Turbulent heat transfer in a horizontal enclosure with a thin porous obstruction in the middle

Abstract

Turbulent natural convection in a horizontal two-dimensional square cavity, isothermally heated from below and cooled at the upper surface, is numerically analyzed using the finite volume method and a generalized coordinate system. The enclosure has a thin horizontal porous obstruction located at the cavity mid height. Governing equations are written in terms of primitive variables and are recast into a general form. In general, the porous obstruction decreases the heat transfer across the heated walls showing an overall lower Nusselt numbers when compared with those without the same porous obstruction. However, the presence of a porous obstruction in a square cavity seems to force an earlier transition from laminar to turbulent regime due to higher generation rates of turbulent kinetic energy into the porous matrix.