Papers by Author: K.N. Seetharamu

Abstract: Natural convection is studied numerically using finite element based computational procedure. The enclosure used for flow and heat transfer analysis has been bounded by adiabatic top wall, constant temperature cold vertical walls and a horizontal bottom wall. The grid independent study has been made with different grids to yield consistent values. Different grid sizes 30x30, 40x40, 50x50 uniform meshes have been studied. Study shows the convergence of average Nusselt number for a grid size of 41x41. Hence a grid size of 40x40 is used in all computations. Nusselt numbers are computed for different Rayleigh’s numbers (Ra) and aspect ratios of 1,2 and 3. Results are presented in the form of streamlines, isotherm plots and average Nusselt number. The average Nusselt numbers increase with Rayleigh number and for a given Ra, increase in Nu is obtained with increase in aspect ratio for bottom wall.