Mixed Convection in an Obstructed Two-Dimensional Open-Ended Cavity

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Professor Kambiz Vafai

Abstract: Mixed  convection  in  an  obstructed  cavity  with heated  horizontal  walls  is  studied  numerically. Brinkman-Forchheimer-extended  Darcy model  is  utilized  to describe  the  flow  behavior  within  the  porous medium for different angles of attack with respect to the forced convection. Numerical results are obtained for a wide range of Grashof numbers (10²-10¹³), Reynolds numbers (10²-5 ́10⁴), Darcy numbers (10^-6-10^-1), and aspect ratios (0.25-2). The effects of all of the pertinent physical parameters are investigated in terms of the flow and temperature fields. The presented results show that the Darcy number plays a significant role on  the  flow  and  thermal  fields  for  different  flow  configurations.  For  an  inclined  flow;  the  vertical  velocity component is substantially diminished within a narrow entrance section near the inlet boundary. It is shown that  as  the  aspect  ratio  increases  the  thickness  of the  thermal  boundary  layer  increases,  resulting  in  a decrease in the heat transfer rate though the horizontal walls.