Stability of the conduction regime of natural convection in a tall vertical annulus

Abstract
The stability of natural convection in a vertical annular enclosure has been studied by the linear theory. It was found that for all Prandtl numbers the instability sets in as a wave travelling upward. For low Prandtl numbers, the larger the curvature the more stable the flow; the reverse is true for high Prandtl numbers. The theoretical predictions of the mode of instability were verified for air. A multicellular flow pattern was observed to drift upward with the predicted wave speed. The measured wavelength of the cells is in good agreement with the linear analysis.

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