Natural convection adjacent to a vertical isothermal hot plate with a high surface-to-ambient temperature difference

The free convection boundary layer flow adjacent to a vertical isothermal hot plate with high surface-to-ambient temperature difference has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. Experimental measurements of the temperature and velocity fields for plate temperatures up to 698 K have been made using the techniques of fine wire thermocouple thermometry and real fringe laser Doppler anemometry, respectively. The experimental results deviate progressively from Ostrach's solution as the plate temperature is increased. A numerical solution of the boundary layer equations which includes the temperature dependence of the fluid properties, including density, has been obtained using a finite difference scheme. Very good agreement between the numerical solution and the experimental measurements was obtained. Calculations using the Chapman-Rubesin approximation have shown that this method gives an adequate representation of the flow for many purposes.