Approximation methods Rayleigh variational principle

As noted above, these authors also proved the general validity, for the Rayleigh problem, of the principle of exchange of stabilities. Further, by formulating the problem in terms of a variational principle, Pellew and South-well devised a technique which led to a very rapid and accurate approximation for the critical Rayleigh number. Later, a second variational principle was presented by Chandrasekhar (C3). A review by Reid and Harris (R2) also includes other approximate methods for handling the Benard problem with solid boundaries. 

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