Complex dynamics of evaporation-driven convection in liquid layers

TL;DR

This study investigates the complex convective patterns caused by evaporation in liquid layers, using infrared visualization to analyze phenomenology and the effects of container size on pattern formation.

Contribution

It provides new experimental insights into evaporation-driven convection patterns and their dependence on liquid thickness and container diameter.

Findings

Convective patterns are complex and vary with liquid thickness.

Infrared imaging effectively visualizes evaporation-induced convection.

Container diameter influences the sequence of observed patterns.

Abstract

The spontaneous convective patterns induced by evaporation of a pure liquid layer are studied experimentally. A volatile liquid layer placed in a cylindrical container is left free to evaporate into air at rest under ambient conditions. The liquid/gas interface of the evaporating liquid layer is visualized using an infrared (IR) camera. The phenomenology of the observed convective patterns is qualitatively analysed, showing in particular that the latter can be quite complex especially at moderate liquid thicknesses. Attention is also paid to the influence of the container diameter on the observed patterns sequence.