Numerical calculations and visualization experiments of the natural convection in a square cavity

Abstract

Isotherms and stream functions of the natural convection in a square cavity have been obtained numerically and compared with the results of the thermal field visualization by the liquid crystal capsule method and of the flow pat-tern by the pearl pigment particles.
The use of the half domain with the central point symmetry drastically saves computational time while maintaining the accuracy of the solution. The calcu-lated results with a given large Prandtl number for the silicone oil explain well the experimental results of the silicone oil cavity.