Numerical investigation of mixed convection heat transfer behavior of nanofluid in a cavity with different heat transfer areas

The main purpose of this research is the numerical modeling of laminar mixed convection heat transfer inside an open square cavity with different heat transfer areas. In the considered geometry, cold fluid enters the cavity. At the middle of the cavity, there is a hot isothermal circular heat source. For increasing the heat transfer, solid silver nanoparticles with volume fractions (phi) of 0, 2 and 4% are added to water. Studied Re numbers are 10, 50, 120 and 200. The location of the hot zone changes the temperature distribution in the fluid layers. If the heat transfer area is located in an appropriate location, temperature distribution becomes more uniform. Increasing Re leads to smaller temperature gradients in regions near the hot surface and higher temperature at fluid layers close to the surface. By increasing fluid velocity, backflows do not improve heat transfer but it is able to change the heat transfer mechanism. By decreasing the fluid velocity, the effects of velocity gradients and extension of the velocity boundary layer increase and friction coefficient attains the maximum value.