Numerical study of the fin effect on mixed convection heat transfer in a lid-driven cavity

摘要

In this study, the mixed convective heat transfer in a lid-driven cavity was investigated numerically. The finite volume discritization method was used to solve the momentum and energy equations by using the classic Boussinesq incompressible approximation. The cavity vertical walls are insulated whereas the bottom (hot wall) and top (cold wall) surface are maintained at a uniform temperature and fins are located on bottom wall. The effect of fin numbers over the flow field and heat transfer was investigated at various Richardson numbers. Study was carried out for Richardson numbers ranging from 0.01 to 10, fin numbers between 1 and 7, fin height ratio change from 0.05 to 0.3, and thermal conductivity ratio (fin to fluid) from 10 to 10~4, respectively. The results are presented in the form of streamlines, temperature contours, and Nusselt number distributions. The results show that the Nusselt number increases when the number of fin and fin height decrease. In addition, in all cases an increasing Richardson number caused increasing the relative Nusselt number (Nu/Nu_0). The heat transfer enhancement was observed at low fin numbers (1 and 3) and high Richardson number in comparison with the cavity without fins.