NUMERICAL STUDY OF FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER IN DIFFERENTIALLY HEATED ENCLOSURES

Two-dimensional laminar natural convection is studied numerically for differentially heated air-filled rectangular enclosures with adiabatic side walls and aspect ratios of 1, 2, 4, and 8. The inclination angle of the enclosure was varied from 0 degrees to 180 degrees, and the effect of inclination on flow field and heat transfer was investigated over the range 10(3) <= Ra <= 10(6). Correlations of average Nusselt number based on the present results are presented for horizontal and vertical cases. Large discrepancies were found among published results.