Thermal flow analysis of self-driven temperature-sensitive magnetic fluid between partially heated parallel plates

Abstract

To develop a heat transfer device based on a temperature-sensitive magnetic fluid (TSMF), it is necessary to investigate its flow and heat transfer characteristics. This study used the fractional step method to numerically investigate the flow and heat transfer characteristics of TSMF between parallel plates with small spacing when the solenoidal magnetic field is applied. Due to the influence of the magnetic field and temperature, the flow characteristics of the TSMF between the plates are significantly different from ordinary working fluids such as oil, and the fluid near the plate flows faster than the fluid near the center. We used numerical analysis to analyze the formation of this phenomenon and investigated the influence of dimensionless Prandtl number and magnetic effect parameter on this phenomenon. As the result, the heat transfer increased with the increase of the magnetic effect parameter which is affected by the magnetic field or the distance between the plates. The center between the two plates in the heating region formed a vortex under high Prandtl number conditions, and the generation of the vortex enhanced the heat transfer.