Subharmonic regimes of electroconvection in a weakly conductive liquid under an alternating electric field

Abstract

We have studied subharmonic regimes of electroconvection in a weakly conductive liquid subjected to an alternating electric field in a horizontal parallel-plate capacitor. The analysis was carried out under conditions of weightlessness in a non-isothermal liquid, within the framework of the electrohydrodynamic approximation, in the case of an electroconductive mechanism of charge formation. Based on a low-mode model of electroconvection, using Poincaré sections and Fourier analysis on the modulation frequency – electric Rayleigh number diagram, we determined the boundaries of the regions of existence of various dynamic regimes. The results of studies for a specific set of frequencies have been published previously. The new result is the discovery and study of subharmonic convection regimes. The paper investigates the response of the convective system to external action in various subharmonic regions. Scenarios of transition to chaos for a new range of control parameter values were determined.