Numerical study of the heat and mass transfer in inclined glazing cavity: Application to a solar distillation cell

A numerical analysis is performed for the natural convection flow resulting from the combined buoyancy effects of thermal and mass diffusion in an inclined cavity. This work enters within the framework of general study dealing with the mathematical model for solar brackish water desalination unit. The problem is stated in a Cartesian coordinates system, involves the use of a control volume-based finite-element method and solves the full vorticity transport equation together with the stream function, concentration and energy equations. The predicted stream function patterns, isoconcentration and isotherms are presented for different thermal Rayleigh numbers. The heat and mass transfer evolution are explained in terms of dynamic and temperature fields of the flow in the inclined cavity. In particular, the desirable flow for enhancing the performance of the solar distiller is determined by examining flow patterns. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.