Mixed Convective Flow in Horizontal Rectangular Enclosure with a Wall Heat Source: A Numerical Study

Abstract

In this work, we have investigated the heat transfer of a mixed convective flow in horizontal rectangular enclosure having a wall heat source. For the purpose of computing stable and convergent numerical solutions of the flow variables, the governing equations along with the boundary conditions are solved by using the upwind finite volume scheme and a modified SIMPLE algorithm. For discussing the heat transfer from the bottom wall of the enclosure, the average Nusselt numbers are computed from relevant empirical correlations existing in the literature. These correlations are in the range of 1708 ≤ Ra ≤ 108 and 1708 ≤ Ra ≤ 3.5×109 in terms of different Rayleigh numbers for the Newtonian fluids such as air and water. Numerical solutions obtained from this study are compared with available benchmark solutions.