Natural Convection in a Partitioned Vertical Enclosure Heated With a Uniform Heat Flux

Abstract

This numerical study looks at laminar natural convection in an enclosure divided by a partition with a finite thickness and conductivity. The enclosure is assumed to be heated using a uniform heat flux on a vertical wall, and cooled to a constant temperature on the opposite wall. The governing equations in the vorticity-stream function formulation are solved by employing a polynomial-based differential quadrature method. The results show that the presence of a vertical partition has a considerable effect on the circulation intensity, and therefore, the heat transfer characteristics across the enclosure. The average Nusselt number decreases with an increase of the distance between the hot wall and the partition. With a decrease in the thermal resistance of the partition, the average Nusselt number shows an increasing trend and a peak point is detected. If the thermal resistance of the partition further declines, the average Nusselt number begins to decrease asymptotically to a constant value. The partition thickness has little effect on the average Nusselt number.