Theoretical and experimental study of natural convection on a horizontal plate

The authors report a numerical and experimental study of the natural convection flow above an upward facing horizontal heated plate placed in a semi-infinite medium. The equations, which govern the phenomenon, are discretized by using the control volume approach. The linkage between the momentum and continuity equations is realized with the SIMPLE algorithm. The results show the existence of two regions situated near the sides of the plate, which break away in the middle of the heated surface and form a thermal plume. The local heat transfer coefficient is higher near the sides of the plate and decreases at the central heated region. The validity of the above numerical results is experimentally checked with measurements of the temperature in the air surrounding the plate, which leads to experimental Nusselt numbers.