A numerical study on unsteady natural/mixed convection in a cavity with fixed and moving rigid bodies using the ISPH method

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to conduct numerical simulations of unsteady natural/mixed convection in a cavity with fixed and moving rigid bodies and different boundary conditions using the incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ISPH) method. Design/methodology/approach In the ISPH method, the pressure evaluation is stabilized by including both of divergence of velocity and density invariance in solving pressure Poisson equation. The authors prevented the particles anisotropic distributions by using the shifting technique. Findings The proposed ISPH method exhibited good performance in natural/mixed convection in a cavity with fixed, moving and free-falling rigid body. In natural convection, the authors investigated the effects of an inner sloshing baffle as well as fixed and moving circular cylinders on the heat transfer and fluid flow. The heated baffle has higher effects on the heat transfer rate compared to a cooled baffle. In the mixed convection, a free-falling circular cylinder over a free surface cavity and heat transfer in the presence of a circular cylinder in a lid-driven cavity are simulated. Fixed or moving rigid body in a cavity results in considerable effects on the heat transfer rate and fluid flow. Originality/value The authors conducted numerical simulations of unsteady natural/mixed convection in a cavity with fixed and moving rigid bodies and different boundary conditions using the ISPH method.