On the high Rayleigh number heating of a fluid above a horizontal surface

摘要

From the observed behaviour of free convection at high Rayleigh number above a horizontal surface, a simple model of the temperature profile in such a region is constructed. This model is used to predict the gross properties of a layer of fluid which is heated from below. At the top boundary, the effect of replacing a rigid insulated surface by a stable layer of fluid (that is a temperature inversion) is considered. The behaviour of the region is found to depend strongly upon the boundary conditions at the base and at the top of the convection layer.