MODULATED TRAVELING WAVES IN BINARY-FLUID CONVECTION IN AN INTERMEDIATE-ASPECT-RATIO RECTANGULAR CELL

The mechanism of the transition from the conductive state to the local ized traveling wave (LTW) near the onset of binary fluid convection in a rectangular cell with the intermediate aspect ratio Gamma=12 and th e separation ratio psi = -0.11 is studied by using a two-dimensional n umerical simulation of the full hydrodynamic equations. The result sho ws that counterpropagating waves (CPW) are generated and modulated unt il the system evolves to a spatially modulated traveling wave (MTW) wh ich is called an LTW. This type of spatially and temporally modulated counterpropagating waves (MCPW) is similar to the blinking state obser ved for very small negative values of the separation ratio and plays a n important role in the formation of the LTW.