Negatively Buoyant Plume Flow in a Baffled Heat Exchanger

A numerical simulation of transient two-dimensional negatively buoyant flow into a straight baffle situated below an isothermal circular cylinder in an initially isothermal enclosure is presented for both an adiabatic and a highly conducting baffle for Rayleigh numbers from 106 to 107. Results show the effects of baffle offset, width, and length on the point where viscous flow develops and on velocity profiles within the baffle. Results are interpreted to guide the design of straight baffles to reduce destruction of stratification in thermal stores using an immersed heat exchanger. The preferred geometry is a low-conductivity baffle of width equal to the effective width of the heat exchanger and 15 or more cylinder diameters in length to ensure nearly fully developed flow at the baffle outlet.