Natural Convection in a Vertical Rectangular Cavity Filled with a Non-Newtonian Power Law Fluid and Subjected to a Horizontal Temperature Gradient

Abstract

A study of natural convection, in a vertical rectangular cavity filled with a non-Newtonian fluid and subjected to uniform heat flux along the vertical side walls, is carried out numerically by solving the full governing equations. In the limit of a tall enclosure, these equations are considerably reduced by using the parallel flow approximation. Solutions for the flow and temperature fields, and the heat transfer rate, are obtained as functions of the governing parameters. Good agreement is found between the results of the two approaches for a wide range of governing parameters.