Y. Kamotani et al., ANALYSIS OF VELOCITY DATA TAKEN IN SURFACE-TENSION DRIVEN CONVECTION EXPERIMENT IN MICROGRAVITY, Physics of fluids, 6(11), 1994, pp. 3601-3609
Some velocity field results from the Surface Tension Driven Convection
Experiment (STDCE) that was conducted aboard the USML-1 Spacelab in 1
992 are reported. 10 cSt silicone oil Was placed in an open circular c
ontainer (10 cm widex5 cm deep) and heated either by a cylindrical hea
ter (1.11 cm diam) placed along the centerline or by a CO2 laser to in
duce thermocapillary flow; Tests were conducted under varieties of pow
ers, laser beam diameters, and free-surface shapes. The flow field was
studied by flow visualization and the data were analyzed by a PTV tec
hnique. The results from the velocity measurement are presented and th
e effects of heating mode and free-surface shape on the flow are discu
ssed. The results are also compared with a numerical analysis conducte
d in conjunction with the experiment. Good agreement is shown.