Corrective heat transfer in a rectangular porous cavity-effect of aspect ratio on flow structure and heat transfer

V. Prasad, F. A. Kulacki

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

173 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two-dimensional steady natural convection in a porous rectangular cavity bounded by isothermal vertical walls at different temperatures and adiabatic horizontal walls has been studied numerically for aspect ratios less than unity and Rayleigh numbers up to W. Results indicate the presence of multicellular flow. Also, the average Nusselt number based on cavity width is observed to be a maximum in a restricted range of aspect ratio, depending on the Rayleigh number. Effects of aspect ratio are summarized by a family of curves for constant Rayleigh number, based on cavity height, for aspect ratios from 0.05 to 100. For a cavity with fixed height, the heat transfer rate always increases as the aspect ratio is increased, except when the flow exhibits boundary layers on the vertical walls. Criteria in terms of aspect ratio and Rayleigh number have been established for the existence of different flow regimes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)158-165
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Heat Transfer
Volume106
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1984

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Corrective heat transfer in a rectangular porous cavity-effect of aspect ratio on flow structure and heat transfer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this