Numerical Investigation of the nanofluid mixed convection on two layers enclosure with rotating cylinder: High Darcy Number Effects

Abstract

Abstract The present study, numerically investigated of mixed convection in a square enclosure with two layers, with Al2O3–water nanofluid (upper layer) and nano-porous medium (lower layer) with an adiabatic rotating circular cylinder at the center of the enclosure. The top and bottom walls are assumed adiabatic, while the left sidewall is heated, and the right sidewall kept cooled. Numerically, COMSOL code based on the Galerkin finite element method used for solved the dimensionless governing equations. The non-dimensional parameters that used in this study are: Rayleigh number (Ra) ranged from 103 up to 106, Darcy number (Da) equal to 10−3, the angular rotational velocity (Ω) ranged (0 and 6000), the solid volume fraction (ɸ=0.06), and the inner circular cylinder radius as (R = 0.2). The results showed that when Rayleigh numbers increase, a noticeable increase in the flow intensity and the steep temperature gradient, while the values increase when the cylinder rotates. The value of the local Nusselt number was high in the upper half of the cavity. The effect of the cylinder rotates is greater on the value of the local Nusselt number when using the low Rayleigh Numbers.