Hexagonal convection patterns and their evolutionary scenarios in electroconvection induced by a strong unipolar injection

Kang Luo, Jian Wu, Hong-Liang Yi, Lin-Hua Liu, and He-Ping Tan
Phys. Rev. Fluids 3, 053702 – Published 29 May 2018

Abstract

A regular hexagonal pattern of three-dimensional electroconvective flow induced by unipolar injection in dielectric liquids is numerically observed by solving the fully coupled governing equations using the lattice Boltzmann method. A small-amplitude perturbation in the form of a spatially periodic pattern of hexagonal cells is introduced initially. The transient development of convective cells that undergo a sequence of transitions agrees with the idea of flow seeking an optimal scale. Stable hexagonal convective cells and their subcritical bifurcation together with a hysteresis loop are clearly observed. In addition, the stability of the hexagonal flow pattern is analyzed in a wide range of relevant parameters, including the electric Rayleigh number T, nondimensional mobility M, and wave number k. It is found that centrally downflowing hexagonal cells, which are characterized by the central region being empty of charge, are preferred in the system.

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  • Received 3 December 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.3.053702

©2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Fluid Dynamics

Authors & Affiliations

Kang Luo, Jian Wu, Hong-Liang Yi*, Lin-Hua Liu, and He-Ping Tan

  • School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, People's Republic of China and Key Laboratory of Aerospace Thermophysics, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, People's Republic of China

  • *Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed: yihongliang@hit.edu.cn

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Issue

Vol. 3, Iss. 5 — May 2018

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