Natural convection in a partially open square cavity with internal heat source: An analysis of the opening mass flow

A steady buoyancy-driven flow of air in a partially open square 2D cavity with internal heat source, adiabatic bottom and top walls, and vertical walls maintained at different constant temperatures is investigated numerically in this work. A heat source with 1% of the cavity volume is present in the center of the bottom wall. The cold right wall contains a partial opening occupying 25%, 50% or 75% of the wall. The influence of the temperature gradient between the verticals walls was analyzed for Rae = 103–105, while the influence of the heat source was evaluated through the relation R = Rai/Rae, investigated at between 400 and 2000. Interesting results were obtained. For a low Rayleigh number, it is found that the isotherm plots are smooth and follow a parabolic shape indicating the dominance of the heat source. But as the Rae increases, the flow slowly becomes dominated by the temperature difference between the walls. It is also observed that multiple strong secondary circulations are formed for fluids with a small Rae whereas these features are absent at higher Rae. The comprehensive analysis is concluded with horizontal air velocity and temperature plots for the opening. The numerical results show a significant influence of the opening on the heat transfer in the cavity.