Numerical Simulation of the Flow in an Open Cavity with Heat and Mass Transfer - Selected Topics of Computational and Experimental Fluid Mechanics - page 342

Numerical Simulation of the Flow in an Open
Cavity with Heat and Mass Transfer

G.E. Ovando Chacon, S.L. Ovando Chacon, J.C. Prince Avelino,
A. Servin Martínez and J.A. Hernández Zarate

Abstract In the present work, we analyze the laminar steady-state fluid dynamics,
heat and mass transfer in a two-dimensional open cavity for the decomposition of
a substance. The numerical study is carried out for Reynolds numbers of 10, 25
and 50 with a Schmidt number of 425. A hot plate is provided at the bottom of
the cavity which generates the thermal decomposition of the substance. In order to
investigate the effect of the length of the plate two different plate sizes are consid-
ered. The governing equations of continuity, momentum, mass transport and energy
for incompressible flow are solved by the finite element method combined with an
operator-splitting scheme. We calculate the temperature field, the streamlines, the
velocity and the concentration field and analyze the velocity, concentration and tem-
perature profiles as a function of the transversal position. We find that the Reynolds
number plays a major role in the mass transport and the thermal behavior of the flow
inside the cavity.