All Physics Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Journal of Chemical Physics

Volume

98

Issue

3

Publisher

American Institute of Physics

Publication Date

10-1992

First Page

2138

Last Page

2143

Abstract

We present a theory for the transition to convection for flat chemical wave fronts propagating upward. The theory is based on the hydrodynamic equations and the one‐variable reaction‐diffusion equation that describes the chemical front for the iodate–arsenous acid reaction. The reaction term involves the reaction rate constants and the chemical composition of the mixture. This allows the discussion of the effects of the different chemical variables on the transition to convection. We have studied perturbations of different wavelengths on an unbounded flat chemical front and found that for wavelengths larger than a critical wavelength (λ≳λc) the perturbations grow in time, while for smaller wavelengths the perturbations diminish. The critical wavelength depends not only on the density difference between the unreacted and reacted fluids, but also on the speed and thickness of the chemical front.

Comments

http://jcp.aip.org/resource/1/jcpsa6/v98/i3/p2138_s1Published by the American Institute of Physics in Journal of Chemical Physics. Publisher PDF is available for download through the link above.

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