Numerical investigation of free convective flow in divergent channels

Free convective flow for laminar, two-dimensional divergent channels with isothermal boundary conditions has been numerically analyzed. The study examines the effect of semi-vertical angles on the fluid flow and heat transfer rates for a Rayleigh number range of 10 to 4 × 104 considering water (Pr = 5.0) and air (Pr = 0.71) as working fluids. The results compare favourably with the existing experimental and numerical results for divergent channels. Comparison with plane channel results shows that there is a significant change in the flow pattern for the divergent channels for different Prandtl numbers and semi-vertical angles. However, the heat transfer results do not deviate much from the plane channel results.