NATURAL-CONVECTION BELOW HEATED HORIZONTAL RECTANGULAR-PLATES

The boundary layer equations describing the high Grashof number laminar natural convection flow beneath a heated horizontal surface are solved numerically for an infinitely long strip with a uniform temperature central region and horizontal adiabatic extensions on the sides, and for rectangular plates of two different aspect ratios kept at constant temperature. The boundary condition required by these equations at the edge of the plate is discussed. The results are compared with existing approximate theoretical results and with experiments, as well as with the solutions obtained previously using the same method for a strip and a circular disk.