Transition from periodic to chaotic thermal convection

Abstract
The transition to turbulence in Bénard convection in a layer of air bounded by rigid conducting walls is studied by numerical solution of the three-dimensional time-dependent Boussinesq equations. The wavy instability of rolls is compared with available experimental and theoretical results. The subsequent transition to chaotic convection is shown to occur for Rayleigh numbers larger than about 9000. The role of symmetry-breaking perturbations in the production of chaos is clarified.