Abstract
Natural convection of gases in a horizontal annulus, where the inner cylinder is heated by the application of a constant heat flux and the outer cylinder is isothermally cooled, is studied numerically. Detailed results of temperature, velocity and heat transfer are presented for a wide range of Rayleigh numbers extending from conduction to the convection-dominated steady flow regime, and diameter ratios of 1.2–10. A crescent-shaped eddy dominates for the small diameter ratio and a kidney-shaped flow pattern appears for the large diameter ratio as observed by previous investigators in their flow visualization studies. The inner wall temperature is a function of diameter ratio and Rayleigh number. An increase in Rayleigh number based on the same temperature difference for the inner wall boundary condition of constant heat flux or constant temperature increases the heat transfer rate; however, the increase is larger for the constant heat flux case. At large diameter ratios ( κ ≥ 10), the heat transfer rates are the same for both types of heating, and a single cylinder in an infinite atmosphere gives nearly the same results.
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