Rapid thermal relaxation in near-critical fluids and critical speeding up: discrepancies caused by boundary effects

We present one-dimensional numerical simulations reporting the temperature evolution of a pure fluid subjected to heating near its liquid-vapor critical point under weightlessness. In this model, thermal boundary conditions are imposed at the outer edges of the solids in contact with the fluid. Our investigations concern the thermal conditions at the edges of the fluid and their consequences on the fluid's global response. The results for piston effect heating are shown to be significantly affected by the simulation of the solid boundaries. Concerning critical speeding up, it is even found that taking conductive solids into account can make the bulk fluid temperature change in a way opposed to that predicted in their absence.