MIXED CONVECTION IN A RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE WITH DISCRETE HEAT SOURCES

A numerical study is carried out on mixed convective heat transfer in an enclosure. The discrete heat sources are embedded on a vertical board, which is situated on the bottom wall of an enclosure. An external airflow enters the enclosure through an opening in one vertical wall and exits from another opening in the opposite wall. This study simulates a practical system, such as air-cooled electronic devices with heated elements. Emphasis is placed on the influence of the governing parameters, such as Reynolds number, Re, buoyancy parameter, Gr/Re², location of the heat sources, and the conductivity ratio, rk, on the thermal phenomenon in the enclosure. The coupled equations of the simulated model are solved numerically using the cubic spline collocation method. The computational results indicate that both the thermal field and the average Nusselt number (Nu) depend strongly on the governing parameters, position of the heat sources, as well as the property of the heat-source-embedded board.