Chemical Wave Plumes in a Supercritical Tube
Chemical Wave Plumes in a Supercritical Tube
Thesis for M.Sc. degree, unpublished, 2003.
Michael C. Rogers
Department of Physics,
University of Toronto, 60 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A7.
Propagating reaction-diffusion fronts are found in many autocatalytic reactions,
such as the iodate oxidation of arsenous acid. This reaction has been studied extensively
in quasi two-dimensional layers and capillary tubes in both horizontal and vertical
orientations. In capillary tubes the iodate-arsenous acid reaction shows convective
behavior when a dimensionless driving parameter that is proportional to the cube of the
radius exceeds a critical value. The buoyancy force that drives convection is created
primarily by the lower density of the solution left in the wake of the propagating front.
This report details the distinguishing characteristics of chemically reactive plumes that
form in vertically oriented supercritical tubes held at four different temperatures.
Collapsing of thin front filaments is also discussed, along with an examination of the
relationship between front speed and temperature in capillary tubes.