Numerical simulation of three-dimensional double diffusive free convection flow and irreversibility studies in a solar distiller

Numerical results of double-diffusive natural convection are presented in a three-dimensional solar distiller. The flow is considered laminar and caused by the interaction of the thermal energy and the chemical species diffusions. Equations of concentration, energy and momentum are formulated using vector potential-vorticity formulations in its three-dimensional form, then solved by the finite volume method. The Rayleigh number is fixed at Ra = 10(5) and the effects of the buoyancy ratio are studied for opposed temperature and concentration gradients, with a particular interest to the three-dimensional aspects and entropy generation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.