ON A HIGH-ORDER ACCURATE METHOD FOR THE NUMERICAL STUDY OF NATURAL CONVECTION IN A VERTICAL SQUARE CAVITY

Abstract
A high-order accurate finite-difference method for solving the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations has been adapted to study natural convection in cavities. This method has been applied to determine the limit of the conduction and boundary-layer regimes for a square cavity, when the vertical walls are maintained at two different constant temperatures and the horizontal walls are either perfectly insulated or perfectly conducting. Most of the calculations have been carried out for an air cavity (Pr ≌ 0.7). The values of Ra considered range from 100 to 105. Relationships have been derived for the boundary-layer regime.