Natural Convection in a Partitioned Cubic Enclosure

1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. Karki ◽  
P. S. Sathyamurthy ◽  
S. V. Patankar

Numerical solutions are obtained for fluid flow and heat transfer in a cubic enclosure with a vertical adiabatic partition. The two zones of the enclosure are connected by a single rectangular opening. The partition is oriented parallel to the isothermal sidewalls, one of which is heated and the other cooled while the remaining walls are adiabatic. Results have been presented for air for the Rayleigh numbers in the range 104−107. The width of the opening is held fixed while the height, relative to the enclosure height, is varied from 0.25 to 0.75. The effects of various parameters on the flow structure and heat transfer are investigated. The results of the three-dimensional simulation have also been compared with those for the corresponding two-dimensional configurations.

Author(s):  
Mo Yang ◽  
Jin Wang ◽  
Kun Zhang ◽  
Ling Li ◽  
Yuwen Zhang

Detailed numerical analysis is presented for three-dimensional natural convection heat transfer in annulus with an internal concentric slotted cylinder. The internal slotted cylinder and the outer annulus are maintained at uniform but different temperatures. Governing equations are discretized using control volume technique based on staggered grid formulation and solved using SIMPLE algorithm with QUICK scheme. Flow and heat transfer characteristics are investigated for a Rayleigh number range of 10 to 106 while Prandtl number (Pr) is taken to be 0.7. The results indicate, at Rayleigh numbers below 105, the system shows two dimensional flow and heat transfer characteristics. On the other hand, the flow and heat transfer shows three dimensional characteristics while for Rayleigh numbers greater than 5×105. Comparison with experimental results indicated that the numerical solutions by three dimensional model can obtain more accuracy than the numerical solutions by two dimensional model. Besides, Numerical results show that the average equivalent conductivity coefficient of natural convection heat transfer of this problem can be enhanced by as much as 30% while relative slot width is more than 0.1.


1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 1002-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Yu ◽  
Y. K. Joshi

A three-dimensional investigation of combined conduction, natural convection, and radiation in a side-vented compact enclosure is carried out. The focus of the study is on the enhancement of overall heat transfer through the opening, and the roles of the various modes in achieving it. A discrete heat source, flush-mounted centrally on a vertical substrate, is placed in the enclosure with a single rectangular opening on the opposite vertical wall. Steady-state computations are carried out for Rayleigh numbers, Ra, at 2.6 × 106 and 2.0 × 107. The results show that radiation plays a significant role in the overall heat transfer, and the radiative transport is even more pronounced for lower Ra. It is found that natural convection is weakened by radiation, however, contrary to the existing studies on top vented enclosures, the overall heat transfer is enhanced when radiation is included in the computations. Flow recirculation by radiative heating of enclosure walls is predicted, and is also observed experimentally. Heat spreading in the substrate is found to effect both convection and radiation. The numerical solutions on an extended computational domain are found in good agreement with the experimental data, when the conjugate effects are accounted for.


1982 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Lauriat

The interaction of thermal radiation with natural convection in a gray fluid contained inside a cavity is numerically examined. The radiation part of the problem is treated by using the two-dimensional P-1 approximation. The effect of radiation on the conduction, transition, and boundary layer regimes is investigated. The results show that radiation decreases the intensity of the flow at low Rayleigh numbers and, in contrast, leads to an increased flow in convection regimes. The influence of the radiative parameters on the flow and heat transfer is discussed.


1981 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 259-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Mallinson ◽  
A. D. Graham ◽  
G. De Vahl Davis

A numerical and experimental study has been made of the three-dimensional flow and heat transfer by natural convection in a closed, rectangular thermosyphon. At low Rayleigh numbers, the flows in the two halves of the cavity remain separate, with heat transfer across the mid-height plane occurring only by conduction. At increasing Rayleigh numbers, an exchange process of increasing complexity occurs. The numerical solutions were used to explore this process and to predict flow patterns which were found to resemble closely those observed during previous investigations of cylindrical thermosyphons. The results were verified by a flow visualization study. Heat-transfer rates are presented and augment previous data for higher values of the governing parameters.


1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 840-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Dyko ◽  
K. Vafai

A heightened awareness of the importance of natural convective cooling as a driving factor in design and thermal management of aircraft braking systems has emerged in recent years. As a result, increased attention is being devoted to understanding the buoyancy-driven flow and heat transfer occurring within the complex air passageways formed by the wheel and brake components, including the interaction of the internal and external flow fields. Through application of contemporary computational methods in conjunction with thorough experimentation, robust numerical simulations of these three-dimensional processes have been developed and validated. This has provided insight into the fundamental physical mechanisms underlying the flow and yielded the tools necessary for efficient optimization of the cooling process to improve overall thermal performance. In the present work, a brief overview of aircraft brake thermal considerations and formulation of the convection cooling problem are provided. This is followed by a review of studies of natural convection within closed and open-ended annuli and the closely related investigation of inboard and outboard subdomains of the braking system. Relevant studies of natural convection in open rectangular cavities are also discussed. Both experimental and numerical results obtained to date are addressed, with emphasis given to the characteristics of the flow field and the effects of changes in geometric parameters on flow and heat transfer. Findings of a concurrent numerical and experimental investigation of natural convection within the wheel and brake assembly are presented. These results provide, for the first time, a description of the three-dimensional aircraft braking system cooling flow field.


2001 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cadafalch ◽  
C. D. Pe´rez-Segarra ◽  
R. Co`nsul ◽  
A. Oliva

This work presents a post-processing tool for the verification of steady-state fluid flow and heat transfer finite volume computations. It is based both on the generalized Richardson extrapolation and the Grid Convergence Index GCI. The observed order of accuracy and a error band where the grid independent solution is expected to be contained are estimated. The results corresponding to the following two and three-dimensional steady-state simulations are post-processed: a flow inside a cavity with moving top wall, an axisymmetric turbulent flow through a compressor valve, a premixed methane/air laminar flat flame on a perforated burner, and the heat transfer from an isothermal cylinder enclosed by a square duct. Discussion is carried out about the certainty of the estimators obtained with the post-processing procedure. They have been shown to be useful parameters in order to assess credibility and quality to the reported numerical solutions.


Author(s):  
Alireza Rahimi ◽  
Aravindhan Surendar ◽  
Aygul Z. Ibatova ◽  
Abbas Kasaeipoor ◽  
Emad Hasani Malekshah

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the three-dimensional natural convection and entropy generation in the rectangular cuboid cavities included by chamfered triangular partition made by polypropylene. Design/methodology/approach The enclosure is filled by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-H2O nanofluid and air as two immiscible fluids. The finite volume approach is used for computation. The fluid flow and heat transfer are considered with combination of local entropy generation due to fluid friction and heat transfer. Moreover, a numerical method is developed based on three-dimensional solution of Navier–Stokes equations. Findings Effects of side ratio of triangular partitions (SR = 0.5, 1 and 2), Rayleigh number (103 < Ra < 105) and solid volume fraction (f = 0.002, 0.004 and 0.01 Vol.%) of nanofluid are investigated on both natural convection characteristic and volumetric entropy generation. The results show that the partitions can be a suitable method to control fluid flow and energy consumption, and three-dimensional solutions renders more accurate results. Originality/value The originality of this work is to study the three-dimensional natural convection and entropy generation of a stratified system.


1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Litsek ◽  
A. Bejan

The natural convection flow and heat transfer between two enclosures that communicate through a vertical opening is studied by considering the evolution of an enclosed fluid in which the left half is originally at a different temperature than the right half. Numerical experiments show that at sufficiently high Rayleigh numbers the ensuing flow is oscillatory. This and other features are anticipated on the basis of scale analysis. The time scales of the oscillation, the establishment of thermal stratification, and eventual thermal equilibrium are determined and tested numerically. At sufficiently high Rayleigh numbers the heat transfer between the communicating zones is by convection, in accordance with the constant-Stanton-number trend pointed out by Jones and Otis (1986). The range covered by the numerical experiments is 102 < Ra < 107, 0.71 < Pr < 100, and 0.25 < H/L < 1.


Author(s):  
Ann Lee ◽  
Victoria Timchenko ◽  
Guan H. Yeoh ◽  
John A. Reizes

An in-house computer code is developed and applied to investigate the effect of a synthetic jet on heat transfer rates in forced convection of water in silicon micro-channels etched in the rear side of the silicon substrate. To account for the deflection of the membrane located at the bottom of the actuator cavity, a moving mesh technique to solve the flow and heat transfer is purposefully adopted. The governing equations are transformed into the curvilinear coordinate system in which the grid velocities evaluated are then fed into the computation of the flow in the cavity domain thus allowing the conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy to be solved within the stationary computational domain. The fully three-dimensional model considers the SIMPLE method to link the pressure and velocity. A heat flux of 1 MW/m2 is applied at the surface of the top of the silicon wafer and the resulting complex, conjugate heat transfer through the silicon substrate is included. The hydrodynamics feature of the flow is validated against existing experimental results and verified against numerical results from commercial package ANSYS CFX 11.0. Good agreement has been achieved. To track the development of the flow and heat transfer when the actuator is switched on, numerical results of 20 full cycles of the actuator are simulated. When the actuator is switched on, noticeable temperature drop is observed at all points in the substrate from those which existed when there has been a steady water flow in the channel. At the end of 20th cycle of actuation, the maximum temperature in the wafer has reduced by 5.4 K in comparison with the steady flow values. In comparison with the two-dimensional study which account for 17K reduction, it indicates that synthetic jet has only smaller beneficial cooling and has been over-estimated in the previous two-dimensional study.


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