TRANSITIONS AND BIFURCATIONS OF DARCY-BRINKMAN-MARANGONI CONVECTION

This study examines dynamic transitions of Brinkman equation coupled with the thermal diffusion equation modeling the surface tension driven convection in porous media. First, we show that the equilibrium of the equation loses its linear stability if the Marangoni number is greater than a threshold, and the corresponding principle of exchange stability (PES) condition is then verified. Second, we establish the nonlinear transition theorems describing the possible transition types associated with the linear instability of the equilibrium by applying the center manifold theory to reduce the infinite dynamical system to a finite dimensional one together with several non-dimensional transition numbers. Finally, careful numerical computations are performed to determine the sign of these transition numbers as well as related transition types. Our result indicates that the system favors all three types of transitions. Unlike the buoyancy forces driven convections, jump and mixed type transition can occur at certain parameter regimes.