Investigating the thermodynamic optimization of naturally convective flow in a corrugated enclosure: The influence of gap spacing and orientation of split baffles

Abstract

The natural convection in cavities is frequently used in fluid mechanics and heat transfer engineering, such as heat exchangers, electronics, solar collectors, and growing crystals. However, the physics of natural convection flow and heat transfer in cavities with split baffles is least understood. The fundamental aim of this research is to investigate the impact of heated split baffles positioned at various locations on steady-state free convection within a sinusoidal corrugated star cavity. In this model configuration, the outer wavy enclosure is maintained at a constant temperature of Tc, while the inner split baffles are heated at a constant temperature of Th. The finite element method is employed to discretize and solve the governing equations describing the fluid flow and heat transfer within the enclosure. This numerical approach aimed to analyze the effects of baffle inclination angles, baffle spacing, Rayleigh number on the fluid dynamics and convective thermal transport characteristics. The variation in velocity and temperature profile is illustrated through the streamlines and isotherm contours. Moreover, the numerical result is displayed in term Nuavg of the heat transfer, which are analyzed for inside space of baffles and angles of the baffle (θ=00,450,900). The key finding demonstrates that increasing the Rayleigh numbers and the different positions (up, central, down) of inner vertical split baffles enhances the magnitude of the velocity by 88.1%, 85.9 and 89.6% respectively. Furthermore, for the inner rectangular split baffle angles of 0°,45°, and 90°, and within the Rayleigh number range of 104 to 106, the Nuavg exhibits significant variations, with maximum increases of 71.9% , 46.7% and a subsequent decrease of 45.9%.