Effect of subcritical excitation of oscillations in stochastic systems with time delay. Part II. Control of fluid equilibrium

The problem of active control of the mechanical equilibrium of an inhomogeneously heated fluid in a thermosyphon is studied theoretically and experimentally. The control is performed by using a feedback subsystem which inhibits convection by changing the orientation of thermosyphon in space. It is shown that excess feedback leads to the excitation of oscillations which are related to a delay in the controller work. In the presense of noise, the oscillations arise even when deterministic description predicts stationary behaviour. The experimental data and theory are in good agreement.