Three-dimensional numerical simulation of thermocapillary instabilities in floating zones

Instability of thermocapillary convection in liquid bridges of low Prandtl number fluids is investigated by direct three-dimensional and time-dependent simulation of the problem. The field equations are numerically solved explicit in time and with finite difference methods in a staggered cylindrical grid. The numerical results are analysed and interpreted in the general context of the bifurcation's theory. According to recent stability analyses the computations show that for semiconductor melts the first bifurcation is characterized by the loss of spatial symmetry rather than by the onset of oscillatory flow. When the basic axisymmetric flow field becomes unstable, after a short transient, a three-dimensional supercritical steady state is obtained. It is shown that the flow field organization, depending on the critical wave number, is related to the geometrical aspect ratio of the liquid bridge and that lower is the aspect ratio, higher is the critical wave number and more complex the thermofluid-dynamic field structure.