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Thermocapillary flow and gaseous convection in microgravity: Results from GAS payload G-0518Thermocapillary flow and gaseous convection in microgravity were investigated in GAS payload G-0518 during Space Shuttle Mission 41-D. A cylinder of paraffin was supported and heated differentially from its ends to induce a melt from solid to liquid and drive thermocapillary flow in the resulting liquid phase. Laminar thermocapillary flow was observed in the liquid paraffin and found to show a transition to time-dependent oscillatory motion at a Marangoni number of about Ma = 34000 with a period of approximately T = 8 seconds. In addition, free convection in a gas in microgravity was observed for the first time. The gaseous convection was caused by the thermal and/or velocity boundary layers present at the heater-liquid interface. Oscillation occurred in the gaseous convection simultaneously with those in the liquid, implying the two are strongly coupled. The gaseous convection may be driven by coupled thermocapillary flow/thermal expansion convection or microgravity bouyancy convection.
Document ID
19860017857
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Scott Thomas
(Utah State University Logan, Utah, United States)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
October 8, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: 1985 Get Away Special Experimenter's Symposium
Publisher: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 1986
Subject Category
Fluid Mechanics And Heat Transfer
Meeting Information
Meeting: Get Away Special Experimenter's Symposium
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Country: US
Start Date: October 8, 1985
End Date: October 9, 1985
Sponsors: Goddard Space Flight Center
Accession Number
86N27329
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Use by or on behalf of the US Gov. Permitted.
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