Wind Stress Effect on the Structure of Convection
in a Fluid Layer Heated from Below

A. B. Ezerskii and V. V. Chernov

Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Ul’yanova 46, Nizhni Novgorod, 603600 Russia

Received May 18, 1998; in final form, November 2, 1998

Abstract—The results of a laboratory study of convection in a fluid layer uniformly heated from below in the
presence of air flows over its free surface are discussed. Visualization of convective structures shows that cel-
lular convection occurs in the absence of wind stress. The presence of shear stress causes convective cells to
drift and their sizes to increase in the longitudinal direction. It is found that bifurcation occurs when the critical
value is exceeded, and convective rolls, whose axes are streamwise oriented, develop instead of cellular con-
vection.

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