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Convective instability in rotating liquid 3He-4He mixtures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2006

M. S. Thurlow ,
B. J. Brooks ,
P. G. J. Lucas ,
M. R. Ardron ,
J. K. Bhattacharjee  and
A. L. Woodcraft
M. S. Thurlow
Affiliation:
Forecasting Research, Meteorological Office, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 2SZ, UK
B. J. Brooks
Affiliation:
School of Physics, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
P. G. J. Lucas
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
M. R. Ardron
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Merz Court, The University, Newcastle on Tyne, UK
J. K. Bhattacharjee
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, India
A. L. Woodcraft
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
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Abstract

Thermal convection is investigated experimentally in a dilute liquid mixture of 3He in 4He at four temperatures between 20 and 100 mK above the superfluid transition temperature, chosen for their proximity to the codimension-two and hydrodynamic tricritical points. Two experimental cells of aspect ratio 2.76 and 1.00 were used. For the cell with the higher aspect ratio, two convective transitions at each of the four temperatures were observed above a critical angular velocity, and only one observed below. At temperatures lower than that of the hydrodynamic tricritical point the transition with the lower critical Rayleigh number is hysteretic for all angular velocities; above this temperature hysteresis is absent. The critical Rayleigh numbers are compared with theoretical predictions that take into account the existence of convection modes with azimuthal angular dependence. In the case of the cell with the smaller aspect ratio thermal relaxation oscillations were observed when heating from below. Convective thresholds were again observed but their critical Rayleigh numbers are almost independent of angular velocity. Some suggestions are advanced for this unexpected behaviour.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 313 , 25 April 1996 , pp. 381 - 407
Copyright
© 1996 Cambridge University Press

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