Showing papers on "Combined forced and natural convection published in 2010"

Mixed convection flow in a lid-driven inclined square enclosure filled with a nanofluid

Abstract: This work is focused on the numerical modeling of steady laminar mixed convection flow in a lid-driven inclined square enclosure filled with water–Al2O3 nanofluid. The left and right walls of the enclosure are kept insulated while the bottom and top walls are maintained at constant temperatures with the top surface being the hot wall and moving at a constant speed. The developed equations are given in terms of the stream function–vorticity formulation and are non-dimensionalized and then solved numerically subject to appropriate boundary conditions by a second-order accurate finite-volume method. Comparisons with previously published work are performed and found to be in good agreement. A parametric study is conducted and a set of graphical results is presented and discussed to illustrate the effects of the presence of nanoparticles and enclosure inclination angle on the flow and heat transfer characteristics. It is found that significant heat transfer enhancement can be obtained due to the presence of nanoparticles and that this is accentuated by inclination of the enclosure at moderate and large Richardson numbers.

Laboratory flow experiments for visualizing carbon dioxide-induced, density-driven brine convection

Abstract: Injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into saline aquifers confined by low- permeability cap rock will result in a layer of CO2 overlying the brine. Dissolution of CO2 into the brine increases the brine density, resulting in an unstable situation in which more-dense brine overlies less-dense brine. This gravitational instability could give rise to density-driven convection of the fluid, which is a favorable process of practical interest for CO2 storage security because it accelerates the transfer of buoyant CO2 into the aqueous phase, where it is no longer subject to an upward buoyant drive. Laboratory flow visualization tests in transparent Hele-Shaw cells have been performed to elucidate the processes and rates of this CO2 solute-driven convection (CSC). Upon introduction of CO2 into the system, a layer of CO2-laden brine forms at the CO2-water interface. Subsequently, small convective fingers form, which coalesce, broaden, and penetrate into the test cell. Images and time-series data of finger lengths and wavelengths are presented. Observed CO2 uptake of the convection system indicates that the CO2 dissolution rate is approximately constant for each test and is far greater than expected for a diffusion-only scenario. Numerical simulations of our system show good agreement with the experiments for onset time of convection and advancement of convective fingers. There are differences as well, the most prominent being the absence of cell-scale convection in the numerical simulations. This cell-scale convection observed in the experiments may be an artifact of a small temperature gradient induced by the cell illumination.

Mhd free convection flow of a nanofluid past a vertical plate in the presence of heat generation or absorption effects

Abstract: This work is focused on the numerical solution of steady natural convection boundary-layer flow of a nanofluid consisting of a pure fluid with nanoparticles along a permeable vertical plate in the presence of magnetic field, heat generation or absorption, and suction or injection effects The model used for the nanofluid incorporates the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis The governing boundary-layer equations of the problem are formulated and transformed into a non-similar form The obtained equations are then solved numerically by an efficient, iterative, tri-diagonal, implicit finite-difference method Comparisons with previously published work are performed and are found to be in excellent agreement Representative results for the longitudinal velocity, temperature, and nanoparticle volume fraction profiles as well as the local heat transfer rates for various values of the physical parameters are displayed in both graphical and tabular forms

Topological design of heat dissipating structure with forced convective heat transfer

Abstract: This paper discusses the use of the topology optimization formulation for designing a heat dissipating structure that utilizes forced convective heat transfer. In addition to forced convection, there is also natural convection due to natural buoyancy forces induced by local heating inside fluid. In the present study, the temperature distribution due to forced convection, neglecting buoyancy and viscous dissipation inside fluid, was simulated and optimized. In order to analyze the heat transfer equation with forced convective heat loss and the Navier-Stokes equation, a common sequential computational procedure for this thermo/hydraulic characteristic was implemented. For topology optimization, four material properties were interpolated with respect to spatially defined density design variables: the inverse permeability in the Navier-Stokes equation, the conductivity, density, and the specific heat capacity of the heat transfer equation. From numerical examples, it was found that the balance between the conduction and convection of fluid is of central importance to the design of heat dissipating structures.

Onset and cessation of time-dependent, dissolution-driven convection in porous media

Abstract: Motivated by convection in the context of geological carbon dioxide sequestration, we present the conditions for free, dissolution-driven convection in a horizontal, ideal porous layer from a time-dependent, pure-diffusion base state. We assume that solute as a separate phase is instantaneously placed in the pores above a given horizontal level at time zero, and gradually diffuses into the underlying liquid. As the concentration of dissolved solute in the liquid increases, its density increases and the system may eventually become gravitationally unstable and convection may begin. We define the amplitude of a perturbation as the mean square of the difference of the concentration profile and the pure-diffusion profile. To identify instability, we calculate the maximum possible instantaneous growth rate of the amplitude over all possible infinitesimal and finite perturbations. Instability exists where this growth rate is positive. We consider two scenarios. In the first scenario, the underlying liquid canno...

Dendritic solidification under natural and forced convection in binary alloys: 2D versus 3D simulation

Abstract: A model of both equiaxed and columnar dendritic growth was developed that incorporates thermal, solutal and fluid flow effects in either two or three dimensions. The model solves the momentum, mass and energy transport equations, including phase change. An imposed anisotropy algorithm, combined with a modified projection method solution of the Navier–Stokes equations, allows a relative coarse mesh and hence excellent computational efficiency. The model was used to study the effect of dimensionality (2D versus 3D) on dendritic growth with and without convection. The influence of forced convection on unconstrained equiaxed growth was studied first. In 3D, the upstream boundary layer is much thinner with a lower concentration than in 2D. This increases tip undercooling, accelerating upstream tip growth and promoting secondary branching. The influence of natural convection on constrained, columnar dendritic, growth was then studied. The 2D flow is blocked by the primary dendrite arms (which are effectively plates), while the 3D flow can wrap around the primaries. This change in flow strongly alters solute distribution and consequently the developing dendritic microstructure. 3D simulations are required to correctly predict unconstrained solidification microstructures.

MHD mixed convection flow near the stagnation-point on a vertical permeable surface

Abstract: The steady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convection boundary layer flow of a viscous and electrically conducting fluid near the stagnation-point on a vertical permeable surface is investigated in this study. The velocity of the external flow and the temperature of the plate surface are assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation-point. The governing partial differential equations are first transformed into ordinary differential equations, before being solved numerically by a finite-difference method. The features of the flow and heat transfer characteristics for different values of the governing parameters are analyzed and discussed. Both assisting and opposing flows are considered. It is found that dual solutions exist for both cases, and the range of the mixed convection parameter for which the solution exists increases with suction.

Energy Transport by Thermocapillary Convection during Sessile-Water-Droplet Evaporation

Abstract: The energy transport mechanisms of a sessile-water droplet evaporating steadily while maintained on a Cu substrate are compared Buoyancy-driven convection is eliminated, but thermal conduction and thermocapillary convection are active The dominant mode varies along the interface Although neglected in previous studies, near the three-phase line, thermocapillary convection is by far the larger mode of energy transport, and this is the region where most of the droplet evaporation occurs

The Effects of Thermal Radiation, Hall Currents, Soret, and Dufour on MHD Flow by Mixed Convection over a Vertical Surface in Porous Media

Abstract: The study sought to investigate the influence of a magnetic field on heat and mass transfer by mixed convection from vertical surfaces in the presence of Hall, radiation, Soret (thermal-diffusion), and Dufour (diffusion-thermo) effects. The similarity solutions were obtained using suitable transformations. The similarity ordinary differential equations were then solved by MATLAB routine bvp4c. The numerical results for some special cases were compared with the exact solution and those obtained by Elgazery (2009) and were found to be in good agreement. A parametric study illustrating the influence of the magnetic strength, Hall current, Dufour, and Soret, Eckert number, thermal radiation, and permeability parameter on the velocity, temperature, and concentration was investigated.

Effect of heating location and size on mixed convection in lid-driven cavities

Abstract: A numerical study is performed to analyze the mixed convection heat transfer and fluid flow in lid-driven cavities with different lengths of the heating portion and different locations of it. The left wall has been heated fully or partially to a higher temperature, whereas the right wall is maintained at a lower temperature. Three different lengths of the heating portion and three different locations of it are used along the hot wall. The remaining portions of the left wall, and the top and the bottom walls of the cavity are insulated. The finite volume method is used to discretize the governing equations which are then solved iteratively. The velocities and pressure are coupled by the SIMPLE algorithm. Results are presented graphically in the form of streamlines, isotherms and velocity profiles. It is concluded that the heat transfer rate is enhanced on reducing the heating portion and when the portion is at middle or top of the hot wall of the cavity.

Mixed convection in the stagnation-point flow of a Maxwell fluid towards a vertical stretching surface

Abstract: In the present analysis, we study the steady mixed convection boundary layer flow of an incompressible Maxwell fluid near the two-dimensional stagnation-point flow over a vertical stretching surface. It is assumed that the stretching velocity and the surface temperature vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation-point. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations have been reduced to the coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations by the similarity transformations. Analytical and numerical solutions of the derived system of equations are developed. The homotopy analysis method (HAM) and finite difference scheme are employed in constructing the analytical and numerical solutions, respectively. Comparison between the analytical and numerical solutions is given and found to be in excellent agreement. Both cases of assisting and opposing flows are considered. The influence of the various interesting parameters on the flow and heat transfer is analyzed and discussed through graphs in detail. The values of the local Nusselt number for different physical parameters are also tabulated. Comparison of the present results with known numerical results of viscous fluid is shown and a good agreement is observed.