1985 Volume 11 Issue 4 Pages 405-411
Natural convection heat transfer was experimentally investigated in rectangular enclosures heated and cooled from vertical side walls. The space in the enclosure was horizontally divided into two regions : a region filled with water and a region filled with porous medium of glass beads. The heat transfer rate through the enclosure was measured by changing the porous portion of the enclosure. Flow visualization and temperature measurement in the enclosure were also carried out to make clear the natural convection mechanism for this system.
The heat transfer rate decreased with increasing porous portion, and its value was always smaller than the calculated one on the assumption that natural convection occurs independently in each region. There were two flow modes in the enclosure for this system : circulation over the enclosure and circulation in the fluid region only.
