Numerical investigation of several physical and geometric parameters in the natural convection into trapezoidal cavities

Abstract

Natural convection in trapezoidal cavities, especially those with two internal baffles in conjunction with an insulated floor, inclined top surface, and isothermal left-heated and isothermal right-cooled vertical walls, has been investigated numerically using the Element based Finite Volume Method (EbFVM). In numerical simulations, the effect of three inclination angles of the upper surface as well as the effect of the Rayleigh number (Ra), the Prandtl number (Pr), and the baffle’s height (Hb) on the stream functions, temperature profiles, and local and average Nusselt numbers has been investigated. A parametric study was performed for a wide range of Ra numbers (103 6 Ra 6 106) Hb heights (Hb = H⁄/3, 2H⁄/3, and H⁄), Pr numbers (Pr = 0.7, 10 and 130), and top angle (h) ranges from 10 to 20. A correlation for the average Nusselt number in terms of Pr and Ra numbers, and the inclination of the upper surface of the cavity is proposed for each baffle height investigated.