Blockage of natural convection boundary layer flow in a multizone enclosure
This paper reports the results of an experimental study that examines the transition between flow regimes, as a function of aperture size, in a two-zone enclosure with heated and cooled end walls. A constant heat flux boundary condition was maintained on one vertical end wall, and an isothermal cold temperature sink was maintained on the opposite vertical end wall. All of the remaining surfaces were highly insulated. The transition between the boundary layer driven regime and the bulk density driven regime was established as a function of the geometry of the aperture in the partition that separated the hot and cold zones. The results demonstrate that transition from the boundary layer driven regime to the bulk density driven regime is caused by blockage of the boundary layer flow, when the area of the flow aperture is reduced below a critical value. A simple flow model has been developed which predicts that the critical aperture area for the onset of flow blockage is directly proportional to the number of active heat transfer surfaces and inversely proportional to the Rayleigh number which characterizes the level of heating and cooling provided to the active heat transfer surfaces.
- Research Organization:
- Clemson Univ., SC (USA). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; Solar Energy Research Inst. (SERI), Golden, CO (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-83CH10093
- OSTI ID:
- 5770076
- Report Number(s):
- SERI/TP-252-2847; CONF-860612-1; ON: DE86004430
- Resource Relation:
- Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: 2; Conference: 4. AIAA/ASME thermophysics and heat transfer conference, Boston, MA, USA, 2 Jun 1986
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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