Finite element simulation on natural convection flow in a triangular enclosure due to uniform and nonuniform bottom heating

A penalty finite element analysis with biquadratic elements has been carried out to investigate natural convection flows within an isosceles triangular enclosure with an aspect ratio of 0.5. Two cases of thermal boundary conditions are considered with uniform and nonuniform heating of bottom wall. The numerical solution of the problem is illustrated for Rayleigh numbers (Ra), 103≤Ra≤105 and Prandtl numbers (Pr), 0.026 ≤Pr≤1000. In general, the intensity of circulation is found to be larger for nonuniform heating at a specific Pr and Ra. Multiple circulation cells are found to occur at the central and coner regimes of the bottom wall for a small Prandtl number regime (Pr =0.026-0.07). As a result, the oscillatory distribution of the local Nusselt number or heat transfer rate is seen. In contrast, the intensity ofprimary circulation is found to be stronger and secondary circulation is completely absent for a high- Prandtl number regime (Pr=0.7-1000). Based on overall heat transfer rates, it is found that the average Nusselt number for the bottom wall is √2 times that of the inclined wall, which is well, matched in two cases, verifying the thermal equilibrium of the system. The correlations are proposed for the average Nusselt number in terms of the Rayleigh number for a convection dominant region with higher Prandtl numbers (Pr=0.7 and 10). Copyright © 2008 by ASME.