Experimental and numerical studies of thermocapillary convection in a floating zone like configuration

An experimental and theoretical study has been made on the transition to time dependent flow in a silicon floating zone. The aim of the study is to determine the critical Reynolds number for the transition to an oscillatory state. The experiments are carried out in a configuration where it is possible to change the length of the free surface, and thus the Reynolds number. In the theoretical study the flow and temperature fields are solved numerically in a configuration closely resembling the experimental setup.