Numerical modeling of natural convection in a square cavity with sawteeth at the bottom

A computational method based on finite element method (FEM) is exploited to get accurate solutions of the equations describing the natural convection problem in a square cavity with differentially heated side walls having sawteeth at the bottom. A numerical investigation has been made for Rayleigh numbers ranging from 10 to 106.In addition, comparisons of the averaged Nusselt number with previous works for square cavity with flat bottom are realized in order to corroborate the numerical accuracy and the validity of our considered numerical problem.An excellent agreement with the previous results in the literature is attained. Further, the obtained results show the hydrodynamic effects of Rayleigh number and sawteeth at the bottom on both the fluid flow and the heat transfer inside the cavity.