Transient buoyant convection in a 45°‐inclined enclosure heated and cooled on adjacent walls

Abstract

Purpose

To conduct a numerical study on two‐dimensional, transient, buoyant flow inside an air‐filled 45°‐inclined enclosure, heated and cooled on adjacent walls.

Design/methodology/approach

The governing equations obtained through the stream function‐vorticity formulation are solved using finite differences. Flow characteristics have been investigated for an aspect ratio of 1. Calculations are carried out for the Rayleigh numbers in the range of 10³≤Ra≤5×10⁷.

Findings

With the increasing Rayleigh number, four distinct flow regimes were identified based on the time variations of the mid‐point stream function and the mean Nusselt number at the heated wall as well as those of flow and temperature fields: steady flow with symmetric two cells at low Ra; steady flow with asymmetric two cells at lower moderate Ra; oscillatory flow with the periodic nature at upper moderate Ra; and oscillatory flow in chaotic nature at higher Ra range.

Originality/value

The distinct flow regimes are observed only at ϕ=45°; a small deviation of the tilting angle from ϕ=45° results in the disappearance of the distinction.

Citation

Aydin, O. and Ünal, A. (2006), "Transient buoyant convection in a 45°‐inclined enclosure heated and cooled on adjacent walls", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 451-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/09615530610653082