NATURAL CONVECTION PHENOMENA AFFECTED BY RADIATION IN CONCENTRIC AND ECCENTRIC HORIZONTAL CYLINDRICAL ANNULI

A numerical investigation has been performed to study the radiation-affected steady-laminar natural convection induced by a hot inner cylinder under a large temperature difference in the cylindrical annuli filled with a gray gas. To examine the effects of thermal radiation on thermofluid dynamics behavior in the eccentric geometry, the generalized body-fitted coordinate system is introduced while the finite volume method is used for solving the radiative transport equation. After validating numerical results for the case without radiation, the detailed radiation effect is discussed. Based on the results of this study, when there exists a large temperature difference between two cylinders, the existence of a radiatively participating medium is found to incur a distinct difference in fluid dynamics as well as thermal behavior.