relation R3
o
The boundary Co(t) is determined from plasticity condition (7).

In the elastic region, the displacements are u~=u~=o, and u~ is
found from Hooke's law. An elastoplastic problem in the case
under consideration is statically solvable: stresses in the
yield zone may be determined from the equilibrium equations and
568
plastici ty conditions. Therefore, deformations and displace-

ments were not studied in the plasticity region. A typical
stress distribution ITr,cy"t] along the radius of a solid shell
So(t)<r<RO(t) is shown in Fig.2 for three moments of time,t l ,t 2
and t3. At the moment tl the solid phase is fully in an elastic
state. When t=t 2 , some part of a solid phase is in an elastic
state and the remaining part is in a plastic one. At the moment
t3 the solid phase is fully in a plastic state.
G&
Fig.2.
Bifurcation Conditions
Let us consider the case when the basic solution corresponds to

an elastic state of the solid phase: 1~-~1<2K for So(t) < r
< Ro(t), where t <t p1 ' t p1 - is the time of reaching the yield
limit at the crystallization front. In this case it is conve-
nient to write down equilibrium equation (1) in terms of dis-
placements with the help of Hooke's law. Having linearized the
equilibrium equations, (1), (4) and conditions (8)-(10) for the
basic solution u~, T~, T~, Ro'So'Po' the small disturbances may
be found as follows (i=1,2):
1 1 1
u r (r , '6, t) , u'6 ( r , '6, t) , uq> (r , '6, t) ,
Ti (r,'6, t), Rl ('6, t), Sl ('6, t), Pi (t). (12 )
Let us consider quasi stationary disturbances, for which the

derivatives OT l lot, OT2/ot, OSl lot entering the problem are
equal to zero, and the time dependence of (12) is of parametric
569
character. The quasi stationary condition is prescribed because

we are interested in the possibility of stability loss of the
solid rather than in the evolution of the development of dis-
turbances with time.
It should be noted that due to the presence of the interface,

the problem under consideration substantially differs from that
of thermostability of bodies studied in elasticity theory. With
disturbances of the basic equilibrium state of elastic solid
phase, the disturbed crystallization front temperature must be
equal to the crystallization temperature. Elastic bending dis-
placements u at the interface S (t) are not equal to the dis-
1 r 0
turbance S . If there are no temperature disturbances, it fol-
lows from the linearized temperature boundary conditions (8),
(9) that the disturbances Rl=Sl=O. Since the solid phase boun-
daries are not deformable, an elastic instability cannot deve-
lop: the problem of small disturbances for the displacement
field has only a trivial solution.
If at some instant of time there arise nontrivial branching

solutions (12), the displacement disturbances may increase be-
cause the pressure drop at the solid region interface increases
in the process of solidification. In this case we deal with the
stability loss of the solid phase.
In the problem of small disturbances, a basic solution for dis-

placements is of the form, suggested by P.F.Papkovich, /5/.
Separation of variables allows the values entering the boundary
conditions to be presented in the form of a series in a fully
orthogonal system of functions on the sphere surface, Legendre
polynomials Pn(COS~) of the n-th order. The series coefficients
are parametric functions of time. The disturbances for n ~ 2
satisfy automatically the condition of mass conservation (7),
and in order to find the series coefficients with the numb~rs n
~ 2, it is sufficient for the linearized boundary conditions
(8)-(10) to be satisfied. To find the series coefficients, it
is appropriate to obtain a uniform system of nine linear alge-
braic equations for every n. For a given basic solution, the
condition of vanishing determinant b. of this system provides
570
the instant of time ter and the critical value

rer=So(ter)/Ro(ter) when an axially symmetric solution with an
appropriate nUluber n branched front the basic solution.After
some simplifications, this condition may be written as
6=O,where 6 is the determinant
Here a ll = (n+l) (n-2+4V) , a 12 = n, a 13 = n(n+3-4V) , a 14 =-(n+l),

2 2
a 2l =(n+l) (n -n-2-2V) , a 22 =n(n-l), a 23 =-n(n +3n-2V) ,
2 2 2
a 24 =n +3n+2, a 2S =- (n +3n-2), a =n 2 -n-4 a 3l =n +2n-l+2V,
26 '
2
a 32 =n-l,a 33 =n -2+2V, a 34 =-n-2, ~=(1+V)~/2(1-V), V=~/2(~+~) -
is the Poisson coefficient, A, Band G are the functions deter-
mined from the formulae
It has been shown analytically that for high values of n the

determinant 6 cannot vanish when r E (0,1). For n ~ 20 equation
(12) is studied numerically. The material parameters correspond
to eu and Si. An initial radius is R(O) = 1 em. The cooling
571
rate ranges from 1 grad/min to 1 grad/so It has been shown that

in all cases the determinant ~ may be zero when f E (0,1) only
for n=3,5 a critical point fer for n=5 being closer to the
right end of the section (0,1). The numerical results for Si
(with a cooling rate of 1 grad/min) are presented in Fig.3. In
the same figure, the dependence of the determinant ~ on para-
meter 'Y for n=2,3,4,5 is illustrated. The dotted line shows the
behaviour of determinant (12) for n=5 when a,.=o. The case a,.=o
corresponds to disturbances (12) with T!=T~50. As is seen, when
a,.=o the determinant is of fixed sign within the section (0,1).
o.ol-----==========--o:::::::....-----t--7I~~
Fig.3.
If the plasticity zone develops in a solid phase before the

spherically symmetric solution has lost stability (when f >
fer)' for n ~ 3,5 the determinant for an elastic-plastic solu-
tion does not vanish with any of the values f E (0,1). For
n=3,5 its behaviour is analogous to the behaviour of the deter-
minant for an elastic solution.
Now let us consider the solidification process starting from

the instant when the total solid phase transforms into a plas-
tic state. Linearized equations (1) - (11) on the basic solu-
tion, we obtain the problem of disturbances. The four boundary
conditions for stresses (see (8), (9)) allow the problem of
572
finding cr~,~,cr~,cr~ to be separated from the temperature prob-

lem. With constant yield limit, the temperature regime does not
influence the stability of a quasi-equilibrium state of a solid
phase. By representing the solution in the form of series in
Legendre /6/ polynomials, we obtain the following condition for
the existence of a nontrivial solution:
It may be shown that as the whole phase transforms into a plas-

tic state, the process becomes unstable. A minimum critical
value n increases when ,(t*) increases.
References
1. I.V.Belova, A.L.Ovsiannikova, Effect of thermoelastic stres-

ses on crystallization of a sphere under weightlessness, Zhur-
nal prikladnaiia matematika i tekhnicheskaia fizika (Journal of
Applied Mathematics and Technical Physics), v. 26,No. 5, p.
708, 1985.
2. I.V.Belova, N.A.Leontiev, Influence of thermoelastic stres-
ses on crystallization of a sphere formed by the binary melt
under weightlessness. Proceedings of the II Conference "Model-
ling of Crystal Growth", Riga 1990, pp. 30-38 (in Russian).
3. N.A.Leontyev, A.F.Voevodin, Numerical method for calculation
of binary layers in heat-and-mass transfer Stefan-type problem.
Proceedings of the Fourth Int. Conf. on Boundary and Interior
Layers: Computational and Asymptotic Methods, Dublin 1986,pp.
356-361.
4. V.S.Zemskov, I.N.Belokurova et al. Solidification of copper
and silver in near-zero-g experiments. Acta Astronautica, 1982,
v.9, No.10.
5. A.A.Kovalenko, Thermoelasticity, Kiev 1975, pp. 167-169.
6. D.D.Ivlev, L.V.Ershov, The disturbance method in the theory
of elastic-plastic body, Moscow, Nauka Publishers, 1978, pp.81-
83.
Investigation of Density Driven Large-Scale Ocean
Motion under Microgravity
M. LIU, C. EGBERS, A. DELGADO and H.J. RATH

Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM),
University of Bremen, P.O.Box 330 440, 2800 Bremen 33, F.R.G.
Abstract
The present paper is part of an investigation project which deals with the simulation
of large-scale thermohaline convections in oceans [1-2,5-7]. In microgravity the ocean
can be modeled properly as a thin layer of a dielectric fluid to which a central force
field is applied between two concentric rotating spheres heated differentially. It has been
found numerically that the interaction between the forced and thermal convection in the
spherical gap leads to new flow situations not reported in literature [4] as yet. Beyond a
threshold Rayleigh number, which depends on the Reynolds number, various flow patterns
in the meridional plane are obtained by numerical simulations. At high Reynolds number
a distortion of the convective cells into a direction parallel to the rotation axis and the
dissappearance of cells in the vicinity of the equatorial plane have been found. In this
paper first experimental results obtained aboard an aircraft (KC-135) are reported, also.
Similar results as predicted by the theory in the corresponding case have been found.
1. Introduction
The geophysical movements in the atmosphere and in oceans have been the subject of
interest for centuries. The research activities related to the latter topic concentrate on the
oceanic circulation currents, which can be classified into the wind driven ocean streams
and the thermohaline convection induced by the thermal and solutal concentration gra-
dients. The latter one is characterized by large-scale motions and those have been only
sparsely studied.
The flow in the gap between two concentric rotating spheres represents a powerful possi-
bility to simulate flow processes which take place in the planetary atmospheres and oceans
[3,4,8]. But due to the imposed uniform earth gravitation in the terrestrial laboratory the
experimental results cannot be transfered adequately to the situation in real oceans. Sim-
ilar to the central gravitation of the earth, a force field can be produced experimentally
by applying a high-voltage potential difference between the outer and inner sphere filled
with a dielectric fluid. However, because this simulated acceleration is relatively weak,
H J. Rath (Edllor)
Mlcrogravtty FlUId Mechamcs
© Sprmger-Verlag Berhn HeIdelberg 1992
574
experiments require an environment of compensated earth gravitation such as available in

microgravity. As shown by a similar investigation of atmospheric motions made by Hart
et al. [4] in Spacelab 3, but with a hemispherical shell, our module offers an excellent
possibility to study problems addressed here. But, in contrast to [4] we are interested
here in flow patterns in a meridional plane. For the large-scale motions in oceans these
are characterized by other similarity parameters.
2. Theoretical formulation
The viscous flow in the gap between two concentric spheres (dimensionless gap width
fJ = (Ro - ~) / R;) as shown schematically in figure 1(a) is considered. Both spheres
rotate with the angular velocities W; and Wo (rotation rate a = wo/w;), whereby the
inner sphere is homogeneously heated at a higher temperature T; and the outer sphere
is maintained at a lower temperature To. In the spherical coordinates used the velocity
components in the directions of radial r, meridional 0 and azimuthal ¢ are denoted by u,
v and w, respectively.
The fluid movement is described by the continuity, momentum and energy equations. For
convenience, the validity of the Boussinesq approximation is postulated. By assuming
the flow to be rotationally symmetric (i.e. %¢ = 0), the vorticity-stream function
formulation can be applied. The velocities are related to the stream function I]! and the
circumferential function n as follows:
1 ol]! -1 ol]! n
v= - - - - - w = rsinO.
u = r2 sin 0 80 ' rsin 0 or '
The density p is considered to be linearly dependent on temperature T, i.e.

p = po (1 -,(T - To)), where po is the constant ambient density and, the thermal ex-
pansion coefficient of the fluid. Using the inner radius R; as length scale, the inverse of the
angular velocity of the inner sphere l/w; for the time and the temperature difference be-
tween inner and outer sphere (T;-To) for the temperature, the governing non-dimensional
unsteady Boussinesq equations can be written as follows:
(1)
o~ J(~,I]!) ~J(I]!,rsinO)+nJ(n,rsinO) Ra/fJ3. "oT 1 D 2t ()

-+---+2
at
r2 sin 0 r3 sin 2 0
= -Re
- - s m u - + - \,
2 Pr ao Re ' 2
(3)
oT + J(T, I]!) = _1-v2T. (4)

at r2 sin 0 Re Pr
575
Hereby, J denotes the Jacobian determinant and the operators are
and
The non-dimensional numbers in the equations are the Reynolds number Re = R~ wi/v,
the Rayleigh number Ra = 9/d}(Ti - To)/(va) and the Prandtl number Pr = via, where
v denotes the kinematic viscosity, a the thermal diffusivity and 9 the central directed
acceleration.
Under the central force field considered here the flow mode is also symmetric with respect
to the equatorial plane. Therefore, the problem is treated in a quadrant of the spherical
gap. The fluid is initially at rest, so that all quantities (0, ~, \lI and T) have to be set to
zero. The non-slip boundary conditions on the spheres and the symmetries with respect
to the equatorial plane and the axis of rotation have to be considered. The boundary
values for ~ must be determined by the solution of the Poisson equation (3). The whole
set of the boundary conditions associated with equations (1)-(4) can be summarized as
follows:
i)2\l1
r = 1: 0= sin 2 0,
~ = ar2' \lI = 0, T= 1,
r=l+,8: + ,8)2 sin 20, ~ = a2\l1 T =0,

0= 0(1 ar2' \lI = 0,
(5)
aT
0:= 0: 0=0, ~ = 0, \lI = 0, ao = 0,
o---- ~. ao aT
2 . ao = 0, ~ = 0, \lI = 0, ao = o.
For solving the system of non-linear partial differential equations (1)-(4) with associated
initial and boundary conditions defined above a numerical method based on the finite
difference technique developed by Liu, Delgado and Rath [5] has been used. With this
powerful method, these authors were able to calculate the isothermal flow in the gap
between two concentric spheres for the large range of Re from 10 to 20000 [5] and for
different gap widths [6]. A complete description of the solution technique and efficiency
of the method is presented in [5] and [6].
3. Experimental configuration
To study the large-scale ocean motions induced by thermohaline convection, an experi-

mental model has been realized (Figure l(b)). The radii of the inner sphere and the inner
surface of outer sphere are Ri = 3.0 em and Ro = 4.0 em. As working fluid the dielectric
silicone oil (Dow Corning 200, 0.65 cST) ist used. For generating a central force field, a
high ac-voltage (O-lO kV, 50-500 HZ) potential difference is applied. The simulated cen-
576
tral acceleration lies at about O.lgo (go : acceleration due to earth gravity) for a voltage
of 10 kV. A temperature gradient is maintained between the outer and inner sphere, so
that density-driven phenomena like thermohaline convections can be studied.
The inner sphere is made out of aluminium and the outer spherical shell of transparent
plexiglas. To make the outer sphere electrically conductable, a thin layer (10 /-1m) of
silver is coated to its inner surface. The flow structure in meridional plane is visualized
by tracer particles, illuminated by a parallel beam of white light from the top of the outer
sphere and observed in front of this cross-section. As tracer particles the liquid crystals
of unencapsulated type TM 107 (from BDH Chemicals Ltd.) are used, because the high
voltage potential difference shows no influence on them.
In [1,2J further experimental details are given. Furthermore, the question of flow similarity,
parametric values and boundary conditions is treated extensively there.
(a) (b)
Figure 1: (a) Model of large-scale ocean motion. (b) Experimental set-up.

577
4. Discussion of the results
4.1 Numerical results
Literature data concerning the problem in question are very sparse. Hart et al. [4] pre-
sented numerical results for a few parameters. In contrast to that, here, numerical cal-
culations have been carried out systematically to investigate the parametric effects of Re
and Ra on the flow patterns. Although, numerical calculations for the time-dependent
evolution of the flow have been made, the flow in steady state is discussed here only. For
convenience, the following discussion concentrates on the flow in the gap with (3 = 1/3
and Q' = 1. Hereby the Prandtl number is kept constant as Pr = 8.44 (for the fluid used
in experiment). Information about the flow and temperature field in the meridional plane
and the rotational component will be presented by means of streamlines, isotherms and
contours of constant angular velocity, respectively.
As for a = 1 both spheres rotate with the same angular velocity, no secondary flow
in steady state will be generated due to pure rotation. At low Ra the temperature
distribution is solely determined by the heat conduction and the isotherms are regular
con.:entric circle lines. When increasing the temperature gradients applied there is a
threshold value Rae of Rayleigh number that has to be exceeded before the buoyancy
effects cause a detectable change in the meridional flow mode as compared to that for
pure rotation case [7]. The threshold value depends on Re, as the centrifugal force of the
rigid flow due to the rotation restricts the thermal convection. For Re = 10 the threshold
value lies about Rae = 1800 and for Re = 600 it is approximately Rae = 8 . 103 . If
Ra ~ Rae the buoyancy effect becomes dominant and the thermal convection cells in
the meridional plane are generated. For small Re, as Ra just exceeds Rae the thermal
cells prefer the regular form with the aspect ratio of the cells in radial and meridional
direction being close to unity, which appears to be a compromise between the centrifugal
and buoyancy forces. Such a trend was also observed by Hart et al. [4], despite of the fact
that these authors considered the flow to be three-dimensional. As shown in figure 2(a)
a five-celled meridional circulation has been found for Ra = 2 .103 (the solid and dashed
curves indicate the clockwise and counterclockwise swirls, respectively). Increasing Ra
fu,:ther, the thermal convection cells expand in the meridional direction and the number of
cells reduces. There exist four thermal cells at Ra = 8.103 and three cells at Re = 1.6.104
as shown in figure 2(b,c).
The typical isotherms for Ra ~ Rae are depicted in figure 2(d) for Re = 10 and
Ra = 8.103 . As can be seen by comparing it with corresponding streamlines in 2(b),
the isotherms are deformed correspondingly in the direction of the meridional flow. A
578
(a) III . 103

Ra=2·10 3
0.75
Re = 10
(d) T (e) w
Ra=8·10 3 Ra=8·10 3
0.75 0.75
Figure 2: (a-c) Streamlines Ill, (d) isotherms T and (e) contours of angular velocity w for
Re = 10 and different Ra.
differential rotation of the fluid can be observed from the contours of the angular velocity
in figure 2( e). Comparing the angular velocity field with the corresponding streamlines
in figure 2(b) it is found that a circumferential prograde flow (depicted by solid curves)
develops where fluid in the meridional plane flows toward the axis of rotation, and a
retrograde flow (depicted by dashed curves) arises where fluid moves away from the ro-
tational axis. This effect is more pronounced in the region near the rotation axis. The
reason is due to the dominance of thermal convection in this region. The inflow leads to
a transport of fluid particles from the vicinity of the outer sphere with a relatively higher
circumferential velocity towards the inner sphere and causes a prograde rotation, and in
the opposite manner the outflow produces a retrograde rotation.
Increasing the Reynolds number at fixed Ra = 8 . 103 , as shown in figure 3, the thermal
convection becomes weaker as the rotation of both spheres inhibits the convection in the
meridional plane. On the other hand, also the flow patterns are influenced more and
more by rotation. For Re = 100 the five convection cells are similar to that in figure 2(a).
579
But for Re = 300 a seven-celled meridional circulation is generated which tend to take a
shape parallel to the axis of rotation. This tendency is more obvious at Re = 600 (c). In
addition, the thermal convection near the equatorial plane is strongly restricted. This is
due to the large centrifugal force which increases with the distance away from the axis of
rotation.
(a) II' . 104 (c) II' . 106

Re = 100 Re = 600
o.~
Figure 3: Streamlines for Ra = 8 . 103 and different Re.
4.2 First experimental results
With the experimental set-up described in section 3 (Figure l(a)), first experiments under
microgravity conditions have been carried out by parabolic flights with the KC-135 aero-
plane. The aim of those experiments was to study the relationship between various Re
and Ra numbers, whereby only the inner sphere rotates. This case does not correspond
directly to the flow situation in the oceans, but provides an adequate possibility to test
the experimental method used and to verify some basic flow features. Extensive measure-
ments in the range Re = 0 -;- 2· 10 4 and Ra = 103 -;- 5 . 105 have been carried out. The
experimental time of each parabolic flight with the microgravity quality of about 10- 3 90
is approximately 25 seconds, therefore for some parameters only a quasi-steady state flow
can be obtained. The meridional flow indicated by tracer particles is recorded photo-
graphically. The camera exposure time was 4 - 16 seconds depending on rotation rates
and temperature gradients. As the reflective properties of the tracer particles used here
deteriorated with increasing experimental time because the liquid cristals slowly become
unstable in silicone oil, details of the flow in the photos are not very sharp.
Genera.lly, when the pure forced convection dominates, a counterclockwise crescent-shaped

circulation cell (often called as Hadley-cell) is generated. In contrast to this, as the
580
(a) Experimental result (b) Numerical result

FIGURE 4: Experimental and numerical result for Re = 145 and Ra = 1 . 104 •
thermal convection becames dominant by increasing the temperature gradient, different
flow patterns with various convective cells are observed. An exemplary photo is presented
in figure 4(a) for Re = 145 and Ra = 1.104 • For the sake of clarity, the flow pattern
is indicated additionally by a hand-sketch beside it. As can be seen there, the expected
equatorial symmetry is disturbed (depicted by the dashed line) because of the residual
gravity which is relatively high as compared to the central force field simulated. For this
parameter a numerical calculation applied to a half sphere is carried out by considering a
residual acceleration parallel to the axis of rotation of 50% of the central one simulated in
the experiment. For comparison the result for the upper quadrant is shown in figure 4(b),
(the lower quadrant is covered by a single convection cell extended from that near the
equatorial plane). From figure 4 it can be seen that the numerical result agrees with the
experiment qualitatively. Comparing this flow pattern with these in figure 2 and 3, apart
from the symmetry with respect to the equatorial plane, a counterclockwise circulation
near the equator in the upper quadrant is developed by the rotating inner sphere, whereas
a clockwise convection cell is generated by the dominance of the rotating outer sphere, as
this is also the case by both rotating spheres with the same angular velocity.
We acknowledge gratefully the financial support provided by the Bundesminister fiir

Forschung und Technology (BMFT) of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Sen-
ator fiir Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kunst des Landes Bremen.
581
References
1. EGBERS, C., DELGADO, A. AND RATH, H.J. - First experimental investigation of
density-driven large-scale ocean motions under microgravity. Proceedings of the forum
on microgravity flows, vol. 111, 41-46, first joint ASME-JSME fluids engineering
conference, Portland, Oregon, June 23th-27th, 1991
2. 8GBERS, C., Lw, M., DELGADO, A. AND RATH, H.J. - Simulation of large-scale
ocean motions under microgravity with the help of the rotating spherical gap flow of
a dielectric fluid. Submitted for publication in the Proceedings of DARA-Symposium:
Forschung unter Weltraumbedingungen, Aachen, Germany, March 4th-6th, 1991
3. l~KMAN, v.w. - On the influence of the earth's rotation on ocean-currents.
Ark. Mat. Astr. Fys. 2, 1-52, 1905
4. HART, J.E., GLATZMAIER, G.A. AND TOOMRE, J. - Space-laboratory and numer-
ical simulations of thermal convection in a rotating hemispherical shell with radial
~;ravity. J. Fluid Mech. 173, 519-544, 1986
5. Lw, M., DELGADO, A. AND RATH, H.J.-Numericalinvestigationoftheunsteady

viscous flow between two concentric rotating spheres at high Reynolds numbers. Sub-
mitted to J. Fluid Mech., 1990
6. Lw, M., DELGADO, A. AND RATH, H.J. - Numerical investigation of the flow in the
gap of different width between two concentric rotating spheres at high Reynolds num-
bers. Proceedings of 7th international conference on numerical methods in laminar
and turbulent flow, 23-33, Stanford, U.S.A. July 15th-19th, 1991
7. Lw, M., EGBERs, C., DELGADO, A. AND RATH, H.J.-ZurSimulationgroBriiumiger
Ozeanbewegungen unter Mikrogravitation. Z. angew. Math. Mech., T486, 1992
8. YAVORSKAYA, I.M. AND BELYAEV, Y.N. - On a convective model of Jupiter.
Acta Astronautica 9,481-486, 1982
Panel Discussion (Synthesis)
Panel Discussion: September 6, 1991: 9:30 - 11:50 a.m. concluded

the Symposium
Panelists: N. Riley (Moderator); H.F. Bauer; R. Collins;

D. Da; M. Kono; D. Langbein
Synthesis of Panel Discussion: by Prof. R. Collins
The 2 1/2 hour panel discussion was recorded and resulted in a typed transcript of
some 50 pages. Also, detailed notes were taken by R. Collins. For purposes of
brevity, a synthesis of that lively panel discussion is presented below:
Riley, in his introductory remarks, noted the impressively high quality of both the
oral and poster presentations. The Scientific Committee of this IUTAM Conference
determined the overall shape of the Symposium by restricting it to invited speakers
only.
Those main themes included:
1. Interface phenomena - liquid bridges, thermal Marangoni effects,

thermocapillary motions of drops and bubbles
2. Thermosolutal instabilities
3. Combustion phenomena
4. Applications in fluid management and particle migration at fronts.
Riley notes that the words "Thermo capillary" and "Marangoni" appear in the titles of
just over one-third of the sixty presentations given here.
As moderator of the panel discussion, Riley proposes to organize the discussion

around four questions:
H J Rath (EdItor)
Mlcrogravlty FlUId Mechamcs
584
1. Are we as a community trying to develop an underlying microgravity-

related science?
2. What should our relationship be to other microgravity disciplines?
3. Prospects for funding microgravity research?
4. Further developments with IUTAM?
Bauer addresses the question of the significance of research on liquid bridges, what
has been accomplished to date, and what should be done in the future. Particular
emphasis has been placed on analytical and numerical solutions for the natural
response to excitation of cylindrical liquid bridges. But inviscid and viscous liquids
have been considered for both linear and nonlinear analyses and contact lines both
slipping and fixed. From these results, one could construct a motion identification
chart to predict oscillations and damped decay for liquid bridges as a function of the
capillarity number. The investigations have or can be extended to Amphora-type
geometries, viscoelastic and non-Newtonian liquids and stabilization of liquid bridges
by magnetic and electrical fields. Spinning bridges can be examined, boundary
conditions intermediate between slipping and fixed contact edges, such as a tank-
tread motion, and other contact angle considerations.
Schwabe speaking as an experimentalist in the field of hydrodynamics and

microgravity research, notes that such work is still in its infancy, relative to both
experiments and theory. Marangoni effects arising unavoidably under microgravity,
appear in the presence of free surfaces with temperature or concentration gradients.
The field affords very interesting research opportunities for both: a)
Experimentalists, due to the decoupling in space of buoyancy effects, and
b) Theoreticians modelling stimulating free boundary value problems at the
forefront of mathematics, with potential applications and transfers to other fields,
such as crystal growth and welding.
In view of the extremely slow and tedious nature of progress in preparing ground
experiments for infrequent flights in space, it is difficult, without adequate financial
support, to attract people to such work. Lack of such support could lead to a
deterioration of the high quality of such experimentation, with the dying out of such
projects.
585
Our scientific attitude regarding justification of such research at the political level is
not to promise or guarantee specific applications while the field is yet in its infancy,
but rather to maintain the position that "it's good because it's new", and we will gain
much important fundamental knowledge in the process, from which worthy
applications will certainly follow.
Hocking is invited by Riley, to make some comments about contact angles, in

addition to the one specific contribution on that subject by Concus during the course
of the Symposium. Hocking notes that this subject has been an interest of his for
many years, and that about 22 of the Symposium presentations alluded to contact
angle, roughly 1/3 of the total.
There is great difficulty with the classical approach to contact angles, and whether
such angles can be considered constant or static. In reality, the contact angle varies
dynamically with motion of the interface, increasing with the speed of an advancing
interface, while decreasing with the speed of a retracted one. Furthermore, there
exists a range of static angles, giving rise to the rather misleading term of contact
angle hysteresis, necessary for the observation of a water drop on a vertical window
pane.
One of the advantages of micro gravity experimentation is to remove the contact line,
nonetheless, there still exist interfaces (such as the attachment of a liquid melt to a
solid) at which edge conditions must be known. The description of moving contact
lines has inherent difficulties which one can attempt to circumvent mathematically to
avoid singularities. Such alternatives include: fixing the contact line and varying the
contact angle, defining the contact line at a sharp edge with a whole range of possible
contact angles, and use of such techniques to describe small oscillations of liquid
bridges.
Spurious mathematical singularities may arise from contact lines moving in viscous
fluids, leading to large local stresses near the contact lines. These large stresses cause
large local curvatures and hence changes in contact angle near the moving contact
line. One can thus deduce dynamic variations by taking into account processes that
occur very near the moving contact line.
The relation of local contamination of fluids and surfaces by impurities to contact

angle hysteresis can be examined at the microscopic level in terms of van der Waal
or Landahl forces. The contact line may stick until the maximum static angle is
586
reached, whereupon it slips. Reversing the process, one returns down the same path;
therefore it's misleading to call this contact angle hysteresis. Often one observes that
the interface will stick for a bit, then slip, then stick, then slip. The hysteresis effect
may come from proceeding along one path, and then retreating down another.
However, there is no experimental evidence on the behaviour and measurements of
contact angles that would indicate such a process.
Langbein is of the opinion that these macroscopic phenomenological descriptions are

extensions of the underlying Landahl van der Waal forces. There exists no
calculation of surface tension based on these forces, especially at the interface
contact line, where the force balance is critical and the normal surface tension can no
longer hold.
Concus continues the discussion on static versus dynamic contact angle, advocating
the necessity of more experiments, possibly with realistic levels of impurities, and re-
orientation in zero gravity of liquids from one configuration to another, wherein the
driving force is entirely at the three-phase interface line. More guidance from
experiments is needed to formulate reasonable boundary conditions for a moving
liquid. The time is ripe for good numerical simulations of time-dependent flows,
although this is a tough numerical problem.
Schwabe believes additional experiments on Marangonian migrations of droplets are

urgently needed, and that the theory must be extended to higher Reynolds numbers
and higher Marangoni numbers. This phenomenon is important for the preparation
of compound materials, such as the migration of aluminium droplets in lead.
Rath refers back to the invited lecture of Schwabe and concurs that more small-scale
I-g experiments are needed, and recalls that Langbein has been fighting for such a
mini-laboratory for two years. Such facilities are very important for the study of
liquid bridges.
Schwabe also proposes the usefulness of ground-based experiments for Marangoni

related contact angles, particularly under conditions of strict cleanliness requiring
liquids not allowed in spacelab for safety reasons.
Furthermore, high levels of purity (low contamination) in experiments on

thermal/ chemical Marangoni effects place these into a demanding class of fluid
physics, requiring rigorous preparation.
587
In contrast to Hocking's suggestion that one should analyze contact angles in

realistically contaminated fluids, it is proposed that such an approach is very difficult,
and that the easier analytical approach based on high purity should be pursued first,
and only later extended to contaminated systems.
Polezhaev concurs with Schwabe on the importance of coupled thermo/chemical

Marangoni effects. There may be as many as ten such combinations of concentration
and heat fluxes with surface orientations and surface tension which are of interest in
material processing. For a better understanding of such complex phenomena, we
need interplay between experimental research and mathematical models.
Experiments must be designed to furnish information on boundary conditions and
physical properties, particularly for thermal-solutal or double-diffusion Marangoni
convection.
We should keep in mind the applications of such scientific studies to the effects of
micro- and macro-inhomogeneities on thermo-solutal convection - this aspect has
already been studied for buoyancy convection - and to apply work on liquid bridges
to material processing, evaluating material defects induced by such convections. Not
enough is known about physico-chemical properties at the interfaces in this context.
Bauer poses an engineering question: What effect does the contact angle and the
slide-stick condition possibly have on the dynamics and stability of such a bridge? It
is suggested that one defines a "slide-stick" coefficient (or factor), which when
multiplied by the derivative of the contact line deflection, is set to zero at the contact
line. The stuck edge condition corresponds to a zero slide-stick coefficient, while the
pure sliding condition corresponds to an infinite value of that coefficient, on which
stability strongly depends. The corresponding instabilities are 2" and 1r, respectively.
Dryer notes that phase transformations appear absent from the list of main themes
concerning liquids, yet he believes these can be significantly coupled through
concentration gradient instabilities mentioned earlier. This process is complicated.
Furthermore, nucleation phenomena and particle growth processes may be worth
investigating in microgravity environments.
Langbein agrees on the importance of nucleation, which is related to contact angle,

and to phase transformation.
588
Kono comments on combustion research under microgravity, for which the flame is
spherical. Last year, Williams described here (J. Microgravity Res., vol. 3) his
forces. Under microgravity, the Froude number is large, giving rise to quite different
combustion phenomena than those in a buoyancy-dominated gravitational field on
earth, where the Froude number is small. It would appear there is no danger of
evaporation under high pressure and high temperature microgravity conditions.
Kono sees as very important under microgravity the processes inherent in the
combustion research described by Nomura on fuel droplet evaporation, by Dryer on
droplet combustion, by Nagata on hot surface ignition, by Andres on PIV diagnostic
measurements and by Crespo on fire modelling which is affected by buoyancy at
large scale.
In addition to the attractiveness of fundamental research or science in microgravity,

there are important applictions of combustion research to the development of new
materials, reduction of pollutant emissions all over the world, fire safety, particularly
on space stations, etc. Due to physical space constraints, diagnostic equipment
(optical, laser) used in combustion experiments must be miniaturized, and
supplemented with model results.
Dryer offers an overlapping view of Kono's appropriate summary of applications

from a slightly different viewpoint. He breaks down the field of combustion into
several areas, the first being pre-mixed flame structures. In pre-mixed flame
structures, there are presently a number of studies on-going, which are not
represented here, but one may find a very nice summary of in a recent meeting held
in Moscow in May 1991, that is published by AIAA in a special symposium volume.
There Faith discusses the variations of gravitational effects on combustion in
particular, on pre-mixed flames, on diffusion flame structures. Interesting
phenomena that we have not yet fully characterised, are the effects of variable Lewis
number on the propagation phenomena, and development of cellular flame
structures during pre-mixed flame propagation, and on flammability limit
phenomena, which are very often masked by the very important effects of buoyancy
we see in gravitational fields.
The second area is the area of diffusion flame phenomena, these again are
compromised in terms of their scientific study in gravitational fields, because
characteristic length scales in terms of the flame thickness are such that buoyancy
very much dominates processes at the interface. These interfacial phenomena in
589
diffusion flames have often been thought to be able to be represented quite readily
by what has been called thin flame-sheet theory, that is chemical rate processes being
very fast relative to diffusion or mixing processes. In the entire field of combustion,
particularly turbulent combustion, it is now recognised that on the sub-scale of the
turbulence, micromixing and diffusional processes and finite rate chemistry are what
control some very important processes, for example the formation of combustion
emissions.
The third area is a broadened area which includes the area of droplet combustion,
which he titles two-phase systems. In addition to droplet combustion areas, both the
high pressure area where we see effects of critical state descriptions in the presence
of large temperature and concentration fields, are the fields of solid particle burning,
and interfacial chemically reacting systems. We saw only a brief glimpse of the latter
problem in the paper from Kono's group, on ignition of pre-mixed systems. He thinks
these are in particular areas where microgravity research can have great influence.
Dryer does not believe that at present we can model interfacially coupled chemical
systems well in very complicated dimensional conditions, particularly those in which
convection coupling from buoyancy exists. Among that same area are issues on drop-
drop interactions which he thinks deal with the contact issue that was discussed
previously in terms of drop-drop collisional studies, particularly when drop-drop
collisional studies involve not only the same medium, but two different media - the
dynamics of the interface during the collision are very interesting ways to study
contact angles that typically have not been utilised in gravitational fields, because of
the very fine photographic or dimensional diagnostic resolution that needs to be
applied. That application can actually be done in microgravity events.
Finally, the issue of porous media is one that he thinks is begging, in the combustion
field, for some very significant research. There are two sections to that field: one
called smouldering, in which the reaction chemistry is slow and dominated by the
diffusion of products and reactants within the media, and the other is open-pore
burning. Both of those issues have very practical ramifications with regard to the
combustion of real fuels, and to incineration problems.
As for future areas of importance in terms of development, he thinks, while we have

done much in the way of research experimentally in combustion in I-g fields,
experimental work on combustion in low-gravity fields is in a relative infancy.
Indeed, much of the computational abilities continue, in this field, to lag behind
590
relatively simplistic diagnostic measurements, primarily because diagnostic tools are

very simplified, and are required to be very simplified, either by power restrictions or
by space restrictions. He w'ould believe that solid-state laser development \Ilill have
much of an influence on abilities to do not only temperature gradient measurements
or density gradient measurements as the group is doing at ZARM, but also some
significant work on concentration gradient measurements. He thinks that is an
extremely important issue. In all of the combustion research that he can think of, one
of the thoughts that Dryer hopes was gained from his presentation is that the ignition
process in combustion is highly perturbating, and he knows, right now at least, of no
way to alleviate that perturbation, so we are left with having to understand its very
nature. Dryer thinks that's an area where we really need some very significant work
in future microgravity combustion research. The most sophisticated models presently
for these kinds of systems are typically unidimensional, either spherically-symmetric,
or Cartesian unidimensional systems. Little has been done yet in involving full
physics and chemical descriptions in axio-symmetric modelling systems, and he
believes that's the future, in terms of modelling, primarily for the reason mentioned
earlier; ignition perturbations end up producing convective motion, which has to be
characterised in the model. Finally, Dryer would agree very strongly with Kono that
critical state phenomena in microgravity studies are something that we may learn
very much more about, particularly in the presence of large temperature gradients
and large concentration gradients.
Riley in the interest of time, now proposes to abandon any further technical
discussions in favour of an examination of the professionally and strategically
oriented questions posed at the beginning of the panel discussion. He expresses his
own view that, as a comunity of low-gravity scientists we are indeed pursuing a
science, identifying and developing it from different viewpoints and disciplines in
earth gravity, and not seeking simply to provide a "quick fix" in an engineering sense.
Schwabe expresses a dislike for the term "microgravity science" which is misleading in
that it appears to transform an additional parameter space, such as micro gravity, into
a new separate science.
Collins reinforces this view by proposing to apply the test: are you using microgravity
as a vehicle to amplify different earth-bound transport phenomena that you can then
measure more easily, or do you expect that what you learn from these transport
phenomena in microgravity will have a direct application to or bearing on a space
station activity, for example?
591
Langbein stresses the advantage of microgravity research in the mutual fertilization

and bringing together of people of different disciplines, such as fluid physics and
material sciences.
Srulijes proposes that we concentrate much more in doing basic science experiments,
and not look for (funded) application. Furthermore, it is important that there are
several centres of excellence in this field throughout the world, such as at ZARM, to
coordinate ideas on microgravity.
Delil is of the opinion that this field of research is gravity-related, since many such
microgravity projects are done for a better understanding of phenomena on earth,
even though these phenomena may be more easily isolated in space. He gives the
example of manipulating the value of Froude number, in connection with boiling
phenomena, by either altering the gravitational field (in space), the temperature (via
cryogens), or the gas (helium, oxygen, nitrogen). Therefore, it would seem that
gravity-related physics is a better name than microgravity physics.
On a second subject, Delil emphasizes the need, not specifically addressed in this
Symposium, of designing experimental test facilities for a space environment, which
require an engineering knowledge of pumping systems, condensation, pressure drops,
heat dissipation, power systems, two-phase porous structures with evaporation, etc.,
all of which current design techniques are based on terrestrial data and modelling,
which is completely different in space.
Dryer draws attention to the need to come to a conclusion on this question of naming
the research field because of its implications for funding. He suggests that higher
levels of funding will be more readily available for applied, as opposed to pure,
science. Microgravity may be treated as yet another means of understanding the
fundamentals of problems important for real applications. Both engineers and
scientists do have the same goal in mind of understanding a process at very
fundamental levels so that they may predict, rather than simply interpret, transport
behaviour.
Riley believes there is a well-defined community of scientists and engineers working

on problems in this area. He states that this community is not simply coming up with
problems that require a "quick fix", as in a business, but rather is working as scientists
and engineers in an environment characterized by low gravity.
592
Riley believes that it's not sufficient just to categorize microgravity research as a part
of science or a different parameter of space, since it is this new and characteristic
feature of the absence of earth gravity which sets apart this area of science and
engineering.
Dryer affirms that his motivation for doing droplet combustion in microgravity
environments is intended primarily to unravel the very fundamentals. That he needs
to understand for applications on earth.
There is also a class of problems, for example crystal growth, that can only be
performed under low gravity conditions. This may lead to some future understanding
of how to grow large crystals in gravitational fields. Consequently, Dryer sees
microgravity science as an extremely important tool and a very general field of
research. The distinction between engineering and science appears to be very
relative. However, whatever the point of view, we're all attempting to look for
fundamental explanations at a physical or chemical level that become predictive.
In a similar way, one is not a high-pressure scientist because one studies combustion
chemistry at high pressure (or low pressure or critical pressure).
Collins believes that the microgravity environment gives us a unique opportunity to

push a class of problems to a different limit, and in pushing to that different limit,
one unmasks and understands better the basic phenomena which control those
processes. In so doing one has then a number of avenues of opportunity to apply to
the very environment in which those phenomena were unmasked but also to other
environments. And, therefore, he thinks that it's extremely useful to have this
opportunity of the availability of a microgravity environment to push these problems
to new limits which allow us to explore details of the phenomenon which we could
not explore in our g = 1 environment. And in the same way, if we had, as was
mentioned, a high gravity environment, such as the centrifuge, that also would help
us. So he thinks what we're doing is using gravity-related environments in pushing to
both high and low extremes in order to understand better on different scales the
fundamental phenomena of these processes. And once we understand them, then the
whole panoply of applications is open.
Collins is asked by Riley to outline one other of the microgravity disciplines that
have not been touched upon in this Symposium. That subject involves understanding
593
human physiological response in space, on a space laboratory, for long periods of

time in microgravity.
The field of space life sciences is directly related to the microgravity environment, as
a space crews' health, performance and well-being must be assured and safeguarded
while residing and working in space for periods of months to years, performing
experiments and space station-related tasks. It is expected that the improved
understanding of human physiological processes in space will have direct applications
to clinical medicine on earth.
Under zero gravity conditions, the body progressively adapts to its new environment.
We will confine our description here to the adaptation of the circulation only, that is,
blood volume distributions in the body under prolonged exposures to microgravity, as
this aspect is of closest relevance to this IUTAM Symposium on Microgravity Fluid
Mechanics. When one is exposed to a microgravity environment, there results a
translocation of blood from the lower members, where it normally pools in the veins
of the legs at g = 1, towards the upper extremities g = o. This upward shift gives the
"bird's legs and puffy face" appearance characteristic of astronauts in space.
In fact, these headward fluid shifts appear to trigger the whole physiological process
of adaptation of the circulation to microgravity environments. Altered flow pressures,
blood volumes and concomitant tissue deformations are sensed by a network of
receptors which communicate information to the central nervous system and to the
autonomic nervous system. A complex compensatory response is then put into play in
an attempt (not always successful) to return these variables to their original pre-
stress values.
However, the sensors (receptors), located principally in the aortic arch, carotic
arteries, and heart chambers, may re-set themselves over time at new levels. For
example, if blood pressure is regulated by receptors responding to stretch of the
surrounding tissue (rather than to pressure itself), then a subsequent change over
time of the viscoelasticity of that tissue will in effect "re-calibrate" the baroreceptors
at the new setting. However, other pressure-independent mechanisms, such as
neurohumoral influences, may also re-set baroreceptor sensitivity in the face of acute
or chronic changes in the prevailing level of arterial pressure as further adaptation to
the new microgravity environment continues.
594
During the first few days in space, the receptors in the upper body respond to the
headward fluid shift and locally increased blood volume in the upper members by
sending nerve signais to the brain iu decrease that volume back to its original level.
The brain responds, via the autonomic (sympathetic and parasympathetic) nervous
system by sending a signal to the kidneys to excrete fluid. Gradually, concomitant
adjustments in heart rate, cardiac output, stroke volume, venous return to the heart
and mean arterial pressure tend to shift the circulation and now diminished blood
volume to a new equilibrium state better adapted to the microgravitational
environment. The longer the exposure to microgravity, the farther the adaptation
process progresses.
Upon sudden return to earth, serious problems of orthostatic intolerance can occur if
little time is provided for the re-adaptation to a terrestrial I-g environment. As the
astronaut commences the return orbit to earth, and is suddenly subjected to a I-g
force field, the blood shifts caudalward, toward the feet, where it was originally
pooled. However, the total blood volume had been reduced during the first few days
in space. Consequently, as the blood re-pools in the legs upon return to a I-g
environment, their is a deficit of blood flow to the head (brain and eyes), with the
danger of diminished intellectual performance and possibly loss of consciousness;
even during the return orbit.
This condition is mitigated by having the astronauts drink one litre of water
(physiological saline) one hour before commencing the return orbit to earth,
provided their space mission was not longer than 4 to 5 days in duration. For longer
exposures in space, this countermeasure, designed to increase fluid volume and
assure cerebral irrigation during re-entry, is no longer effective. This would imply the
existence of further adaption processes to microgravity for longer space missions,
which cannot be so readily re-set by increasing fluid volume alone.
These adaptive processes must be better understood if appropriate countermeasures

are to be formulated. From the fluid mechanics point of view, one must develop a
network of whole body algorithms, based on the appropriate physiological adaptive
mechanisms, which will predict the control and regulation of blood flow under
altered gravitational force fields.
The challenge remains to organize these in terms of models and experiments in

space which will link the different organ systems on a cardiovascular, respiratory,
thermoregulatory, renal, endocrinal and nervous system level.
595
The potential benefits of such improved understanding at g = 0 are important both

in space life sciences itself, but also are clear for clinical medicine on earth at 1 g in
terms of improved medical care, local and remote diagnostic testing, sports and
preventive medicine, cardiology, endocrinology and gerontology.
We have in such research a common denominator of fluid mechanics models and

microgravity experimentation in space life sciences and in physical sciences in space.
Riley invites participants in the Symposium to exchange experiences very quickly and
indicate successes or failures in their own countries for the funding of microgravity
research.
Rath believes that adequate funding for scientific research is very important, and that
especially now in Germany, some financial problems have arisen, as in other
countries. Rath has no clear idea on how to obtain increases in research funding,
particularly inasmuch as some 95 % of space station and space lab related research
in Germany is going to industry for the infrastructure, etc.
The study in Germany of gravitational effects is very important for both fundamental
and applied research, and more than 3 or 4 % of the total space research budget is
needed for this purpose.
Riley confirms the difficulty of the funding situation in the United Kingdom, where
it's almost a policy decision not to fund microgravity-related projects, following a
report some 2 to 3 years ago by the Science and Engineering Research Council that
still applies.
Collins believes a similar situation pertains in Canada to that of Germany, where the
Canadian Space Agency allots the major portion of its research and development
funds to industry with in fact no funding authorized for space life sciences
whatsoever. University researchers obtain only meager resources in general for basic
microgravity related research.
Concus informs of recently greater efforts in the United States by NASA's

Microgravity Science and Applications Division to organize financial support for
fundamental research. Several announcements of opportunities have appeared in the
past year for fluid dynamics and transport phenomena, biological phenomena and
certainly international collaborations with American scientists. It seems that NASA
596
will support a handful of new contracts each year, preferably those with some
possibility of space flight experimentation at some point as opposed to purely
ground-based activities.
This is a positive development to provide more structure to NASA's support

programs in pure science.
Schwabe believes that although the funding situation in Germany has been good over
the past decade it's now becoming a little bit critical in microgravity research. It is
possible that the politicians and funding agencies may not fully appreciate the very
long preparation time needed to produce good research proposals, to check their
feasibility and evaluate critically the merits of their own research ideas before
proceeding to space experiments. This process can extend much longer than months
or even years and for this reason of significant lead time, some continuity in funding
policy is needed, particularly in Germany.
Riley believes that problem is a common one, not unique to Germany.
Langbein notes that many countries are planning to build a space station, at least
amongst the Western nations, and that the Soviets already have one. The European
Space Agency is planning the space station Columbus, along with facilities for fluid
sciences.
In Germany, all funding for facilities is being allotted to the space firms, which
always have cost over-runs, thus draining funding from the basic research sector. The
latter must furnish appropriate experiments in ten years, if the present schedule is
maintained. The young researchers today, who will be the principal scientists of
Germany in ten years, are now discouraged.
Riley proposes moving on to the last of the four questions. Since IUTAM has
fostered this particular extremely successful Symposium, we should propose to
IUTAM that in their quadrennial meetings they include a mini-Symposium on
Microgravity Fluid Mechanics.
Polezhaev proposes continuing in future years both the present type of Symposium in
Bremen, but also special sessions of general IUTAM-sponsored Symposia
(quadrennial) in mechanics or microgravity mechanics. Similar initiatives have been
597
taken successfully with the International Crystal Growth Union, including the
organization of special sessions on crystal growth in microgravity.
For proposals to IUTAM, Polezhaev suggests themes in classical mechanics

connected with microgravity. These could include body forces aboard space stations,
vibrations in space stations, solid state systems and stresses and biomechanics.
Riley takes the view that it's our particular relationship with IUTAM to foster the
further development of microgravity fluid mechanics within this framework. We
propose to send a message to IUTAM that we would wish to see continuity of this
program, this Symposium, within the IUTAM framework, and that we ask IUTAM in
particular to include within their program every four years a mini-Symposium on
microgravity.
Other acivities will be initiated by others working in other disciplines of microgravity.
Rath makes his closing statement, which is quoted verbatim below.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, at the end of our meeting I would like to make only a few
final remarks. I think this week has shown that it was the right time for such a
IUTAM Symposium on Microgravity Fluid Mechanics and I hope that this
conference will stimulate further experimental and theoretical investigations within
this interesting and exciting field of fluid mechanics. As you know, the proceedings,
the state! of the art of microgravity fluid mechanics will be published by the Springer
Verlag at, I think, the end of this year. Thanks again to the members of the Scientific
Committee, to the members of the Local Organizing Committee, to the Chairmen of
the Sessions, to the members of our Panel Discussion, of course; thanks to the
speakers, to the audience, to the participants of our Symposium, thank you very
much for the interesting discussions and last but not least I would like to thank also
Mr. Schuster, he was responsible for this lecture hall here, for the technique, for all
things, thank you very much. And Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you
again for coming to this conference and I wish you a very nice trip back to your
country. Thank you very much."
Contributors
Alexander J.I.D. 167, 297
Center for Microgravity
and Materials Research
University of Alabama
Huntsville
USA
Amiroudine S. 297
Huntsville
USA
Antanovskii L.K. 381
Lavrentyev Inst. of
Hydrodynamics
Novosibirsk
USSR
Azuma H. 205
National Aerospace Laboratory
Tokyo
Japan
Badratinova L.G. 563

Lavrentyev Inst. of
Hydrodynamics
Novosibirsk
USSR
Balasubramanian R. 307
Cleveland
USA
Barmin I.V. 217

Technical Center SPLAV
Moscow
USSR
Barrero A. 271
Dpto. Ingenieria Energetica
y Mecanica de Fluidos
Universidad de Sevilla
Spain
Bauer H.F. 47
Univ. der Bundeswehr Munchen
Neubiberg
Germany
600
Bello M.S. 445

Inst. of Macromolecular
Compounds
USSR Academv of Science
Leningrad -
USSR
Belova I.V. 563

Lavrentyev Inst. of
Hydrodynamics
Novosibirsk
USSR
Bezdenezhnykh N.A. 137
Institute of Cont. Media Mech.
Urals Branch of USSR
Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR
Briskman V.A. 137,145
Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR
Castellanos A. 271
Dpto. Electr6nica
y Electromagnetismo
Spain
Chen C.F. 325

Department of Aerospace
and Mechanical Engineering
University of Arizona
Tucson
USA
Cho S.Y. 337

Department of Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering
USA
Choi M.Y. 337
USA
601
Chun Ch.-H. 435

Institut fUr Experimentelle
stromungsmechanik
DLR
Gottingen
Germany
Cloot A. 71
Dept. of Applied Mathematics
Univ. of the Orange Free state
South Africa
Concus P. 19
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
and Department of Mathematics
University of California
USA
Crespo A. 405,459
Dpto. de Ingenieria Engergetica
y Fluidomecanica
E.T.S.I. Industriales
Universidad Politecnica
Madrid
Spain
Delgado A. 81, 185, 227, 479,

Centre of Applied Space 511, 529, 573
Technology & Microgravity, ZARM
University of Bremen
Germany
Deli! A.A.M. 469

National Aerospace Lab. NLR
Space Devision
Emmeloord
The Netherlands
Dill L.H. 307

Cleveland
USA
Doi T. 205
Nat. Space Development Agency
of Japan
Tokyo
Japan
Dreyer M. 479
Centre of Applied Space
Germany
602
Dryer F.L. 337

USA
Duda U. 227
Fachbereich Mechanik
Universitat Essen
Germany
Egbers C. 573
Germany
Eidel W. 47, 61
Univ. der Bundeswehr Munchen
Neubiberg
Germany
Ermakov M.K. 253

Inst. for Problems in Mechanics
Moscow
USSR
Espino Granado J.L. 363

Dpto. de Vehiculos Aeroespaciale
E.T.S.I. Aeronauticos
Madrid
Spain
Finn R. 19
Dept. of Mathematics
Stanford University
USA
Gai'ian A. 271
Spain
Gelfgat A.Yu. 129, 503

Institute of Mathematics
and Computer Science
The University of Latvia
Riga
USSR
603
Gelfgat Yu.M. 217

Institute of Physics
Latvian Academy of Sciences
Riga
Latvia
USSR
Gerbeth G. 285
Central Institute
for Nuclear Research
Dresden
Germany
Goncharova O.N. 381
Altay State University
Barnaul
USSR
Gonzalez H. 271
Dpto. Electr6nica
y Electomagnetismo
Spain
Greger R. 511
Germany
Guo S. 453
Beijing Institute
of Control Engineering
Beijing
P.R. China
Haggard, Jr. J.B. 337

Cleveland
USA
Hernandez J. 459
E.T.S. Ingenieros Industriales
Universidad de Murcia
Cartagena
spain
Iglseder H. 245
Germany
Ishii K. 355
University of Tokyo
Japan
604
Jimenez-FernAndez J. 405
Dpto. de Ingenieria Energetica
y FluidomecAnica
E.T.S.I. Industriales
Madrid
Spain
Kamotani Y. 175
Dept. of Mechanical
Cleveland
USA
Kono M. 245, 355

University of Tokyo
Japan
Kozhoukharova Zh. 91
Inst. of Mechanics and Biomech.
Bulgarien Academy of Sciences
Sofia
Bulgaria
Langbein D. 413, 541
Battelle Europe e.V.
Frankfurt/Main
Germany
Lapin A.Yu. 137
Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR
Lavrentyeva O.M. 381

Lavrentyev Inst. of
Hydrodynamics
Novosibirsk
USSR
Lebon G. 71
Liege University
Belgium
Leontiev N.A. 563
Lavrentyev Inst. of
Hydrodynamics
Novosibirsk
USSR
605
Li B. 453
Beijing Institute
of Control Engineering
Beijing
P.R. China
Liu M. 573
Germany
Loscertales I.G. 271

Spain
Lyubimov D.V. 137

Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR
Lyubimova T.P. 137, 145, 555

Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR
Marek R. 99
Lehrstuhl A fUr Thermodynamik
TU MUnchen
Germany
Marks G. 245
Germany
Martuzans B.J. 129

Institute of Mathematics
and Computer Science
The University of Latvia
Riga
USSR
McCluskey F.M.J. 271

Dpto. Electr6nica
y Electromagnetismo
Spain
606
Merritt R.M. 237

Exxon Production Research Compo
Houston
USA
Meseguer J. 37
Lamf-~g
Laboratorio de Aerodinamica
Madrid
spain
Moeller U. 213
I. Physikalisches Institut
Universitat Giessen
Germany
Nagata H. 355
University of Tokyo
Japan
Naidenov v. 91
Institute for Water Research
Moscow
USSR
Nepomnyashchy A.A. 145
Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR
Netter G. 155
MBB/ERNO
Bremen
Germany
Nitschke K. 285
Central Institute
for Nuclear Research
Dresden
Germany
Nomura H. 245
University of Tokyo
Japan
Ohnishi M. 205
Tokyo
Japan
607
Ostrach S. 175
Dept. of Mechanical
Cleveland
USA
Ouazzani J. 297
Huntsville
USA
Perales J.M. 37
Lamf-t.'g
Madrid
spain
Petri B. 81
Germany
Polezhaev V.I. 253, 445

Moscow
USSR
Pukhnachov V.V. 381

Lavrentyev Inst. of
Hydrodynamics
Novosibirsk
USSR
Raake D. 435
Lehrstuhl fUr Mechanik
Universitat-GH-Essen
Germany
Ramos A. 271
Dpto. Electr6nica
y Electromagnetismo
spain
Rath H.J. 81, 185, 227, 245,

Centre of Applied Space 479, 511, 529, 573
Germany
608
Rednikov A.Ye. 427

Moscow
USSR
Rosenberger F. 297
Huntsville
USA
Ryazantsev Yu.S. 427
Moscow
USSR
Sanz Andres A. 3, 363
Lamf-~g
Madrid
Spain
sato J. 245, 355
IHI
Research Institute Tokyo
Japan
Scharmann A. 213
Universitat Giessen
Germany
Schneider J. 213
Universitat Giessen
Germany
Schneider S. 195
TU MUnchen
Germany
Schulkes R.M.S.M. 29
Delft University of Technology
The Netherlands
Schwabe D. 201, 213
Universitat Giessen
Germany
609
Senchenkov A.S. 217

Technical center SPLAV
Moscow
USSR
Siekmann J. 227, 435

Fachbereich Mechanik
Universitat Essen
Germany
Slavtchev S. 91
Inst. of Mechanics and Biomech.
Bulgarien Academy of Sciences
Sofia
Bulgaria
Sorkin M.Z. 217, 503

Latvian Academy of Sciences
Riga
Latvia
USSR
Stengele F.R. 529

Germany
Straub J. 99, 195

TU MUnchen
Germany
Strube D. 263
Institut fUr Raumfahrttechnik,
Univ. der Bundeswehr MUnchen
Neubiberg
Germany
Subramanian R.S. 237, 393

Dept. of Chemical Engineering
Clarkson University
Potsdam
New York
USA
Szymczyk J.A. 111, 227

University of Essen
Chair of Mechanics
Germany
Tcherepanov A.A. 137

Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR
610
Thess A. 285
Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon
Lyon
France
Tomioka S. 355
University of Tokyo
Japan
Treuner M. 227
Germany
Volkova G.B. 381

Lavrentyev Inst. of
Hydrodynamics
Novosibirsk
USSR
Vreeburg J.P.B. 519

National Aerospace Lab. NLR
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Wade J.A. 373

Thermodynamics & Kinetics Lab.
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
University of Toronto
Canada
Ward C.A. 373

Canada
weiB J. 155
Hochschule Bremen
Germany
wozniak G. 119
Germany
wozniak K. 119
Germany
Xu S. 315
Institute of Mechanics
Academia Sinica
Beijing
P.R. of China
611
Yee D. 373
Canada
Yoshihara S. 205
Tokyo
Japan
Zakharov I.V. 137

Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR
Zhang Y. 167
Huntsville
USA
Zhang x. 489
Beijing Institute of Structure
and Environment Engineering
Beijing
P.R. of China
Zuev A.L. 145

Academy of Sciences
Perm
USSR

Microgravity Fluid Mechanics 1992

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Microgravity

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Local Organizing Committee

Bremen, September 1991 Hans I. Rath

Dr. H. Azuma Dr. L.G. Badratinova

Dr. R. Balasubramaniam Dr. I.V. Barmin

Prof. H.F. Bauer Dr. M.S. Bello

Dr. V.A. Briskman Prof. R. Collins

Dr. P. Concus Prof. A. Crespo Martinez

Prof. Da Dao-an Dr. P. Dauby

Dr. A. Delgado Dr. A.A.M. Delil

Dipl.-Ing. M. Dreyer Prof. F.L. Dryer

Dipl.-Phys. U. Duda Dipl.-Ing. C. Egbers

Dr. W. Eidel Dr. M.K. Ermakov

Dr. A.M. Gafian-Calvo Dr. G. Gerbeth

Dr. Gillon Dipl.-Phys. R. Greger

Prof. G. Greger Dr. Shuling Guo

Mr. H. Hashimoto Prof. L. Hocking

Dr. M. Ishikawa Prof. K. Ito

Prof. P. Joulain Dr. Y. Kamotani

Prof. M. Kono Mr. A. Kono

Dipl.-Ing. R. Kroger Mr. Kroh

Dr. H.C. Kuhlmann Prof. D. Langbein

Prof. O.M. Lavrentyeva Dr. Benru Li

Dipl.-Ing. M. Liu Dr. T.P. Lyubimova

Prof. T. Maekawa Dr. R. Marek

Dipl.-Ing. G. Marks Dr. J. Meseguer Ruiz

Dr. H. Nagata Dipl.-Ing. G. Netter

Mrs. K. Nitschke Dr. H. Nomura

Mr. U. Nordbrock Prof. S. Ostrach

Prof. A. Palanques-Mestre Dr. J.M. Perales

Prof. V.I. Polezhaev Prof. A. R. Rao

Prof. H.J. Rath Prof. N. Riley

Mrs. T. Sancho Dr. A. Sanz Andres

Dr. J. Schneider Dr. R.M.S.M. Schulkes

Prof. D. Schwabe Prof. J. Siekmann

Prof. M. Singh Dr. S.G. Slavtchev

Dr. M.Z. Sorkin Dr. J. Srulijes

Dipl.-Ing. F. Stengele Prof. J. Straub

Dr. D. Strube Prof. R.S. Subramanian

Dr. J.A. szymczyk Dipl.-Ing. M. Treuner

Dr. J. Vreeburg Prof. Ch.A. Ward

Dr. S.K. Wilson Dr. G. Wozniak

Dr. J. WU Dr. Shuochang Xu

Dr. A.L. Zuev

A. Sanz Andres (invited lecture) 3

1. Meseguer, I.M. Perales 37

H.F. Bauer, W. Eidel 47

1st Poster Session

B. Petri, A. Delgado, H.I. Rath 81

S. Slavtchev, V. Naidenov, Zh. Kozhoukharova 91

J.A. Szymczyk 111

G. Wozniak, K. Wozniak 119

A. Yu. Gelfgat, B. J. Martuzans 129

N.A. Bezdenezhnykh, V.A. Briskman, A.Yu. Lapin, D.V. Lyubimov,

V.A. Briskman, A.L. Zuev, T.P. Lyubimova, A.A. Nepomnyashchy 145

G.Netter, J. Weifi (invited lecture) 155

J.I.D. Alexander, Y. Zhang 167

Y. Kamotani, S. Ostrach 175

A. Delgado, H.J. Rath 185

** S. Schneider, J. Straub 195

D. Schwabe (invited lecture) 201

H. Azuma, S. Yoshihara, M. Ohnishi, T. Doi 205