Buoyancy Induced Convection in a Narrow Open-Ended Annulus

264 for the range of Rayleigh numbers considered (7.09 X 70 s s Ra* =s 4.76 X W 9 ) in the experiments. In the numerical investigation, solutions to the three-dimensional time-averaged (Reynolds) steady-state equations of fluid motion and heat transfer were obtained using a finite element analysis. Results of the conjugate study including the local temperature distributions, heat transfer coefficients, and the flow field showing the interactions between the ambient and cavity flow fields agree favorably with experimental results. An investigation was also carried out to study the effect of axial length and the gap width of the annulus. A correlation for the average Nusselt number as a function of Rayleigh number, axial length and gap width has been obtained. The present work provides, for the first time, an experimental and numerical study of turbulent buoyancy induced flows in a narrow open-ended annulus.