Numerical Study of Laminar Natural Convection in an Arch Enclosure Filled with Al2O3-Water Based Nanofluid

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Department of Mechanical Engineering National Institute of Technology, Agartala-799046, India

Abstract

This work numerically investigates the natural convection in an arch enclosure filled with Al2O3-water based nanofluid. The left side wall of the enclosure is maintained at a higher temperature than that of right side wall while the remaining walls are kept adiabatic. Two-dimensional steady-state governing equations are solved using the finite volume method (FVM). The present work is conducted to state the effects of pertinent parameters such as nanoparticles volume faction (ϕ) = 0 to 9%, curvature ratio (CR) = 1 to 1.5 and Rayleigh number (Ra) = 104 to 106 on fluid flow and temperature distribution. The numerical results are presented in the form of streamlines, isotherms, local and average Nusselt number. It is observed from the investigation that the variables are exhibiting a significant impact on the heat transfer. The heat transfer rate is enhanced with the increment in the volume fraction of the nanoparticles up to 5% and after that it is decreased gradually. The heat transfer rate is increased with the increase of curvature ratio and it is significantly higher at CR = 1.5. As per the expectation, the heat transfer is increased along with the increment in Rayleigh number. A good agreement is found between the present work and experimental & numerical results from the literature.

Keywords

Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics
Volume 9, Issue 4
June 2016
Pages 1927-1936

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