A numerical study of natural convection in an isosceles triangular enclosure with a heated horizontal base and cooled upper walls is presented. Nearly every previous study conducted on this subject to date has assumed that the geometric plane of symmetry is also a plane of symmetry for the flow. This problem is re-examined over aspect ratios ranging from 0.2 to 1.0 and Grashof numbers from $103$ to $105.$ It is found that a pitchfork bifurcation occurs at a critical Grashof number for each of the aspect ratios considered, above which the symmetric solutions are unstable to finite perturbations and asymmetric solutions are instead obtained. Results are presented detailing the occurrence of the pitchfork bifurcation in each of the aspect ratios considered, and the resulting flow patterns are described. A flow visualization study is used to validate the numerical observations. Computed local and mean heat transfer coefficients are also presented and compared with results obtained when flow symmetry is assumed. Differences in local values of the Nusselt number between asymmetric and symmetric solutions are found to be more than 500 percent due to the shifting of the buoyancy-driven cells. [S0022-1481(00)02503-2]

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