Weakly Nonlinear Oscillatory Convection in a Rotating Fluid Layer Under Temperature Modulation

Abstract

A study of thermal instability driven by buoyancy force is carried out in an initially quiescent infinitely extended horizontal rotating fluid layer. The temperature at the boundaries has been taken to be time-periodic, governed by the sinusoidal function. A weakly nonlinear stability analysis has been performed for the oscillatory mode of convection, and heat transport in terms of the Nusselt number, which is governed by the complex form of Ginzburg–Landau equation (CGLE), is calculated. The influence of external controlling parameters such as amplitude and frequency of modulation on heat transfer has been investigated. The dual effect of rotation on the system for the oscillatory mode of convection is found either to stabilize or destabilize the system. The study establishes that heat transport can be controlled effectively by a mechanism that is external to the system. Further, the bifurcation analysis also presented and established that CGLE possesses the supercritical bifurcation.