Gravity currents with temperature-dependent viscosity

Abstract

The spreading of fluid under gravity occurs in both nature and man-made situations and has been the subject of many previous studies. Considerably less attention has been paid to cases in which there is a strong thermal coupling influencing the flow. In this paper, simple models of the spreading of materials with temperature-dependent viscosity are presented and features that are commonly seen in experiments, such as plateauing and fingering, are shown to result. A model which includes latent heat effects is also briefly outlined.