NUMERICAL STUDY OF NATURAL CONVECTION IN PARTITIONED ENCLOSURE

The buoyancy-driven flow and heat transfer in a partially- divided enclosure have been numerically studied. Two baffles are mounted horizontally one each at different isothermal vertical walls. The transient characteristics of the temperature and flow fields, the onset of two independent circulating flows, increase in their strength, and their interactions are thoroughly investigated. The strong interaction between the ejection mechanism and the suction mechanism that aids the fluid motion in core region is also analyzed. Finally, the influence of Rayleigh number as the governing physical parameter on the convective flow and heat transfer in these geometries has been explored.