An analytical model for natural convection in a rectangular enclosure with differentially heated vertical walls

Alberto Fichera (1) , Manuel Marcoux (2) , Arturo Pagano (1) , Rosaria Volpe (1)

1 Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica Elettronica e dei Sistemi
2 IMFT - Institut de mécanique des fluides de Toulouse

This paper proposes an analytical model for natural convection in a closed rectangular enclosure filled by a fluid, with imposed heat fluxes at the vertical walls and adiabatic horizontal walls. The analytical model offers a simplified, but easy to handle, description of the temperature and velocity fields. The predicted temperature, velocity, and pressure fields are shown to be in agreement with those obtained from a reliable numerical model. The Nusselt numbers for both the analytical and numerical solutions are then calculated and compared, varying both the aspect ratio of the enclosure and the Rayleigh number. Based on the comparisons, it is possible to assess the dependence of the reliability of the analytical model on the aspect ratio of the enclosure, showing that the prediction error rapidly decreases with the increase of the enclosure slenderness

Mots clés: Natural convection; Analytical model; Rectangular enclosure; Heat flux; Nusselt number

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Thermique [physics.class-ph]

Alberto Fichera, Manuel Marcoux, Arturo Pagano, Rosaria Volpe. An analytical model for natural convection in a rectangular enclosure with differentially heated vertical walls. Energies, 2020, 13 (12), pp.3220. ⟨10.3390/en13123220⟩. ⟨hal-03212892⟩