Natural convection adjacent to a sidewall with three fins in a differentially heated cavity

Abstract

Natural convection in a differentially heated cavity with three fins on a sidewall is numerically investigated. Due to the presence of the fins, separation of the thermal flows around the fins occurs, and the thermal flows separating from the fins oscillate. The oscillations of the thermal flows around the fins improve the convection flows adjacent to the finned sidewall, and the heat transfer through the finned sidewall is significantly enhanced (by up to 33% at the early stage). This flow configuration is of practical significance for many industrial systems.