Numerical Studies of Transition From Steady to Unsteady Coupled Thermal Boundary Layers

Abstract

The transition from the steady to the unsteady coupled thermal boundary layers around a partition in a differentially heated partitioned cavity is investigated numerically. The partitioned cavity is filled with water, which is imposed a temperature difference between the two sidewalls of the cavity. The numerical results are consistent with the corresponding experiments. The development of the unsteady coupled thermal boundary layers following a sudden temperature difference between the fluids at the two sides of the partition at a high Rayleigh number of Ra = 10 11 is described. The transition from the steady to the unsteady coupled thermal boundary layers over a wide range of Rayleigh numbers from Ra = 10 9 to 10 11 is observed. The dependence of traveling waves in the unsteady coupled thermal boundary layers on the Rayleigh number and heat transfer through the partitioned cavity are characterized and quantified.