Double-diffusive Marangoni convection in a rectangular cavity: Transition to chaos

Transition to chaos in double-diffusive Marangoni convection in a rectangular cavity with horizontal temperature and concentration gradients is considered. Attention is restricted to the special case when the resultant thermal and solutal Marangoni effects are equal and opposing. Direct numerical simulation is used and some techniques from nonlinear dynamics are adopted to identify the different dynamic regimes. It is found that the supercritical solution branch takes a quasi-periodicity and phase locking route to chaos while the subcritical branch follows the Ruelle–Takens–Newhouse scenario. Transient intermittency in the supercritical branch is observed and physical instability mechanisms of the subcritical branch are identified.