CFD characterization of natural convection in a two-cell enclosure with a ``door``

Natural convection in a two-cell enclosure with a door has been investigated comparing the results of a CFD simulation to experimental data available in the literature. The continuity constraint method (CCM), implemented via a finite element weak statement, was employed to solve the unsteady three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations for a buoyant, incompressible laminar flow. The CFD results predicted essentially all experimentally observed features of the flow field, including the vertical plume in the cold zone, boundary-layer, flows along the heated and cooled walls, and the hot zone`s horizontal jet. Vertical temperature stratification predictions were in agreement with the experimental data in the cold zone; however, the measured hot-zone stratification was not well predicted by the CFD simulation. An assessment of factors affecting the CFD results and comparisons to experimental data conclude this paper.