Turbulent free convection between vertical isothermal plates with asymmetrical heating

Abstract

Results of numerical investigation of the flow and heat transfer at turbulent free convection between the vertical parallel isothermal plates with different temperatures are presented. The temperature factor R T varied within −2 ÷ 1. The Rayleigh number changed within Ra = 107 ÷ 109, and the ratio of geometrical sizes of plates and distances between them was constant A = L/w = 10. Numerical studies were performed via the solution to the two-dimensional Navier—Stokes equations and energy equation in Boussinesq approximation. The considered boundary-value problem has the unknown conditions at the inlet and outlet between the plates. To describe turbulence, the modified low-Reynolds k-ɛ model was used. The effect of the temperature factor on the flow structure at the channel inlet and outlet was analyzed. Data on distributions of velocities and temperatures between the plates, local and integral heat transfer allow deeper understanding of the mechanism of transfer processes between the parallel plates with asymmetrical heating.