Numerical investigation of several physical and geometric parameters in the natural convection into trapezoidal cavities

Natural convection in trapezoidal cavities, especially those with two internal baffles in conjunction with an insulated floor, inclined top surface, and isothermal left-heated and isothermal right-cooled vertical walls, has been investigated numerically using the Element based Finite Volume Method (...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Silva, Adriano da, Fontana, Éliton, Mariani, Viviana Cocco, Marcondes, Francisco
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2012
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)
Repository:Repositório Institucional da Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)
Language:Portuguese
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ufc.br:riufc/61648
Online Access:http://www.repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/61648
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Natural convection
Trapezoidal cavities
Baffles
Title angle
EbFVM
Description
Summary:Natural convection in trapezoidal cavities, especially those with two internal baffles in conjunction with an insulated floor, inclined top surface, and isothermal left-heated and isothermal right-cooled vertical walls, has been investigated numerically using the Element based Finite Volume Method (EbFVM). In numerical simulations, the effect of three inclination angles of the upper surface as well as the effect of the Rayleigh number (Ra), the Prandtl number (Pr), and the baffle’s height (Hb) on the stream functions, temperature profiles, and local and average Nusselt numbers has been investigated. A parametric study was performed for a wide range of Ra numbers (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106) Hb heights (Hb = H*/3, 2H*/3, and H*), Pr numbers (Pr = 0.7, 10 and 130), and top angle (h) ranges from 10 to 20. A correlation for the average Nusselt number in terms of Pr and Ra numbers, and the inclination of the upper surface of the cavity is proposed for each baffle height investigated.