概述了浮区中平行于自由面的表面张力梯度驱动热毛细对流领域的研究.研究兴趣集中于振荡热毛细对流的起振,或者说从定常流动到振荡流动的转捩.起振依赖于一系列的临界参数,临界关系可以表示为这些临界参数的复杂函数.实验结果表明,振荡流中速度的变化和平均流动的速度有相同的量级,而其它量的变化,比如温度和自由面半径的波动,相比于它们的平均量而言则要小得多.因此,起振应是流体中动力学过程的结果,该问题是强非线性的.在过去几十年中,一些理论模型被引入来研究这个问题,使用的方法包括理论分析方法、线性不稳定性分析方法、能量稳定性分析方法以及非定常的三维直接数值模拟.其中直接数值模拟被认为是对强非线性过程进行深入分析的最适合方法,通常能得到和实验较符合的结果.从振荡热毛细对流向湍流的转捩提供了一个研究混沌行为的新系统,开创了一个非线性科学的新前沿,是一个集中了大量近期工作的研究热点.该文对浮区热毛细对流作了一个回顾,包括理论模型和分析,以及实验研究. The research on the field of thermocapillary convection driven by the surface tension gradient parallel to the free surface in the floating area is summarized.The research interests focus on the oscillation of the thermocapillary convection or the transition from the steady flow to the oscillating flow.The onset depends on a Series of critical parameters, the critical relationship can be expressed as a complex function of these critical parameters.The experimental results show that the oscillatory flow velocity and the average flow rate of the same order of magnitude, and other changes, such as temperature and free surface radius Are much smaller than their average, so starting up should be the result of the kinetic process in the fluid and the problem is strongly nonlinear.In the past few decades, some theoretical models Was introduced to study this problem using methods including theoretical analysis, linear instability analysis, energy stability analysis and unsteady three-dimensional direct numerical simulation, of which direct numerical simulation is considered to be a process of intensive nonlinear processes The most suitable method for the analysis is usually to get a better agreement with the experimental results.From the oscillation of oscillating hot capillary convection to turbulence, For the new system, creating a new frontier of nonlinear science, it is a large concentration of recent research focus of the work. In this paper, the thermal convection in the floating zone made a review of theoretical models and analysis, and experimental studies.