Experimental investigation of natural convection in an enclosure with partial partitions at different angles

Abstract

Natural convection heat transfer in a partially partitioned enclosure has been investigated experimentally using Mach-Zehnder Interferometry technique. The top and bottom of the enclosure are insulated while one of the vertical walls is heated isothermally. The partitions are made of wood fiber and are attached to the heated wall with angles changing from 30° to 150° in different experiments. The length of each partition is equal to the width of the enclosure, therefore dividing the enclosure to isolated cells only at 90°. At other angles the cells are interconnected near the cold wall. Rayleigh number based on the enclosure width is changed from 3500 to 32000. Results for the local and the average Nusselt numbers at the heated wall of the enclosure are presented and discussed for various partition angles and Rayleigh numbers. It is found that, at each Rayleigh number, there exists an optimum inclination angle which minimizes the average Nusselt number.