Maximum density effects on thermal instability of horizontal laminar boundary layers

摘要

Linear stability theory is used to investigate the onset of longitudinal vortices in laminar boundary layers along horizontal semi-infinite flat plates heated or cooled isothermally from below by considering the density inversion effect for water using a cubic temperature-density relationship. The analysis employs non-parallel flow model incorporating the variation of the basic flow and temperature fields with the streamwise coordinate as well as the transverse velocity component in the disturbance equations. Numerical results for the critical Grashof numberGrL*=GrX*/ReX/3/2are presented for thermal conditions corresponding to −0.5≤λ1≤−2.0 and −