Numerical Study of Three-Dimensional Natural Convection in a Cubical Cavity with Partially Heated Vertical Wall

Abstract

In this work, the three-dimensional natural convection in a cubical cavity due to a partially heated vertical sidewall has been investigated numerically using the finite volume method. Six isothermal parts at a hot temperature are considered and distributed with three different arrangements on a vertical wall of the cubical cavity. In case I, the number of these hot isothermal parts increases from the bottom to the top of this wall: one, two then three parts (1x2x3). Case III is the opposite of the first (3x2x1). Case II is an intermediate situation between the two first ones: that is (2x2x2). The opposite vertical sidewall is maintained at a cold temperature and the other sidewalls are supposed to be adiabatic. The number of Pr is fixed at 0.71 whereas the number of Ra varies between 103 to 106. The results of the simulation show that case II leads to a more important heat transfer compared to the two other studied cases.