Flow features of natural convection in a parallelogrammic enclosure

Flow fields of two dimensional natural convection in a parallelogrammic enc losure with two insulated horizontal walls and two heated and cooled inclin ed walls are investigated numerically. The study is conducted by direct sim ulation for the transient problem using the Finite Volume Method. The Rayle igh numbers used for water are 2.55 * 10(6) and 2.92 * 10(7) with Prandtl n umber 6.8, for silicone oil 4.3 * 10(4) and 3.2 * 10(5) with Prandtl number 3300. Steady flow structures consist of boundary layers and reversed flow in the central region. The buoyancy driven flow fields for various regimes are displayed and discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd.