Thermoelectric convection in a dielectric liquid inside a cylindrical annulus with a solid-body rotation

The flow stability of a dielectric fluid confined in the cylindrical annulus is investigated by linear stability analysis and direct numerical simulations. The annulus is in solid-body rotation about its axis and it is subject to a radial temperature gradient and a high-frequency electric tension, which produce a radial dielectrophoretic force. We analyze the effects of the rotation of the annulus on the thermoelectric convection and of the alternating electric tension on the onset of the rotation-induced thermal convection. Critical states are predicted by linear stability analysis for different values of the rotation rate of the cylindrical annulus and of the electric tension. Direct numerical simulations allow for the validation of the critical states, for the determination of their bifurcation nature, and for the visualization of instantaneous velocity and temperature fields.