Flow Field Due to Free Convection in Dead-End Channels

The velocity and temperature distributions in a long dead-end channel, where the convective flow is driven by the buoyancy flux across the free surface, were investigated. The longitudinal variations of the temperature and velocity were determined using the similarity profiles for the vertical distribution of the temperature and velocity. The governing partial differential equations were reduced to ordinary differential equations by substituting the expressions for the longitudinal variations of the temperature and velocity. The resulting ordinary differential equations were solved numerically by employing a shooting method and a fourth order Runge-Kutta technique. The sensitivity to the temperature and velocity distributions of the various parameters were studied.