Towards a Numerical Benchmark for 3D Low Mach Number Mixed Flows in a Rectangular Channel Heated from Below

In the literature, only few references have dealt withmixed-convection flows in the low Mach number approximation. For this reason, in the present study we propose to extend the standard 3D benchmark for mixed convection in a rectangular channel heated from below (Medale and Nicolas, 2005) to the case of large temperature variations (for which the Boussinesq approximation is no longer valid). The Navier-Stokes equations, obtained under the assumption of a low Mach number flow, are solved using a finite volume method. The results, corresponding to the steady-state case of the benchmark, lead to the idea of launching a call for contribution (whose outlines still need to be defined) in order to set up a reference solution essential for the validation of future numerical codes.