Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer of Natural Convection Around Array of Vertical Heated Plates

Natural convective flows around an array of vertical heated plates were investigated experimentally. Main concerns were directed to the influences of plate numbers on the heat transfer characteristics of the plates. Both surfaces of the test plates were heated with constant and equal heat fluxes and their local heat transfer coefficients were measured. The results showed that the coefficients of the surfaces of the array facing outward became higher than those facing inward. The flow fields around the bottom of the plate array were visualized with smoke. The result showed that the ambient flow is directed from the sides to the center of the array and enters the parallel channel obliquely. These flows cause the above difference in the coefficients. While the difference gradually diminished in between the plates placed in the central section of the array, their coefficients asymptotically approach those of the analytical correlation that assumed a uniform velocity at the channel inlet. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.