Storage tanks: a numerical experiment

A numerical study has been made of a two-dimensional model of the motion which takes place in storage tanks used for solar water heating applications. Up to two flow circuits have been allowed in the model and the geometric configurations have included horizontal and vertical entry into the tank. The effect of the entrance Reynolds number and the contribution of buoyancy in promoting stratification have been examined. A comparison has also been made with a simple one-dimensional approximation. The discrepancy between the two models has been shown to be small.