Effect of rotation on the onset of thermal convection in a viscoelastic fluid layer

Abstract

A rotating viscoelastic fluid layer heated from below is studied analytically using both linear and nonlinear stability analyses. The Oldroyd-B fluid model is employed to describe the rheological behaviour of the fluid. The Coriolis term is included in the momentum equation and the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation is invoked. The onset criterion for both stationary and oscillatory convection is derived as a function of Taylor number, Prandtl number and viscoelastic parameters. There is competition between the processes of rotation, viscous relaxation and thermal diffusion that causes the convection to set in through oscillatory rather than stationary modes. The rotation inhibits the onset of convection in both stationary and oscillatory modes. The stress relaxation parameter destabilizes the system towards the oscillatory mode, while the strain retardation parameter enhances the stability and this stabilization is reinforced by the rotation effect. The nonlinear theory is based on a truncated representation of the Fourier series method. The effect of rotation, viscoelastic parameters and also the Prandtl number on the transient heat transfer is presented graphically. © 2013 The Japan Society of Fluid Mechanics and IOP Publishing Ltd.