Numerical study of wavenumber selection in finite- amplitude Rayleigh convection

Abstract

Numerical integrations are performed for the equations governing two- dimensional convection flows in a fluid layer confined between two horizontal parallel plates and heated uniformly from below with free surface boundary conditions at the bottom and top of the fluid. A special feature in this work is that a large horizontal domain (10 times the critical wavelength or 28. 28 times the height) is covered by the grid net so that the preferred mode of finite- amplitude convection flows is investigated.