Laser interferometry and flow visualization were used to study free convective heat transfer inside a vertical channel. Most studies in the literature have investigated buoyancy forces in a single direction. The study presented here investigated opposing buoyancy forces, where one wall is warmer than the ambient and the other wall is cooler than the ambient. An experimental model of an isothermally, asymmetrically heated vertical channel was constructed. Interferometry provided temperature field visualization and flow visualization was used to obtain the streamlines. Experiments were carried out over a range of aspect ratios between 8.8 and 26.4, using temperature ratios of 0, −0.5, and −0.75. These conditions provide a modified Rayleigh number range of approximately 5 to 1100. In addition, the measured local and average Nusselt number data were compared to numerical solutions obtained using ANSYS FLUENT. Air was the fluid of interest. So the Prandtl number was fixed at 0.71. Numerical solutions were obtained for modified Rayleigh numbers ranging from the laminar fully developed flow regime to the turbulent isolated boundary layer regime. A semi-empirical correlation of the average Nusselt number was developed based on the experimental data.
Skip Nav Destination
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
e-mail: droeleve@ryerson.ca
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
Article navigation
Research-Article
Free Convection in Asymmetrically Heated Vertical Channels With Opposing Buoyancy Forces
D. Roeleveld,
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
e-mail: droeleve@ryerson.ca
D. Roeleveld
1
Department of Mechanical &
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
350 Victoria Street
,Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
Canada
e-mail: droeleve@ryerson.ca
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
D. Naylor,
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
D. Naylor
Department of Mechanical &
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
350 Victoria Street
,Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
W. H. Leong
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
W. H. Leong
Department of Mechanical &
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
350 Victoria Street
,Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
D. Roeleveld
Department of Mechanical &
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
350 Victoria Street
,Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
Canada
e-mail: droeleve@ryerson.ca
D. Naylor
Department of Mechanical &
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
350 Victoria Street
,Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
Canada
W. H. Leong
Department of Mechanical &
Industrial Engineering,
Ryerson University,
350 Victoria Street
,Toronto, ON M5B 2K3,
Canada
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received September 11, 2013; final manuscript received November 28, 2013; published online March 7, 2014. Assoc. Editor: Zhixiong Guo.
J. Heat Transfer. Jun 2014, 136(6): 062502 (11 pages)
Published Online: March 7, 2014
Article history
Received:
September 11, 2013
Revision Received:
November 28, 2013
Citation
Roeleveld, D., Naylor, D., and Leong, W. H. (March 7, 2014). "Free Convection in Asymmetrically Heated Vertical Channels With Opposing Buoyancy Forces." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. June 2014; 136(6): 062502. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4026218
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
On Prof. Roop Mahajan's 80th Birthday
J. Heat Mass Transfer
Thermal Hydraulic Performance and Characteristics of a Microchannel Heat Exchanger: Experimental and Numerical Investigations
J. Heat Mass Transfer (February 2025)
Related Articles
Free Convection in Antisymmetrically Heated Vertical Channels
J. Heat Transfer (January,2014)
Visualization of Iso-Gradient Lines in Convective and Diffusive Systems Using Gradient-Sensing Interferometry
J. Heat Transfer (August,2002)
Effects of Natural Convection on Ice Formation Around an Isothermally Cooled Horizontal Cylinder
J. Heat Transfer (November,1988)
Experiments on Convective Instability of Large Prandtl Number Fluids in a Vertical Slot
J. Heat Transfer (February,1994)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
A Laser Interferometry Method for Experimental Stress Intensity Factor Calibration
Cracks and Fracture
Microspecimen Tensile Tests of A533-B Steel
Small Specimen Test Techniques
Applications
Introduction to Finite Element, Boundary Element, and Meshless Methods: With Applications to Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow