Experimental study of natural convection in a square enclosure using differential interferometer

The results of an experimental study of laminar natural convection heat tra nsfer in a square enclosure using air as the medium and having differential ly heated isothermal Vertical walls and adiabatic horizontal walls are repo rted. The study has been carried out using a differential interferometer (D I). After many trials, the authors have been able to achieve nearly adiabat ic boundary conditions for top and bottom walls of the enclosure, in the la boratory environment. The study provides Valuable information for many rese archers - experimentalists or for those using numerical methods in analyzin g problems of this type. A correlation for average convective Nusselt numbe r is also provided. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.