Analysis of combined free and forced convection through vertical noncircular ducts is carried out using a variational technique. Fully developed flow with uniform axial heat input and uniform peripheral heat flux is assumed. All fluid properties are considered invariant with temperature except the variation of density in the buoyancy term of the equation of motion. The condition of uniform peripheral heat flux is utilized in deriving the variational expression. This procedure releases the thermal boundary condition from satisfying exactly the condition at the wall. A finite-difference procedure is carried out. For pure forced convection case, a particularly simple variational expression is presented. Nusselt numbers for combined free and forced convection are computed for rectangular, rhombic and elliptical ducts. An exact solution is presented for laminar forced convection through elliptic ducts. Variational results are in agreement with this exact solution. The present results are compared with those in the punished literature wherever possible, and good agreement is obtained. Nomenclature A area of cross-section a, b semi axes Cp specific heat of the fluid at constant pressure C1 temperature gradient in flow direction, OT/~Z --183
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