Unsteady natural convection in a triangular enclosure induced by surface cooling

• Published in: The International journal of heat and fluid flow Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 307 - 321
• Main Authors: Lei, Chengwang, Patterson, John C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.04.2005; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Buoyancy-driven instability; Convection and heat transfer; Convective instability; Exact sciences and technology; Fluid dynamics; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Hydrodynamic stability; Natural convection; Physics; Scaling analysis; Triangular enclosure; Turbulent flows, convection, and heat transfer; Natural convection; Convective instability; Triangular enclosure; Scaling analysis; Temperature distribution; Convective instabilities; Streamlines; Cooling; Digital simulation; Triangular shape; Boundary conditions; Unsteady flow; Cavity flow; Scaling laws; Heat transfer
• ISSN: 0142-727X; 1879-2278
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2004.08.010

This study considers the unsteady natural convection in a triangular domain induced by a constant cooling at the water surface. The study consists of two parts: a scaling analysis and numerical simulations. The scaling analysis for small bottom slopes reveals that three laminar flow regimes, namely conductive, transitional and convective flow regimes are possible depending on the Rayleigh number. Proper scales have been established to quantify the transient flow development in each of these flow regimes. The numerical simulation has verified the scaling predictions.