The Behavior of Unsteady Thermocapillary Flows

We have found that it is possible to have steady thermocapillary flows in any of these three systems provided the liquid layer is not too thin or the surface tension is not too small. If these conditions are not met, then no steady solutions are possible and the film thins and approaches a condition of rupture near the hot end. Future work on these problems will include the effect of liquid inertia in the calculations for the cylindrical cavity. The stabilization effect of inertia may offset the destabilization effect inherent in the cylindrical geometry and result in a stable film flow on the cylinder. This type of behavior could be very significant in terms of understanding the stability of thermocapillary flow in liquid bridges and in the float-zone crystal growth process.