Buoyancy-driven flow inside an asymmetrically heated cavity

Abstract

Buoyancy-driven flows inside enclosures are in the center of problems related to heat transfer because they can provide a significant insight into the physical mechanisms of heat transfer. Typical examples of such flows include Rayleigh–Bénard convection, differentially heated cavities and partially divided enclosures. In the present study, the buoyancy-driven flow inside an asymmetrically heated closed cavity is investigated and proposed as a benchmark case for future studies to assess the accuracy of simulations and to help in the validation of coarsened turbulence models. Additionally, from an application perspective such a configuration is highly relevant, e.g., in view of its similarity with passive solar systems such as ventilated building facades (Puangsombuta et al, J Fluid Mech 42(6):2218–2226, 2007, [1]) and Trombe walls (Zamora and Kaiser, Heat Mass Transf 45(11):1393–1407, 2009, [2]).