We experimentally study the dynamical states of a freely moving, floating heat blanket that is coupled with a thermally convecting fluid. This floating boundary modifies the large-scale flow pattern in the bulk and destabilizes the coupled system, leading to spontaneous oscillations. As the moving boundary exceeds a critical size, the system makes a transition from an oscillatory state to a weakly confined state, in which the moving boundary executes only small excursions in response to random bypassing thermal plumes. To explain the observed states and transition, we provide a low-dimensional model that appears to capture the underlying mechanism of this coupled system. © 2007 The American Physical Society.
CITATION STYLE
Zhong, J. Q., & Zhang, J. (2007). Dynamical states of a mobile heat blanket on a thermally convecting fluid. Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, 75(5). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.75.055301
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