Interfacial Phenomena and Convection (Monographs and Surveys in Pure and Applied Mathematics)

Interfacial phenomena driven by heat or mass transfer are widespread in science and various branches of engineering. Research in this area has become quite active in recent years, attributable in part, at least, to the entry of physicists and their sophisticated experimental techniques into the field. Until now, however, the field has lacked a readable account of the recent developments. Interfacial Phenomena and Convection remedies this problem by furnishing a self-contained monograph that examines a rich variety of phenomena in which interfaces pay a crucial role. From a unified perspective that embraces physical chemistry, fluid mechanics, and applied mathematics, the authors study recent developments related to the Marangoni effect, including patterned convection and instabilities, oscillatory/wavy phenomena, and turbulent phenomena. They examine Bénard layers subjected to transverse and longitudinal thermal gradients and phenomena involving surface tension gradients as the driving forces, including falling films, drops, and liquid bridges. It is only in the past two or three decades that researchers have performed suitable, clear-cut experiments involving interfacial phenomena, and the stage is now set for a virtual explosion of the field. Interfacial Phenomena and Convection will bring you quickly up to date on the advances realized and prepare you to both use the results and to make further advances.