A Model of Rayleigh-Bénard Convection
A Model of Rayleigh-Bénard Convection
This chapter presents a model of Rayleigh–Bénard convection. It first describes the fundamental dynamics expected in a fluid that is convectively stable and in one that is convectively unstable, focusing on thermal convection and internal gravity waves. Thermal convection and internal gravity waves are the two basic types of fluid flows within planets and stars that are driven by thermally produced buoyancy forces. The chapter then reviews the equations that govern fluid dynamics based on conservation of mass, momentum, and energy. It also examines the conditions under which the Boussinesq approximation simplifies conservation equations to a form very similar to that of an incompressible fluid. Finally, it discusses the key characteristics of the model of Rayleigh–Bénard convection.
Keywords: thermal convection, internal gravity waves, fluid flow, fluid dynamics, mass, momentum, energy, Boussinesq approximation, conservation equations, Rayleigh–Bénard convection
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