Numerical Investigation of Natural Turbulence Convection in a Three Dimensional Enclosed Chamber by Use of K- Ω Model and the Simplec Method

Abstract

Turbulent flows are highly unsteady (random), chaotic and three dimensional in motion. Turbulent flows have high Reynolds number, non-zero vorticity. Turbulent flows are diffusive and dissipate energy naturally. The aim of this project is to numerically investigate natural turbulent convection in a three dimensional enclosed chamber using k-ω model and SIMPLEC method. The research is to investigate temperature and velocity distribution in an enclosure. The equations governing the flow are Momentum, Continuity and Energy equations. The equations are first time averaged. The averaging process introduced non-linear terms where k-ω is used to model them. The emerging equations after modelling are non-dimensionalised and then discretized by FVM and the results solved using SIMPLEC algorithm. The numerical method is validated using benchmark experimental data provided by Markatos and Pericleous (1984). From the results, the method is stable and the governing equations are consistent. In this numerical investigation, the simulation yielded non-dimensional temperature of 0.46 against the benchmark experimental data of 0.5 at the core of the cavity.