Numerical study on natural convection in three-dimensional rectangular enclosures

Natural convection in three-dimensional rectangular enclosures has been analyzed numerically using a strongly stabilized QUICK (Quadratic Upstream Interpolation for Convective Kinematics) scheme. Computations are performed for the different cases of temperature boundary conditions to see the effect of temperature disturbance on three-dimensional motion. The effect of the Rayleigh number is mainly investigated and two dimensional approximation limit is examined as well. The results show that the temperature disturbance imposed on the end wall reinforces the axial flow and magnifies the three-dimensional effect.