ISSN Online: 2377-424X
International Heat Transfer Conference 3
NATURAL CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN SHORT VERTICAL CHANNELS INCLUDING THE EFFECTS OF STAGGER
Abstract
Natural convection air flows were studied experimentally in straight and staggered,
short vertical channels with constant heat flux boundary conditions. Straight channel Nusselt numbers
agreed with the semi-empirical predictions of Elenbaas (1) and the analytical predictions of Engel (4).
When channel stagger was introduced into very short channels, the Nusselt number increased significantly
and the exit wall temperatures were reduced. This effect persisted beyond the meeting point
of the two wall boundary layers. However, as channel length is increased, the relative advantage of
stagger decreases and performance falls eventually below that of a single straight channel.