Conjugate natural convection heat transfer in a cavity with finite wall thickness

Abstract

The effects of a heat barrier, located in the thick ceiling wall of a square enclosure, on conjugate conduction and natural convection heat transfer are investigated numerically. The analysis is performed by numerical solution of the continuity, unsteady momentum conservation and energy equations with finite difference solution method based on the streamfunction-vorticity formulation. The vertical walls of the enclosure are differentially heated and horizontal walls are adiabatic. A thin heat barrier, having infinite thermal resistance, is located in the ceiling wall at different locations. The calculations are made for different Rayleigh numbers (103 Ra 106), thermal conductivity ratios (1 K 100), dimensionless locations of heat barrier (0<Xh<1) and two dimensionless ceiling wall thicknesses (D . 0.05 and D . 0.20). By using the results of the computer program, streamlines and isotherms are plotted. Heatline visualization technique is used to simulate heat transport and the effect of heat barrier is presented by comparing and plotting heatlines for the cavity and for the solid region with and without heat barrier. The study is performed for air with Prandtl number 0.71. It is found that the effect of heat barrier is more significant in the cavity with high thermal conductivity ratio but low Rayleigh number. There are certain reductions in the average Nusselt number at the vertical walls of the cavity and dimensionless heat transfer rate of the solid region walls for high conductivity ratios, but the reduction in dimensionless heat transfer rate is greater.