Abstract:
The effect of heated wall position on magneto- hydrodynamic mixed convection in a
channel with an open cavity has been investigated numerically. Magnetic field is
acting countering the fluid flow, normal to the vertical wall of the cavity. Three
different cases were considered based on heater position in the cavity as the left
vertical side (Case 1), bottom side (Case 2) and right vertical side (Case 3). An
external flow enters through an opening located at the left side of the channel, passes
through the cavity and finally leaves the channel through an exit at the right side. The
physical problems are represented mathematically by different sets of governing
equations along with the corresponding boundary conditions. Using a class of
appropriate transformations, the governing equations along with the boundary
conditions are transformed into non-dimensional form, which are then solved by
employing a finite-element scheme based on the Galerkin method of weighted
residuals. Results are presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms, average Nusselt
number along the hot wall, average fluid temperature at the exit port, pressure and
temperature gradient in the domain for different combinations of the governing
parameters namely Rayleigh number (Ra) at selected values of Hartmann numbers
(Ha) and cavity aspect ratio AR. The results indicate that both the flow and the
thermal fields strongly depend on the aforesaid parameters. Comparisons with
previously published work are performed and the results are found to be in excellent
agreement.
