NATURAL-CONVECTION OF MICROPOLAR FLUIDS IN A RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE

The steady, laminar, natural convection flow of a micropolar fluid In an enclosure has been investigated numerically. The transport equation s for vorticity, angular momentum, and energy are solved with the aid of the cubic spline collocation method. Parametric studies of the effe cts of microstructure on the fluid flow and heat transfer in the enclo sure have been performed. The flow phenomenon is discussed for a serie s of Rayleigh numbers and aspect ratios. A similar Row pattern as obta ined for a Newtonian fluid is also shown in the present problem. The h eat transfer rate of micropolar fluids is found to be smaller than tha t of the Newtonian fluid. The streamline distribution and heat transfe r characteristics obtained in the present work are prove to be in agre ement with the earlier studies.