Numerical study of natural turbulent convection of nanofluids in a tall cavity heated from below

Abstract

In the present paper a numerical study of natural turbulent convection in a tall cavity filled with nanofluids. The cavity has a heat source embedded on its bottom wall, while the left, right and top walls of the cavity are maintained at a relatively low temperature. The working fluid is a water based nanofluid having three nanoparticle types: alumina, copper and copper oxid. The influence of pertinent parameters such as Rayleigh number, the type of nanofluid and solid volume fraction of nanoparticles on the cooling performance is studied. Steady forms of twodimensional Reynolds-Averaged-Navier-Stokes equations and conservation equations of mass and energy, coupled with the Boussinesq approximation, are solved by the control volume based discretisation method employing the SIMPLE algorithm for pressure-velocity coupling. Turbulence is modeled using the standard k-? model. The Rayleigh number, Ra, is varied from 2.491009 to 2.491011. The volume fractions of nanoparticles were varied in the interval 0??? 6% . Stream lines, isotherms, velocity profiles and Temperature profiles are presented for various combinations of Ra, the type of nanofluid and solid volume fraction of nanoparticles. The results are reported in the form of average Nusselt number on the heated wall. It is shown that for all values of Ra, the average heat transfer rate from the heat source increases almost linearly and monotonically as the solid volume fraction increases. Finally the average heat transfer rate takes on values that decrease according to the ordering Cu, CuO and Al2O3.