Impact of cavity chord shape on the free convection heat transfer rate in a triangular cavity

Abstract

AbstractIn this study, the effect of different chord shapes of a triangular cavity has been investigated on the natural convection heat transfer characteristics inside the cavity using the commercial ANSYS‐FLUENT software. Heat transfer phenomena have been regarded as very significant due to the widespread application of natural convection heat transfer in different engineering fields. According to the performed studies, the chord with partitions can considerably enhance the natural convection heat transfer rate inside the cavity. Four different types of partitions including zigzag, two types of rectangular and sinusoidal were considered on the chord of the triangular cavity. The dimensionless parameters investigated in the results include Rayleigh number, Prandtl number, and Nusselt number. The results comprise the isotherm lines, streamlines, velocity lines, local and average Nusselt numbers analyzed with regard to the chord type and Rayleigh number variation. The results revealed that the temperature trend is almost the same for all configurations. Furthermore, the average Nusselt number value in zigzag and sinusoidal is higher in comparison with other cases due to the larger heat transfer area. Finally, by examining the streamlines, isotherm and velocity lines, average and local Nusselt numbers, it was founded that the cavities with zigzag and sinusoidal chord shape have the better performance in terms of heat transfer rate.