Experimental and Numerical Studies of Natural Convection With Flow Separation in Upward-Facing Inclined Open Cavities

Steady two-dimensional laminar natural convection heat transfer from isothermal horizontal and inclined open cavities of rectangular cross section has been investigated experimentally using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and numerically by a finite difference technique. Experimental results are presented for Prandtl number, Pr=0.7, Rayleigh numbers from 10 4 to 5×10 5 , cavity aspect ratios, A (or h/w)=0.25, 0.5, and 1.0, and inclination angles (or angles of rotation about the longitudinal axis), θ=0, 30, 45, and 60 deg to the horizontal