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Experiment 6: Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment-2 (STDCE-2)Results are reported from the Second Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE-2) performed aboard the Second United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2), which flew as Space Shuttle mission STS-73 and launched on October 20, 1995. Oscillatory thermocapillary flows were investigated in open cylindrical containers filled with 2 centistokes kinematic viscosity (Pr=27 at 25 C) silicone oil. Two different heating modes were investigated in detail. The main objectives of the experiments were to determine the onset of oscillatory thermocapillary flow under highly reduced buoyancy and gravity conditions and to study the important features of the oscillatory flow. The onset conditions were determined in three different size containers (1.2-, 2-, and 3-cm diameter) and for various free surface shapes (flat and curved). Numerical and scaling analyses were also performed to understand the basic steady flows. The analysis shows that the main flow is viscous-dominated near the onset of oscillations. The onset conditions determined in the present experiments together with our earlier ground-based data show that one could not describe the oscillation phenomenon if the fluid free surface is assumed to be rigid. Therefore, a parameter representing free surface deformation was derived, and the data are shown to be correlated well by that parameter. The oscillation patterns and frequencies are also presented.
Document ID
19990018874
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Other
Authors
Ostrach, Simon
(Case Western Reserve Univ. Cleveland, OH United States)
Kamotani, Yasuhiro
(Case Western Reserve Univ. Cleveland, OH United States)
Pline, Alexander D.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1998
Publication Information
Publication: Second United States Microgravity Laboratory: One Year Report
Volume: 1
Subject Category
Fluid Mechanics And Heat Transfer
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG3-1568
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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