The onset of double-diffusive convection in a nanofluid layer

The onset of double-diffusive convection in a horizontal layer of a nanofluid is studied analytically. The model used for the nanofluid incorporates the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis. In addition the thermal energy equations include regular diffusion and cross-diffusion terms. The stability boundaries for both non-oscillatory and oscillatory cases have been approximated by simple analytical expressions. Physical significance of the obtained results is discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.