ANALYSIS OF VELOCITY DATA TAKEN IN SURFACE-TENSION DRIVEN CONVECTION EXPERIMENT IN MICROGRAVITY

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.