Thermal performance due to magnetohydrodynamics mixed convection flow in a triangular cavity with circular obstacle

Abstract

Abstract The present study is about the numerical analysis of convection heat transfer inside lid-driven triangular cavity. Based upon magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) theory, constant magnetic field of strength B0 is applied in the direction of horizontal x − a x i s . The geometry of the cavity is such that the inclined sidewalls are adiabatic, and temperature of upper moving wall is set as T h * . Moreover, a cylinder of comparatively lower temperature T c * , such that T c * T h * , is placed at the center of cavity. Convection heat transfer takes place due to moving upper wall and varying temperature surfaces in the cavity. Flow and heat transfer phenomenon are governed by the set of nonlinear partial differential equations with defined boundary conditions. Finite Element Method is adopted to seek the numerical solution. Simulation is performed against the range of emerging physical parameter, such as, Reynolds number (200 ≤ Re ≤ 600), Richardson number (0.01 ≤ Ri ≤ 1.0) and Hartmann number (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 20). The study found that heat transfer rate augments due to increasing of Richardson number, while inverse trend is observed due to increase in Hartmann number.