Cavity partially heated having a wavy wall and filled with Al2O3-water nanofluid

Abstract

The cavity consists of vertical walls maintained at the temperature T_c, while the horizontal ones are adiabatic. The source is fixed at a high temperature T_h and one of vertical walls is corrugated. Ansys Fluent software based on finite volume method was used to solve different transport equations through the use of a monophasic model. Several pertinent parameters were considered in the present study, such as Rayleigh number (7.68*10⁴<Ra<3.072*10⁵ ), Hartmann number ( 0<Ha<75), and solid volume fractions ( 0<Th<0.05). The influence of these parameters on heat transfer and flow structure was analyzed by examining streamlines, isotherms, velocity and temperature profiles, and Nusselt numbers. Based on the results obtained, we notice that heat transfer enhancement rises with both Rayleigh number and nanoparticle volume fraction, but it decreases when Hartmann number increases. Also, we note that the conduction heat transfer becomes significant and that by convection becomes limited and sometimes suppressed for high values of the Hartmann.