NATURAL CONVECTION FROM DISCRETE HEAT SOURCES IN A VERTICALLY VENTED RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE

Natural convection in a discretely heated, vertically vented enclosure has been investigated experimentally. A vertically vented enclosure is one whose top and bottom boundaries are partially open, allowing ambient fluid to be drawn in by buoyancy. Mach-Zehnder interferometry was used to visualize the temperature field within the enclosure and to determine the local and average heat transfer characteristics of the discrete heat sources. A smoke-generation technique was used to visualize the flow structure. The experimental parameters investigated include Grashof number, vent gap width, and heater locations for a dual heater configuration and a single-enclosure aspect ratio. The vent gap width was varied between a fully open condition (discretely healed parallel plates) and nearly closed. The Mach-Zehnder interferograms and local heat transfer results suggest a complex buoyancy-driven flow field that depends intimately on the rent gap width. For some geometric configurations, the heat transfer coefficient was found to be nearly uniform across the length of the heater, while for others traditional boundary-layer-type heat transfer characteristics were found. In general, the heat transfer coefficient increased with increased vent gap spacing. However, a maximum in average Nusselt number was observed for a dimensionless gap spacing of G/W – 0.67 for one of the two dual-heater placement configurations studied. The heat transfer characteristics were compared to those of a single isolated plate and unobstructed parallel-plate channels.