Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Natural Convection in an Annulus between a Hexagonal Cylinder and a Square Enclosure

Abstract

Laminar natural convection in a water filled square enclosure containing at its center a horizontal hexagonal cylinder is studied by the lattice Boltzmann method. The hexagonal cylinder is heated while the walls of the cavity are maintained at the same cold temperature. Two orientations are treated, corresponding to two opposite sides of the hexagonal cross-section which are horizontal (case I) or vertical (case II). For each case, the results are presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms, local and average convective heat transfers as a function of the dimensionless size of the hexagonal cylinder cross-section (0.1≤B≤0.4), and the Rayleigh number (103≤Ra≤106).