| Abstract: | In order to understand the stability characteristics of thermocapillary convection in an annular pool with low Prandtl number
(Pr = 0.011) fluid, a linear stability analysis had been performed. The annular pool was heated from the outer cylindrical wall
and cooled at the inner wall. Bottom and top surface were adiabatic. The results show that the critical Marangoni number and
the critical wave number decrease with the increase of the aspect ratio, which is defined as the ratio of the depth to the
gap width of the annular pool. When the aspect ratio exceeds 0.12, the critical wave number keeps almost constant. As the
radius ratio increases, the critical Marangoni number decreases slightly, while the critical wave number increases. In the
gravity condition, the effect of the buoyancy on the critical Marangoni number and wave number increases gradually with the
increase of the aspect ratio. |
