Particle image velocimetry measurements for opposing flow in a vertical channel with a differential and asymmetric heating condition

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were carried out in an experimental investigation of laminar mixed convection in a vertical duct with a square cross-section. The main downward water-flow is driven by gravity while a portion of a lateral side is heated, and buoyancy forces produce non-stationary vortex structures close to the heated region. Various ranges of the Grashof number, Gr are studied in combination with the Reynolds number, Re varying from 300 to 700. The values of the generalized buoyancy parameter or Richardson number, Ri = Gr/Re2 parallel to the Grashof number are included in the results. The influence of these nondimensional parameters and how they affect the fluid flow structure and vortex sizes and locations are reported. The flow patterns are nonsymmetric, periodic, and exhibit increasing complexity and frequency for increasing buoyancy. For the averaged values of the resulting vortex dimensions, it was found that a better and more congruent representation occurs when employing the Grashof and Reynolds numbers as independent parameters.