Marangoni-Stress-Driven "Solitonic" (Periodic) Wave Trains Rotating in an Annular Container during Heat Transfer

Periodic wave trains can be induced at the surface of liquid layers when the liquid is heated from above. These wave trains are an oscillatory regime of the Marangoni-instability. They are studied in a circular annular container, in which a wave synchronization is possible. Two counter-rotating (periodic) wave trains can be observed at a moderate level of supercritical Marangoni-number values. During the head-on collisions of the waves a negative phase shift occurs. This is evidence of the nonlinear interaction of the waves and their "solitonic" properties.