Transient natural convection in a valley shaped triangular cavity initially filled with stratified water

Transient natural convection is common in nature such as in a valley. In this paper, transient flows in a valley shaped triangular cavity initially filled with stratified water are investigated using scaling analysis and numerical simulations. The development of the flow on the inclined thermal wall from start-up to a steady-state has been described and discussed. The scaling relations are derived for the thickness, velocity, transitional time and Nusselt number of the thermal boundary layer dependent on the Rayleigh number and the stratified parameter. Moreover, corresponding numerical results are consistent with the scaling results.