Oscillatory Convection in a Viscoelastic Fluid Layer in Hydromagnetics

Abstract

A study is made of the overstable mode of convection in an infinite horizontal layer of a viscoelastic fluid, heated from below, in the presence of a magnetic field. It is shown first that the problem is characterized by a variational principle. Proper solutions are then obtained for the case of two rigid boundaries using the variational method. It is found that the magnetic field has a stabilizing effect on the thermally induced overstability in a viscoelastic fluid, as in the case of an ordinary viscous fluid. The thermodynamic significance of the variational principle is also considered.