Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Effect of quasiperiodic gravitational modulation on the stability of a heated fluid layer
Taoufik Boulal1, Saïd Aniss, Mohamed Belhaq
1University Hassan II Aïn-Chock, Faculty of Sciences, Laboratory of Mechanics, Casablanca, Morocco.
Abstract:
Thermal instability in a horizontal Newtonian liquid layer with rigid boundaries is investigated in the presence of vertical quasiperiodic forcing having two incommensurate frequencies omega1 and omega2. By means of a Galerkin projection truncated to the first order, the governing linear system corresponding to the onset of convection is reduced to a damped quasiperiodic Mathieu equation. The threshold of convection corresponding to quasiperiodic solutions is determined in the cases of heating from below and heating from above. We show that a modulation with two incommensurate frequencies has a stabilizing or a destabilizing effect depending on the frequencies ratio omega=omega2/omega1. The effect of the Prandtl number in a stabilizing zone is also examined for different frequency ratios.
Related Concept Videos
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Newtonian Fluid: Problem Solving
A velocity gradient forms within the fluid when a Newtonian fluid is placed between two parallel plates, with...
Pressure Variation in a Fluid at Rest
When measuring pressure at two different levels within the fluid, the difference in pressure...
Fluid Pressure over Curved Plate of Constant Width
Fluid Pressure over Flat Plate of Variable Width
The pressure distribution on the plate can be calculated by determining the force that acts on a differential area strip of the plate. Thus, the magnitude of the force is equal to the...

