Space experiments of convection in a system of two immiscible liquid layers

The space experiments of the fluid physics were performed on board the Chinese scientific satellite SJ-5 in the Mai of 1999. A special system of two-layer liquids such as FC-70 liquid and paraffin were used successfully in space where the paraffin was melted in the space. Two different test-cells are subjected to a temperature gradient perpendicular to or parallel to the interface for studying the Marangoni convection and thermocapillary convection, respectively. The temperature data and the PIV pictures of flow motion in the system were obtained quite clear, and each experimental case including the heating rate was adjusted by the tele-operation. The preliminary results of microgravity experiment are presented for the thermocapillary convective flows and the melting process of solid paraffin of the system. A new model of multilayer fluids related to the space experiment is suggested for considering the effect of gas bubble on the Marangoni and thermocapillary convection