Numerical investigation of atmospherelike flows in a spherical geometry.

Buoyancy-driven convection flows play a crucial role in global heat and momentum transport in atmosphere. Simplified planetary and stellar atmospheres can be described by a spherical gap geometry with special boundary conditions for the temperature. In the spherical gap, the dielectrophoretic effect is used to synthesize the radial gravity field.

Influence of dielectrical heating on convective flow in a radial force field.

We present results of numerical and experimental investigations of thermal convection induced by internal heating in both a nonrotating and a rotating spherical gap filled with dielectric fluid. The inner and outer surfaces are maintained at constant temperatures T_{in} and T_{out}, respectively. A radial force field is produced due to the dielectrophoretic effect.

Influence of the temperature-dependent viscosity on convective flow in the radial force field.

The numerical investigation of convective flows in the radial force field caused by an oscillating electric field between spherical surfaces has been performed. A temperature difference (T_{1}>T_{2}) as well as a radial force field triggers a fluid flow similar to the Rayleigh-Bénard convection. The onset of convective flow has been studied by means of the linear stability analysis as a function of the radius ratio η=R_{1}/R_{2}.