Direct numerical simulation of mixed convection of a liquid metal in the vertical rectangular channel

In the present work, mixed convection was studied using the direct numerical simulation (DNS) method for the upward flow of a liquid metal (Pr = 0.025) in a vertical rectangular heated channel. The Reynolds number (Re) varied from 10⁴ to 2·10⁴. The criterion for the appearance of thermogravitational convection, as well as the characteristic of the intensity of its influence, was the Grashof number (Gr), which varied in the range from 0 to 4·10⁹. A significant and ambiguous effect of free convection on hydrodynamics and heat transfer, which depends on the ratio Gr/Re² and the Prandtl number, is obtained. (paper)