The Combined Effect of Rotation and Magnetic Field on Finite-Amplitude Thermal Convection

Abstract

The combined effect of an imposed rotation and magnetic field on convective transfer in a horizontal Boussinesq layer of fluid heated from below is studied in the mean field approximation. The basic equations are derived by a variational technique and their solutions are then found over a wide range of conditions, in the case of free boundaries, by numerical and analytic techniques, in particular by asymptotic and perturbation methods. The results obtained by the different techniques are shown to be in excellent agreement. As for the linear theory, the calculations predict that the simultaneous presence' of a magnetic field and rotation may produce conflicting tendencies.