Free convection in a parallelogrammic porous cavity filled with a nanofluid using Tiwari and Das' nanofluid model.

Abstract

The free convection heat transfer of Cu-water nanofluids in a parallelogrammic enclosure filled with porous media is numerically analyzed. The bottom and top of the enclosure are insulated while the sidewalls are subject to limited temperature difference. The Darcy flow and the Tiwari and Das' nanofluid models are considered. The governing dimensionless partial differential equations are numerically solved using a finite difference code. The results are reported for isotherms and streamlines as well as Nusselt number as a function of the volume fraction of nanoparticles, porosity, types of the porous matrix, inclination angle, aspect ratio and different Rayleigh numbers. It is found that the presence of the nanoparticles inside the enclosure deteriorates the heat transfer rate, which is caused due to the increase of dynamic viscosity by the presence of nanoparticles. Therefore, in applications in which the nanofluids are used for their advantages, such as enhanced dielectric properties or antibacterial properties, more caution for the heat transfer design of the enclosure is necessary.