DEVELOPING COMBINED CONVECTION IN AN ECCENTRIC ANNULUS

Abstract

A numerical method has been used to predict the combined convection flow of Newtonian fluids in vertical eccentric annuli, in which the inner and outer walls are held at different temperatures. Assuming that the ratio of the radial to the vertical length scale, e, is small, as found in many industrial applications, then the full steady, momentum, energy, and continuity equations are simplified by expanding the variables in the governing equations in terms of e. The parabolic nature of the simplified equations allows a marching procedure in the vertical direction using a finite difference scheme, and the resulting equations can be solved at each vertical step using the finite element method. Results have been obtained for a range of the governing parameters, namely, the Grashof, Prandtl, and Reynolds numbers.

Notes

The authors would like to thank Schlumberger Cambridge Research for valuable support and financial assistance of this research, and in particular, Dr. J. W. J. Ferguson for his generous time and advice throughout the work. The financial support of the Science and Engineering Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

D. B. Ingham

Address correspondence to Professor D. B. Ingham, Department of Applied Mathematical Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.