Double Diffusive Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Natural Convection and Entropy Generation in a Discretely Heated Inclined Dome-Shaped Enclosure Filled with Cu-Water Nanofluid

Abstract

This research presents an investigation of laminar two-dimensional double-diffusive free convection and entropy formation in an inclined enclosure under the influence of an inclined magnetic field. The performance of natural convective heat transfer can be improved by doing modifications in enclosure geometry that impact the flow structure. We have considered a dome-shaped enclosure to examine the heat and mass transfer performance. The enclosure is saturated with Cu-water nanofluid and the two sidewalls of the enclosure are maintained at constant temperature Tc(<Th) and concentration cc(<ch). The top-curved wall is adiabatic, and the lower wall is discretely heated and concentrated. The governing equations are first non-dimensionalized and then written in stream function-velocity formulation that is solved numerically using the Bi-CGStab method. A comparison with previously published work in literature is presented and found to be in excellent agreement. Numerical simulations are performed for various values of considered parameters such as Rayleigh number (Ra), Hartmann number (Ha), the orientation of magnetic field (γ), volume fraction of nanoparticles (Φ), and inclination angle of the enclosure (δ). The mentioned parameters have a substantial impact on the cavity flow characteristics. The obtained results demonstrate that the average Sherwood number and Nusselt number are decreasing functions of both the Hartmann number and inclination angle of the enclosure. The minimum heat and mass transfer took place at δ = 135° as the angle of inclination of the enclosure restrains the fluid velocity and reduces the heat transfer rate. Also, entropy generation analysis is conducted for all the considered parameters. The results show that the dome-shaped enclosure has a substantial impact on the fluid flow that enables a smoother and more effective flow inside the cavity, which improves the natural convective heat and mass transmission.