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 degree, unpublished, 2003.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.

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