Effect of thermal conductivity ratio on flow features and convective heat transfer

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we numerically investigate the steady laminar natural convection in a water-filled 2D enclosure containing a rectangular conducting body. Computations are performed for a wide range of dimensionless parameters including the Rayleigh number Ra, the thermal conductivity ratio k, and the location of the inner body δ, while the value of the Prandtl number is maintained constant at 6.8. This simulation spans four decades of Rayleigh number, Ra, from 103 to 106. The influence of these various dimensionless parameters on the flow behavior is investigated. Correlations of the averaged Nusselt numbers are obtained as a function of two parameters (Ra and δ) for each working thermal conductivity ratio. The results indicate that the heat transfer rate through the enclosure can be controlled by the position of the rectangular body. A comparative study was also carried out between a horizontal and a vertical conducting shape inside the enclosure. It is proved that a vertical position leads to a better heat transfer compared to the horizontal case.