Transient natural convection in 3D tilted enclosure heated from two opposite sides

In the present work, we investigate numerically the natural convection flow in 3D cubic enclosure tilted at an angle (γ) with respect to the vertical position. The enclosure is heated and cooled from the two opposite walls while the remaining walls are adiabatic. The numerical procedure adopted in this analysis yield consistent performance over a wide range of parameters. Simulations have been carried out for Rayleigh numbers Ra ranging from 103 to 1.3 × 105, Prandtl number, Pr, (0.71 ≤ Pr ≤ 75) and inclination angle γ (0° ≤ γ ≤ 90°). Particular attention is focused on the three-dimensional steady effects that can arise in such configuration that seem to be unknown in the literature, even for relatively small values of the Rayleigh number. The 3D flow characteristics and thermal fields are analyzed in terms of streamlines, isotherms and Nusselt numbers. A periodic behavior of the 3D flow has been observed at Ra = 8.5 × 104 with a fundamental frequency of 8.27. The Hopf bifurcation is localized. In addition, time-dependent solutions reveal that the flow characteristics depend on the inclination angle γ. The effects of Prandtl number on heat transfer and fluid flow is significant for Pr ≥ 6.