Thermovibrational Convection in Microgravity: Preparation of a Parabolic Flight Experiment

Abstract

This work describes the preparation of the future experiments on thermovibrational convection in microgravity during parabolic flights. The experimental setup for observing thermovibrational flows is designed. It consists of a cubic cell with liquid, which is subjected to controlled vibration, and equipment for registering velocity and temperature fields with a help of optical digital interferometry. The question of choosing working liquid and control parameters of the experiment is addressed. A 3D numerical simulation of thermovibrational convection in a cubic cavity is performed for real parabolic flight conditions. The study is aimed at estimating the values of physical quantities that manifest the presence of thermovibrational flows and can be experimentally measured during short microgravity time (20 s).