Computation of turbulent flow inside an enclosure with central partition

Knowledge of the distribution of air is essential for proper design of enclosed spaces like clean room, passenger cabins, etc. The flow inside these is characterised by three-dimensionality and turbulence. It depends on factors like geometrical configuration, supply and exhaust locations and internal partitions. The effects of these parameters can be studied by considering the flow through a rectangular enclosure with partition. Computations in such cases are carried out by numerically solving Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, the results of which depend on the model of turbulence used. To arrive at a suitable model, three advanced turbulence models namely, RNG k-ε, Reynolds stress model and shear stress transport (SST) k-ω are examined by comparing computed results with experimental data. Fluent 6.0 code with implicit option is used as the computing platform. It is found that the SST k-ω model is able to capture complex flow features like the movement of vortices downstream of the partition, flow in reverse direction in the top portion of the enclosure, and exit of flow with swirl. Copyright © 2005 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.