Numerical analysis of the longitudinal size of the partition on natural convection heat transfer and fluid flow within a differentially heated porous enclosure

Abstract

AbstractThe article deals with the effect of longitudinal size and shape partition embedded within a differentially heated porous enclosure. The objective is to curtail the heat transfer rate across such porous enclosures by means of partitions embedded within. The partition shapes under consideration are straight vertical left‐inclined, right‐inclined, L‐shaped, wavy, corrugated, and square‐wave. It is sought to find the most effective combination of partition length and shape that could serve the required objective. Also, many times, due to the constructional constraints of the porous enclosure or cavity, using full‐length partitions may not be feasible. In this regard, it is also sought to find the partition length that is to be maintained for achieving a significant reduction in heat transfer without much compromise. The results of the current study are useful for thermal design engineers particularly in the field of thermal insulation, solar heating application, and packed bed energy storage systems where the major challenge is to reduce the heat transfer across the system. The parameters under consideration are the longitudinal length L and Rayleigh number Ra. All the partitions under study are evaluated for bottom‐wall and top‐wall attached conditions. Some of the notable findings are that for smaller‐sized partitions (B < 0.5), L‐shaped partitions are most effective in controlling the convection heat transfer rate across the enclosure while for larger‐sized partitions (L > 0.5), square‐wave‐shaped partitions should be preferred for effective reduction in the rate of convection heat transfer.