Numerical Analysis of Natural Convection Heat Transfer Inside an Inverted T-Shaped Cavity Filled with Nanofluid

Abstract

This assessment is centered on the characteristics of natural convection heat transfer of Aluminium Oxide-Air nanofluid inside an inverted T-shaped enclosure with differentially heated sidewalls. The left edges of the enclosed cavity have been treated as a heated wall and are kept at a constant temperature. The right edges are also maintained at a constant temperature but lower than the heated wall. The top and bottom faces of the cavity have been considered adiabatic. The evaluation has been numerically investigated using ANSYS fluent. The effect of different significant parameters like volume fraction of nanoparticles, the shape of the enclosure, and Rayleigh number on the heat transfer characteristics inside an inverted T shape enclosure have been investigated. In this numerical analysis, a series of DNS simulations have been conducted for different Rayleigh numbers in the range of 10³ to 10⁶, the volume fraction of particles in the range 0≤ φ ≤0.1, and for the different aspect ratios for the inverted T shape have been conducted. The outcomes of this CFD analysis indicate a remarkable rise in the average heat transfer coefficient with the rising volume fraction of Al₂O₃ particles in the air. An increase of the average Nusselt number was also observed with the increase of Rayleigh number, but it drops slightly at a higher volume fraction of nanoparticles due to an increase in conductive heat transfer. For Rayleigh numbers ≥ 10⁴, both the average Nusselt number and average heat transfer coefficient decrease up to a certain shape of the cavity aspect ratio. After that cavity aspect ratio, both the parameters value increase. But in the case of Rayleigh number = 10³, both of the values decrease with the increase in the cavity aspect ratio.