Numerical analysis of natural convection in air in a horizontal open ended cavity uniformly heated from the upper plate

摘要

Natural convection in open-ended cavities is an interesting mechanism of heat transfer due to its implicit cheapness and ease of use in the cooling of electronics components, the solar cells and the chemical vapor deposition systems. The open cavities were widely investigated, even if there is a lack of numerical studies on open-ended cavity heated at uniform heat flux. In this paper, the investigation is focused on a configuration made of two horizontal parallel plates with the upper plate heated at uniform heat flux and the lower one unheated. Results are presented in terms of velocity and temperature fields and both the temperature and the velocity profiles at different position are shown. Results are reported at two Rayleigh numbers, 10{sup}3 and 10{sup}5, and for two aspect ratio values, 1 and 10. The fluid patterns are markedly dependent on the aspect ratio and on the Rayleigh number. Results are also shown in terms of the upper and lower wall temperature profiles as well as fluid dynamic and temperature fields.