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Archive > Volume Issue 1 > 2026(1):95-109. DOI:10.16356/j.1005-1120.2026.01.008 Prev Next

Heat Transfer and Flow Transitions of Thermal Plumes Generated by Double Heating Elements in a Confined Enclosure

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    Abstract:
    The buoyancy-induced flow constitutes a core scientific issue for thermal management of electronic devices and thermal design of energy systems， where accurate characterization of flow and heat transfer is essential to improve thermal efficiency. In this work， buoyancy-induced flow above two heating elements flush-mounted at the bottom of a square enclosure containing air is numerically investigated over a range of Rayleigh numbers （0<Ra≤1.5×108）， with a focus on equal and unequal heat flux conditions under a constraint of constant total thermal energy input. Distinct flow transitions are observed in both cases， leading to the identification of three flow regimes： Steady， periodic unsteady， and chaotic unsteady. Two types of periodic flows are distinguished， in which the first is a periodic flow dominated by a fundamental frequency （FF） and its integer-multiple frequencies （INTMF）， while the second is a more complex periodic flow featuring FF， INTMF， and their sub-harmonics. The transitions between these regimes are affected by the relative heat flux of the two heaters. When the heat flux of the two heaters is unequal， the range of Rayleigh numbers corresponding to periodic flow is suppressed. It is also found that the time-averaged maximum temperature of the strong heater increases more rapidly with Ra， while that of the weak heater increases more slowly， reflecting the interaction between buoyancy-driven flow dynamics and asymmetric heat input. Analysis of the time-averaged Nusselt number demonstrates that heat dissipation from the isothermal walls remains roughly equivalent， even when the heat flux of the two heaters differs by a factor of two. These findings highlight the critical roles of Rayleigh number， the number of heaters， and the heat flux ratio of the heaters in determining heat transfer and flow characteristics for buoyancy-driven convection systems， providing important theoretical support and design references for engineering scenarios such as electronic devices and design of new energy systems.

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    Project Supported:
    This work was supported by the Tianjin Education Commission Research Program Project （No.2024KJ105）.

    Clc Number:
    V211.3

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