SOLUTION OF TRANSIENT LAMINAR NATURAL-CONVECTION IN A SQUARE CAVITY BY AN EXPLICIT FINITE-ELEMENT SCHEME

This paper discusses the application of a finite element method based on the first-order projection scheme, which is an extension of Chorin' s algorithm, to transient laminar convection in a square cavity. Resul ts have been presented for a fluid of Prandtl number 0.71 in the Rayle igh number range of 10(3)-10(6) in terms of the variation of vertical velocity component, nondimensional temperature, and average Nusselt nu mber with time. Various features of the scheme that render it economic al in terms of CPU time and storage requirements are discussed. The st eady state results have been compared with benchmark solutions, and th e agreement appears to be good.