Instabilities of mixed convection flows adjacent to inclined plates
- Univ. of Missouri, Rolla (USA)
The measurements by Sparrow and Husar and by Lloyd and Sparrow established that the onset of instability (transition from laminar to turbulent) in free convection boundary layer flow above an inclined heated plate is predominated by the wave mode of instability for inclination angles less than 14 deg, as measured from the vertical, and by the vortex mode of instability for angles greater than 17 deg. The transition Grashof number deceased as the angle of inclination increased. The predictions of Chen and Tzuoo for this flow provide trends that are similar to measured values, but the predicted critical Grashof numbers deviate significantly (three orders of magnitude smaller) from measured values. The instability of mixed convection boundary layer flow adjacent to inclined heated plates have also been treated numerically by Chen and Mucoglu for wave instability and by Chen et al. for vortex instability. Comparisons with measurements of instability in mixed convection flow adjacent to inclined plates were not available in the literature. It is anticipated, however, that these predictions will underestimate the actual onset of instability, as in the free convection case. The lack of measurements in this flow domain for this geometry has motivated the present study. The onset of instability in mixed convection flow adjacent to an isothermally heated inclined plate was determined in this study through flow visualization. The buoyancy-assisting and buoyancy-opposing flow cases were examined for the flow both above and below the heated plate. The critical Grashof-Reynolds number relationships for the onset of instability in this flow domain are reported in this paper.
- OSTI ID:
- 5476535
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Heat Transfer (Transcations of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Series C); (United States), Vol. 109:4; ISSN 0022-1481
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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