Transitions and Bifurcations in Laminar Buoyant Flows in Confined Enclosures

Recent advances in experimental and numerical studies of flow instability, bifurcation, and transition to turbulence for buoyant flow in three-dimensional rectangular enclosures heated from below and from the sides are reviewed, with emphasis on the physical causes of various instabilities and bifurcations as well as the observed and calculated routes to chaotic motions. Also discussed are the current successes and shortcomings of numerical simulations of experimental data and observations. Finally, unresolved critical issues and needs for future research are also addressed.