Micropolar nanofluid thermal free convection and entropy generation through an inclined I-shaped enclosure with two hot cylinders

Abstract

A numerical study is conducted to evaluate the flow, heat exchange and irreversibilities of micro-polar Al2O3-water nanofluid during the thermal buoyancy convection engendered by two heated cylinders inside an inclined I-shaped enclosure having cold top and bottom walls and adiabatic sidewalls. A numerical approach based on the finite element method was used to solve the equations that govern the phenomenon. For various scenarios for the position of the active cylinders and inclination angle of the system, the macro-flow and micro-rotations structures, temperature fields, the origin of entropy production, and heat exchange rates were determined for varied values of the control parameters, namely: Rayleigh (Ra), vortex viscosity parameter (K), geometric aspect ratio (AR), enclosure inclination angle (χ), and nanoparticles' concentration (φ). All of these variables were discovered to have significant influences on the strength of macro-and micro-nanofluid flows, as well as the entropy production and the rate of heat transfer. The rate of heat exchange escalates as the Ra and AR parameters rise but decreases when the K parameter rises.