Experimental and theoretical investigation of thermal convection in a terrestrial model of a convection detector

The effect of small inclinations and low-amplitude rocking on thermal convection in an air-filled cube with sides 3 cm long has been investigated experimentally and numerically for steady and periodic heating from above. Expressions have been obtained for the dependence of the temperature difference between two points inside the cube on the angle of inclination, the applied vertical temperature difference, the rocking frequencies and the oscillations of the heating power. The possibility of estimating the magnitude and direction of the microacceleration vector on the basis of temperature field measurements made under orbital flight conditions is discussed.