Stability Rayleigh-Benard instability

HYDRODYNAMIC AND HYDROMAGNETIC STABILITY. S. Chandrasekhar. Lucid examination of the Rayleigh-Benard problem clear coverage of the theory of instabilities causing convection. 704pp. 5b x 8b. 64071-X Pa. 12.95... 

It is worthwhile illustrating the proof of the principle of exchange of stabilities for the Rayleigh-Benard problem. Not only will this allow us to discuss the derivation of instability criteria for the case of no-slip boundaries, but the approach to proving this principle can also be applied to other problems. 

The governing equations for the linear stability theory are the same as for the Rayleigh-Benard problem, namely (12-215), except that it is customary to drop the buoyancy terms because these are of secondary importance for very thin fluid layers where Marangoni instabilities are present but Ra <neutral state. Assuming that... 

Problem 12-11. Marangoni Instability (The Principle of Exchange of Stabilities). Following the procedure that was outlined in Section F for the Rayleigh-Benard problem, prove that the principle of exchange of stabilities is valid for the Marangoni instability problem (Section H). 

If either the monomer or the polymer, or both, are liquid natural convection, caused by the heat liberated by the exothermic reaction, can occur. Consider first the case when the monomer is liquid and the polymer is solid (cf. Section 1). We will discuss separately upward and downward propagating fronts. If the front propagates upward, then the chemical reaction heats the monomer from below which reminds of the classical Rayleigh-Benard problem. If the Rayleigh number is sufficiently large, then the planar front loses its stability and stationary natural convection above the front occurs. For descending planar fronts there is no such convective instability. An approximate analytical approach allows one to find stability conditions for the propagating reaction front and to determine the modes which appear when the front loses stability [22]. 

---