Finite-Element Analysis of Natural Convection in Concentric Horizontal Annuli.

In this paper, a simple FEM scheme is presented which simulates the natural convection of incompressible viscous flow. The Navier-Stokes equations in rotational form with the buoyancy effect is simplified by Boussinesq's approximation. The main algorithm of the GSMAC method is employed to obtain the time=dependent solutions. The equation of continuity is satisfied by the simultaneous relaxation of velocity and Bernoulli function. Natural convections in concentric horizontal annuli at various Rayleigh numbers are numerically investigated in order to validate the present method. The temperature distributions obtained here are in good agreement with the experimental results.