The Onset of Convection in an Internally Heated Nanofluid Layer

Abstract

We analytically studied the onset of convection, induced by internal heating, such as that produced by microwave heating or chemical reaction, in a horizontal layer of a nanofluid subject to Brownian motion and thermophoresis. This is a fundamentally different situation from traditionally studied heating from below. Convection, when it occurs, is now concentrated in the portion of the layer where the upward vertical gradient is negative, which is the upper portion of the layer. The situation of internal heating also allows employing more realistic boundary conditions than those hitherto used.