Natural convection laminar flow between two vertical walls with a nonlinear variation of density and viscosity with temperature

Abstract

AbstractUnder the combined influence of buoyancy force and constant pressure gradient, the free convection flow and heat transmission inside a channel placed vertically and consisting of two parallel walls are examined. Through the application of the Runge–Kutta fourth‐order approach and the shooting procedure, the modeled equations of the problem including nonlinear density–temperature and quadratic viscosity–temperature change at constant but different wall temperatures are numerically solved. For distinct values of the embedded parameters, the fluctuations in fluid's velocity and temperature are examined. For various situations of linear, quadratic, and nonlinear dependence of density on temperature, numerical values for heat transmission rate, volume flow rate and skin friction are determined and tabulated. The fluctuations of the Nusselt number with the Grashof number corresponding to thermal expansion coefficients are depicted through graphical interpretations. It was found that the combined effect of thermal expansion coefficients raises the values of the physical entities, Nusselt number, volume flow rate, and heat transmission rate. For the lower Reynolds number values, the Nusselt number value stays around one, indicating the same impact of conduction and convection on heat transmission.