Abstract
The onset of oscillatory thermocapillary convection in a half-zone liquid bridge is known to be sensitive to heat transfer at free surface of the liquid bridge and ambient air motion. Its mechanism and three-dimensional nature of the oscillatory flow, however, is not yet fully understood. In the present study, these effects on the onset of oscillation are focused. Three-dimensional simulation of both thermocapillary convection in the liquid bridge and the ambient air motion is performed for an intermediate-Prandtl-number fluid by the finite difference method in order to determine the onset of oscillation. The effects of the viscosity of the ambient air as well as heat loss through the free surface are discussed.
