Numerical study of natural convection with surface radiation in side-vented open cavities

The paper presents a numerical study of steady combined laminar natural convection and surface radiation heat transfer in a two-dimensional side-vented open cavity for different aspect ratios, side-vent ratios, and surface emissivities using air as the fluid medium. Results have been compared with experimental results available in the literature. Surface radiation is found to alter the basic flow pattern as well as the thermal performance substantially. The numerical investigation provides evidence of the existence of thermal boundary layers along adiabatic walls of the cavity as a consequence of the interaction of natural convection and surface radiation. Based on numerical data correlations have been developed for convective as well as radiative heat transfer. © 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.