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Effects of heater location and heater size on the natural convection heat transfer in a square cavity using finite element method

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Abstract

Finite element method was used to investigate the effects of heater location and heater size on the natural convection heat transfer in a 2D square cavity heated partially or fully from below and cooled from above. Rayleigh Number (5×102 ≤ Ra ≤ 5×105), heater size (0.1 ≤ D/L ≤ 1.0), and heater location (0.1 ≤ xh/L ≤ 0.5) were considered. Numerical results indicated that the average Nusselt Number (Num) increases as the heater size decreases. In addition, when x h/L is less than 0.4, Num increases as x h/L increases, and Num decreases again for a larger value of x h/L. However, this trend changes when Ra is less than 104, suggesting that Num attains its maximum value at the region close to the bottom surface center. This study aims to gain insight into the behaviors of natural convection in order to potentially improve internal natural convection heat transfer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 712-749, Korea

    Ich-Long Ngo & Chan Byon

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  1. Ich-Long Ngo
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  2. Chan Byon
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Correspondence to Chan Byon.

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Recommended by Associate Editor Ji Hwan Jeong

Ich-Long Ngo received his B.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from Hanoi University of Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2009 and his M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Changwon National University, Changwon, Korea, in 2013. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Korea.

Chan Byon received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from KAIST, Daejeon, Korea. He was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, and the Imperial College London, UK, in 2009 and 2012, respectively. He is currently working as a professor at Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Korea.

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Ngo, IL., Byon, C. Effects of heater location and heater size on the natural convection heat transfer in a square cavity using finite element method. J Mech Sci Technol 29, 2995–3003 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-0630-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-0630-z

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