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Laminar Natural Convection In A Discretely Heated Cavity: Ii—Comparisons Of Experimental And Theoretical Results, Theodore J. Heindel, F. P. Incropera, S. Ramadhyani

Theodore J. Heindel

Three-dimensional numerical predictions and experimental data have been obtained for natural convection from a 3 × 3 array of discrete heat sources flush-mounted on one vertical wall of a rectangular cavity and cooled by the opposing wall. Predictions performed in a companion paper (Heindel et al., 1995a) revealed that three-dimensional edge effects are significant and that, with increasing Rayleigh number, flow and heat transfer become more uniform across each heater face. The three-dimensional predictions are in excellent agreement with the data of this study, whereas a two-dimensional model of the experimental geometry underpredicts average heat transfer by as much as …