A spectral collocation method for two-dimensional compressible convection (Q1095751)

A Fourier-Chebyshev spectral simulation of two-dimensional compressible convection is presented. The fluid is a perfect gas with constant dynamic viscosity and thermal conductivity. Both slippery and rigid boundary conditions for the velocity are used here. The temperature is maintained fixed at the upper and lower boundaries. An explicit Adams-Bashforth predictor-corrector numerical scheme is used in order to overcome the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition. The nonlinear diffusion terms are handled by an iterative method, with finite differences or spectral preconditioning. Steady state solutions have been obtained for both types of boundary conditions. Critical exponents are found to be the same as in the incompressible case, at least for a weak value of the stratification parameter.