Laminar and Turbulent Natural Convection in Solar Energy Applications

Abstract

A computational approach is presented for the analysis of types of natural convection problems that are common in solar energy systems. Such configurations are characterized as tilted slender enclosures where the flow regime can be both laminar and turbulent. The computations are based on a finite-difference technique where the difference equations are obtained using an integration cell approach. The full set of Navier-Stokes equations are considered to be able to simulate recirculating flows. Turbulent regime computations are performed using a two-equation model where turbulence is characterized by turbulent kinetic energy K and its dissipation rate $ε$.