Experimental Dataset of Rayleigh–Bénard Convection in Silicone Oils: Effects of Kinematic Viscosity, Temperature, and Geometry

This repository contains the complete experimental dataset and analysis outputs from an investigation of Rayleigh–Bénard convection in silicone oils with varying kinematic viscosities. The dataset contains more than 23,000 raw data files/Images suitable for conducting particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. The experiments were performed using silicone oils with varying physical properties and geometrical configurations. The investigated parameters include: Kinematic viscosity: 100–10,000 cSt Temperature range: approximately 30–140 °C Container geometries: four rectangular convection cells with different aspect ratios (Cells 1–4), as well as one cylindrical vessel analyzed from a top-view perspective The included datasets enable the investigation of thermal convection phenomena, flow pattern formation, and velocity-field evolution in viscous fluids. The files are organized and named according to experimental conditions, and images of the experimental setup together with a README file are provided to facilitate understanding and reuse of the dataset. This repository is intended as an open resource for researchers and students working in fluid dynamics, thermal convection, particle image velocimetry, and experimental physics. The experiments were conducted in a controlled environment at the Technical University of Vienna. Further details may be requested by contacting [e-mail].