Thermal Expansivity (or coefficient
of thermal expansion), , describes how a fluid expands
with temperature. It is used in the Boussinesq approximation for buoyant
flow and has dimensions of
(where
is
temperature). For details, see Buoyancy in the CFX-Solver Theory Guide. This parameter
will be used by the flow solver only if the fluid has a constant density.
Otherwise, the full buoyancy model will be used, for which thermal
expansivity is not a required parameter.