LAMINAR NATURAL-CONVECTION IN INCLINED ENCLOSURES BOUNDED BY A SOLID WALL

Laminar natural convection has been studied in enclosures bounded by a solid wall with its outer boundary at constant temperature while the opposing side has a constant heat flux. Two-dimensional equations of c onservation of mass, momentum and energy, with the Boussinesq approxim ation are solved using a finite difference method. The numerical proce dure adopted is based on the SIMPLER algorithm. Various parameters wer e: Rayleigh number (from 10(3) to 10(6)), dimensionless conductivity o f bounding wall (from 1 to 10) and dimensionless wall width (from 0.15 to 0.5), aspect ratio (from 0.5 to 1) and the inclination angle (from 30 degrees to 180 degrees). The results are reduced in terms of the n ormalized Nusselt number as a function of the Rayleigh number, and oth er dimensionless parameters. The isotherms and streamlines are produce d for various Rayleigh numbers and geometrical conditions. It is found that the heat transfer is an increasing function of the Rayleigh numb er, wall to fluid conductivity ratio, enclosure aspect ratio and a dec reasing function of the wall thickness. It passes from a maximum for t he inclination angle of about 80 degrees.