Controlling the natural convection flow through a flexible baffle in an L-shaped enclosure

The free convection flow through a flexible baffle in an L-shaped enclosure has been numerically analyzed. The governing equations are introduced in an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian moving mesh frame. The full governing equations respect to boundary conditions were solved numerically using FEM. A grid-independent test was performed to ensure the accuracy of the results, and the results of the numerical solver are compared with previous works. The influence of the dimensionless parameters, including Rayleigh number, the elasticity modulus and the length of the flexible baffle investigated on the flow and heat transfer. Results indicate that a stiffer baffle tends to resist the fluid flow and inhibits convective heat transfer. For a higher value of Ra, a larger baffle results in more resistance to the flow and inhibits heat transfer, while, at the same time, increases the stress over the baffle.