On the modeling of aiding mixed convection in vertical channels

This paper aims at showing that to prescribe a flow rate at the inlet section of a vertical channel with heated walls leads to surprising and counterintuitive physical solutions, especially when the problem is modeled as elliptical. Such an approach can give rise to the onset of recirculation cells in the entry region while the heat transfer is slightly increased under the influence of the buoyancy force. We suggest an alternative model based on more realistic boundary conditions based on a prescribed total pressure at the inlet and a fixed pressure at the outlet sections. In this case, the pressure and buoyancy forces act effectively in the same direction and, the concept of buoyancy aiding convection makes sense. The numerical results emphasize the large differences between solutions based on prescribed inlet velocity and those obtained with the present pressure-based boundary conditions.