NATURAL CONVECTION COOLING OF VERTICAL PLATES IN AN ENCLOSURE A NUMERICAL SIMULATION

approved: Redacted for Privacy The cooling of three plates within an enclosure was numerically simulated. The plates were uniformly heated and the enclosure kept at constant temperature. The simulation was performed using TEMPEST, a code which solves the Navier Stokes equations and the energy equation. The middle plate remained stationary while the two other plates were moved symmetrically away from the middle line. The distance, b, separating the middle plate from the other plates was allowed to vary while other parameters were kept at constant values. Temperature, velocity, and the Nusselt number were computed as was the corresponding channel Rayleigh number. Streamline and isotherm plots were constructed. The significant results of this study are the following: 1) The average Nusselt number correlates with the channel Rayleigh number as Nu = (0.131Ra"O.5)-6 + (0.278 Ra" ° 2)-6) 1 6 2) The optimum position for the intermediate vertical plate was found for three different heat flux levels. At the lowest value of heat flux, 103 W/m3, there was one location (bop) where the plate temperature was a minimum. At the other heat flux levels examined ( 104W/m3, 105W/m3) there was a range for b.p, where the plate temperature experienced a minimum value. These optima are bopt = 0.021 m (> 0.009 m uopt < 0.030 m b> 0.010 m-°13t < 0.030 m for q ' = 104 W/m3 for q' " = 104 W/m3 for q ' = 1.05 W/m