Open Access

ARTICLE

Impacts of Heat Flux Distribution, Sloping Magnetic Field and Magnetic Nanoparticles on the Natural Convective Flow Contained in a Square Cavity

by Latifa M. Al-Balushi, M. M. Rahman

Department of Mathematics, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

* Corresponding Author: M. M. Rahman. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2020, 16(3), 441-463. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2020.08551

Received 06 September 2019; Accepted 11 December 2019; Issue published 25 May 2020

Abstract

In the present paper, the effect of the heat flux distribution on the natural convective flow inside a square cavity in the presence of a sloping magnetic field and magnetic nanoparticles is explored numerically. The nondimensional governing equations are solved in the framework of a finite element method implemented using the Galerkin approach. The role played by numerous model parameters in influencing the emerging thermal and concentration fields is examined; among them are: the location of the heat source and its lengthH*, the magnitude of the thermal Rayleigh number, the nanoparticles shape and volume fraction, and the Hartmann number. It is found that the nanofluid velocity becomes higher when the thermal source length, the nanoparticles volume fraction and/or the thermal Rayleigh number are increased, while it decreases as the Hartmann number Ha grows and the position of the heat source moves toward the center of the lower wall of the cavity. Moreover, the temperature of the nano- fluid grows with the extension of the thermal source and decreases slowly when the heat flux position moves toward the center of the lower wall. The outcomes of the research also indicate that the average Nusselt number becomes smaller on increasing Hartmann number Ha and heat source length H*. The addition of Fe₃O₄ to engine oil leads to a higher rate of heat transfer with respect to the addition of SiO₂ particles. Blade-shaped nanoparticles generate the highest value of the Nusselt number compared to all the other considered shapes.

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