This study reports on natural convection heat transfer in a square enclosure of length (L=20 cm) with a saturated porous medium (solid glass beads) having same fluid (air) at lower horizontal layer and free air fill in the rest of the cavity's space. The experimental work has been performed under the effects of heating from bottom by constant heat flux q=150,300,450,600 W/m2 for four porous layers thickness Hp (2.5,5,7.5,1) cm and three heaters length δ(20,14,7) cm. The top enclosure wall was good insulated and the two side walls were symmetrically cooled at constant temperature. Four layers of porous media with small porosity, Rayleigh number range (60.354 - 241.41) and (Da) 3.025x10-8 has been investigated. The obtained data of temperature from testing rig are used to extract the temperature distribution, local Nusselt number and average Nusselt number. Moreover, a comparison between the numerical result of the same problem published recently and present experimental results has been executed and discussed. It is evinced that; the heat transfer and fluid flow are affected by thickness of porous layer and be maximum at porous layer thickness (0.25L) with larger heater length(20cm) and heat flux (q= 600 Watt/m2) which is approximately (180%) for the average Nu when compared with (Hp=0.75L). Also, the effect of the increasing in heater length (δ) on the averaged heat transfer enhancement is more pronounced for large heater size and 25% of average enhancement is achieved for (δ=20cm) compared to (δ=7cm). However, the greater temperature distribution is found at Hp=2.5cm and 5cm at bottom and first quarter of the cavity (heater surface height Y=0 cm and Y=5 cm) respectively and minimum temperature at top (insulation wall Y=20 cm). Nearly, same shape for heat transfer for different case with clearly difference at small heater (δ=7cm).
