title: Bistable heat transfer in a nanofluid.
abstract: Heat convection in water can be suppressed by adding a small amount of highly thermophilic nanoparticles. We show that such suppression is not effective when a suspension with uniform concentration of nanoparticles is suddenly heated from below. At Rayleigh numbers smaller than a sample dependent threshold Ra;{*} we observe transient oscillatory convection. Unexpectedly, the duration of convection diverges at Ra;{*}. Above Ra;{*} oscillatory convection becomes permanent and the heat transferred exhibits bistability. Our results are explained only partially and qualitatively by existing theories.
authors.affiliation: CNISM and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Gea
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Donzelli
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cerbino
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vailati