Finite element thermal analysis of a moving porous fin with temperature-variant thermal conductivity and internal heat generation

Abstract

This paper focuses on finite element analysis of the thermal behaviour of a moving porous fin with temperature-variant thermal conductivity and internal heat generation. The numerical solutions are used to investigate the effects of Peclet number, Hartmann number, porous and convective parameters on the temperature distribution, heat transfer and efficiency of the moving fin. The results show that when the convective and porous parameters increase, the adimensional fin temperature decreases. However, the value of the fin temperature is amplified as the value Peclet number is enlarged. Also, an increase in the thermal conductivity and the internal heat generation cause the fin temperature to fall and the rate of heat transfer from the fin to decrease. Therefore, the operational parameters of the fin must be carefully selected to avoid thermal instability in the fin.