NONLINEAR CONVECTION WITH INCLINED TEMPERATURE-GRADIENT AND HORIZONTAL MASS-FLOW

The energy method, which gives sufficient condition for the stability, is developed for the convection problem in a thin horizontal layer, s ubjected to an applied inclined temperature gradient and horizontal ma ss flow. The boundaries are considered to be rigid and perfectly condu cting. Both linear and nonlinear stability analyses, which are valid f or moderately large Prandtl number, are carried out. The eigenvalue pr oblem is solved by the compound matrix method and the effects of vario us parameters in the stability results are pointed out. Comparison bet ween the results of the linear theory and the energy stability theory show a marked difference in the stability boundaries. (C) 1997 Elsevie r Science Ltd.