NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF HEAT TRANSFER IN A SQUARE CAVITY WITH A BAFFLE ON THE HOT WALL

摘要

A finite-volume based numerical analysis is performed to investigate the effect of attaching a high conducting thin baffle on the hot wall of a square cavity. Accordingly, a mathematical model is developed. The present work is intended to study the enhancement of laminar natural convection from a vertical hot wall with baffle attached on the surface, where the horizontal walls are kept insulated. The effects of baffle height, length, and Rayleigh number on heat transfer performance are investigated numerically for air as the working fluid. It has been found that adding baffle on the hot wall can increase the rate of heat transfer by as much as 31.46% compared with a wall without baffle for Ra=10{sup}4. By anchoring a baffle, the heat transfer capacity on the hot wall is always increased for Ra= 10{sup}5, irrespective of the position of the baffle. But for Ra=10{sup}4, the heat transfer can be promoted with the baffles placed closer to the insulated walls.