An experimental investigation of mixed cavity natural convection in the high Rayleigh number regime

Abstract Using four different configurations of differentially heated and cooled vertical and horizontal surfaces in a cubical enclosure, natural convection experiments at high Rayleigh numbers were conducted. All of the experiments were variations of the heating-from-below case. Experimental measurements and observations were made of the heat transfer, flow patterns, and the mean and fluctuating temperature distribution. The results indicated that the heated floor promoted mixing in the enclosure and reduced the thermal stratification. For the boundary conditions of the experiment, the heat transfer from the horizontal surfaces was not strongly affected by the presence of a horizontal temperature gradient.