Temperature and velocity field characteristics of turbulent natural convection in a vertical parallel-plate channel with asymmetric heating

Turbulent natural convection in an asymmetrically heated vertical parallel-plate channel has been studied experimentally and numerically using LDA and CFD. Simultaneous velocity and temperature measurements across the channel at different elevations have been carried out. Three different Ra(b/h) values of 1.91 × 10⁷, 2.74 × 10⁷ and 3.19 × 10⁷ are considered with the channel aspect ratio of b/h = 1/20. Experimental and numerical data are presented in the form of streamwise direction heated wall surface temperature, mean velocity, mean temperature, Reynolds shear stress and turbulent kinetic energy profiles along the channel for one case. These profiles exhibit the flow field development along the channel emphatically. The numerical technique used predicts temperature field fairly well, considerably over-estimating velocity field in the core region.