Coupled Lorenz oscillators (Q911909)

The authors study the behavior of the two thermal loops which may be treated as two Lorenz oscillators. Each loop is identical heated externally and communicates with the other at a single contact point through heat transfer (the loops are not coupled hydrodynamically). The steady states of the system and their stability, as well as spatially uniform and spatially-modulated heating has been analyzed. When the imposed heating is identical to the two loops, the model gives stable co- current steady convection co-existing with stable counter-current steady convection for a range of Rayleigh numbers. When the loops are subjected to different imposed vertical temperature gradients, the second instability is an imperfect bifurcation. The jump from the former to the latter is accompanied by flow reversal and a decrease in the heat transported. The results presented in the paper should be of interest for persons concerned with the heat transfer systems.