Author(s)

D. Akrour, R. Bennacer, M. Betrouni and D. Kalache

Abstract

This article deals with unsteady laminar double-diffusive convection in a rectangular cavity. The enclosure is heated along one vertical wall and cooled along the other. Solutal gradient is imposed vertically with a strong stratified fluid of salt water solution. The objective of the work is to identify the flow regime for thermal and solutal dominated flows. The way the flow goes from a thermal-dominated situation to a compositional-dominated one depend on the initial conditions. Flow hysteresis effect is observed and two distinct solutions are presented for a given buoyancy ratio. Also, the results reveal that the flow structure is very complex and exhibits violent time-dependent oscillations. In the case of moderate buoyancy ratios, two flows due to thermal and solutal

Keywords