Airflow patterns inside slotted obstacles in a ventilated enclosure

Laser Doppler measurements and CFD predictions were carried out to characterize air flow pattern, mean velocities and turbulence structure inside slotted boxes stacked within a slot ventilated enclosure. Special attention was paid to the strong aerodynamic interactions observed on the top faces of the slotted boxes, between the external main flow and the return flow which predominate inside the boxes. Numerical and experimental data make it possible to evaluate the air ventilation levels and their heterogeneity for the different boxes. The two turbulence models used, RSM and k–ε, give quite similar results for the velocity levels in the load and show qualitative agreement with experiments.