Transient natural convection between two zones in an insulated enclosure

Journal Article · Mon Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1988 · Journal of Heat Transfer (Transactions of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Series C); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3250441· OSTI ID:6103213

Litsek, P A; Bejan, A ^[1]

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1. Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States)

The natural convection flow and heat transfer between two enclosures that communicate through a vertical opening is studied by considering the evolution of an enclosed fluid in which the left half is originally at a different temperature than the right half. Numerical experiments show that at sufficiently high Rayleigh numbers the ensuing flow is oscillatory. This and other features are anticipated on the basis of scale analysis. The time scales of the oscillation, the establishment of thermal stratification, and eventual thermal equilibrium are determined and tested numerically. At sufficiently high Rayleigh numbers the heat transfer between the communicating zones is be convection, in accordance with the constant-Stanton-number trend pointed out by Jones and Otis (1986). The range covered by the numerical experiments is 10{sup 2} < Ra < 10{sup 7}, 0.71 < Pr < 100, and 0.25 < H/L < 1.

• OSTI ID: 6103213
• Journal Information: Journal of Heat Transfer (Transactions of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Series C); (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Heat Transfer (Transactions of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Series C); (United States) Vol. 110:1; ISSN 0022-1481; ISSN JHTRA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420400* -- Engineering-- Heat Transfer &amp; Fluid Flow
CAVITIES
CONVECTION
DATA
ENERGY TRANSFER
EQUILIBRIUM
HEAT TRANSFER
INFORMATION
MASS TRANSFER
NATURAL CONVECTION
STRATIFICATION
THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM
TRANSIENTS