ON NONLINEAR DOUBLY-DIFFUSIVE MARANGONI INSTABILITY

Enhancement of simultaneous heat and mass transfer due to surface tension gradient-induced Marangoni convection is studied. The geometry considerd is a thin liquid film between a solid phase and a gas phase. In regions where the two Marangoni numbers are of opposite signs, Orr-Sommerfeld analysis reveals the possibility of oscillatory roll cells. A nonlinear bifurcation study of the amplitude equations indicates that the finite-amplitude oscillatory rolls are annihilated by steady rolls slightly beyond the oscillatory stability boundary in a heteroclinic bifurcation.