ISSN Online: 2377-424X
ISBN Print: 0-85295-345-3
International Heat Transfer Conference 10
NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION ON BIFURCATIVE NATURAL CONVECTION IN AN AIR-FILLED HORIZONTAL ANNULUS
Résumé
Steady-state two-dimensional natural convective
heat transfer in horizontal cylindrical annuli was studied by solving the governing equations based on the
primitive variables. Emphasis was put on the occurrence
of the multiple solutions at a given set of parameter
values, and on the determination of the bifurcation points at which those multiple solutions begin to branch out. Two families of convergent solutions were found for
moderate values of outer-to-inner radius ratio and high
Rayleigh numbers, depending on the initial guesses for
the field variables. Particularly for a narrow annulus,
tricellular solutions also were observed to exist, and only the multicellular solutions were viable as the Rayleigh number exceeded a certain critical value. It was also found that the numerical determination of the bifurcation points required very restrictive criteria for convergence.