CONJUGATE NATURAL CONVECTION IN A TWO-DIMENSIONAL ENCLOSURE WITH TOP HEATED VERTICAL WALL

In this paper, a two-dimensional numerical study of laminar conjugate natural convection in a square enclosure was analysed. The horizontal heating is considered. The results are presented to show the effect of the governing parameters on the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics. It is found that for a given thickness of the bounded wall, either increasing the Rayleigh number and the thermal conductivity ratio, can increase the average Nusselt number in the fluid part of the enclosure, the interface solid/fluid temperature and the flow velocity. Generally it is observed that heat transfer rate in the fluid part decreases with the increase of the wall thickness, except at high conductive wall >1 and low Rayleigh number < 10(4), the value of Nusselt number increases with the increase of the wall thickness.