Pore-scale natural convection in cavities filled with randomly distributed heat-conducting particles

Abstract

Three-dimensional numerical simulations were carried out to analyze natural convection in a differentially heated cubic cavity filled with spherical particles. Three models were considered: a fluid-only case for reference, a homogeneous porous media approximation, and a heterogeneous model that considered the actual structure of the solid particles. DEM (discrete element method) simulations were used to generate a realistic particle distribution for the construction of volumetric meshes for the heterogeneous model. The impact of thermal conduction through the solid particles was evaluated by varying the solid to fluid ratio ( K * ) within the range 0.02 − 50 for Rayleigh numbers between 103 and 105. Additionally, different number and diameter of the particles inside the cavity were evaluated. The results of the homogeneous approximation indicate a continuous decrease in the Nusselt number (Nu) as K * increases, associated with a higher effective thermal conductivity and the pressure drop. However, the more realistic heterogeneous model predicted the opposite trend. For K * <1, solid particles acted as thermal insulators, impeding fluid flow, while for K * > 1 conduction heat transfer between the isothermal walls and the particles was highly efficient and the particles surface area acted like extensions of the isothermal walls, facilitating heat transfer to the fluid phase, especially at lower Rayleigh values.