Zhang, Jie
(2005)
Thermal Convection in Vertically Suspended Soap Films.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
In normal fluids, a temperature difference can create a density difference. In the presence of the gravitational field, denser fluid will fall and lighter fluid will rise, causing fluid motion known as thermal convection. This type of convection can occur on different scales, from a single growing crystal to mantle movement inside the earth. Although many experiments have been conducted in unstably stratified fluids, there have been few laboratory experiments studying convective turbulence in stably stratified fluids, which is more common in nature. Here I present a two-dimensional (2D) convection in a stably stratified vertical soap film. It was found that the interaction between the gravitational potential energy, due to the 2D density fluctuation, and the kinetic energy is important. This interplay between the two energy sources manifests itself in the statistical properties of velocity and 2D density fluctuations in the system. Our experimental findings shed new lights to a turbulent system that strongly couples to a non-passive field.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
6 June 2005 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
29 March 2005 |
| Approval Date: |
6 June 2005 |
| Submission Date: |
21 April 2005 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Physics |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
convection; skewness; soap film; thickness fluctuation; velocity intermittency |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04212005-115428/, etd-04212005-115428 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:39 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:41 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/7406 |
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