Multicellular Natural Convection in a Narrow Vertical Slot
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the influence of Prandtl number on steady, or unsteady, flow behavior in a narrow vertical slot. The focus is to examine the effects of Prandtl number on natural convective flows, and the formation of single and multiple cells, over a range of Prandtl numbers from Pr = 0 to Pr = infinity. Both numerical as well as analytical approaches are undertaken in studying these phenomena. By assuming a large Rayleigh number and small gap, the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are reduced to the simpler boundary-layer form. Boundary-layer equations are then derived for both the low (Pr < or = 0.1) and high (Pr > or = 10) Prandtl number regimes, including the limiting conditions of Pr approaches limit of 0 and Pr approaches limit of infinity. Furthermore, the equations obtained for the low Prandtl number regime also hold any finite Prandtl number in the range 0 < Pr < or = 1. 0. Numerical solutions to these equations are obtained by using a stable, second-order, fully-implicit, time-accurate, Gauss-Siedel iterative procedure. In addition to numerical solutions, steady-state analytical solutions are derived using perturbative methods.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA216411
Entities
People
- David C. Jarman
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology