Summary

Transient conjugate natural convection heat transfer in open-ended vertical concentric annuli is investigated numerically. The governing equations of an induced laminar flow for a fluid of Pr = 0.7 are solved using a finite-difference technique. The heating is achieved by a step change in the temperature of the outer surface of the outer tube while the inner surface of the inner tube is kept adiabatic. The range of Grashof number considered is 500 less than or equal to Gr * less than or equal to 10(5). The effects of solid-fluid conductivity ratio and diffusivity ratio on the transient induced flow characteristics are presented