Electroconvection and its effect on heat transfer

The use of electric fields in order to increase heat transfer in fluids dates back some time. One part of the previous work deals with the effects of the dielectric forces resulting from permittivity gradients which are themselves induced by the imposed temperature gradients [ 1, 2, 3]. The rest of the work is concerned with the Coulomb force which the electric field (E) exerts on the free charge (or space charge) which results from the thermally induced conductivity gradient within the liquid [4, 5].