THREE-DIMENSIONAL CONVECTION IN HORIZONTAL CYLINDERS: NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS AND COMPARISON WITH EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL RESULTS

Abstract

The results of a three-dimensional numerical simulation of Boussinesq free convection in a horizontal differentially heated cylinder are presented. The computation was based on the Samarskii-Andreyev scheme and a false transient advancement in time, with vorticity, velocity, and temperature as dependent variables. Solutions for velocity and temperature distributions were obtained for Rayleigh numbers (based on the radius) 74 ≤ Ra ≤ 18,700, thus covering the core- and boundary-layer-driven regimes. Numerical solutions are compared with asymptotic, analytical solutions, and experimental data. The numerical results well represent the complex three-dimensional flows found experimentally.