Numerical Study of Natural Convection of Nanofluids in an Inclined Flat Bottom Flask Using Finite-Volume Approach

In this work, we study numerically the natural convection of NanoFluids (NF) in an inclined flat bottom flask; it is one of the laboratory flasks used in organic chemistry synthesis. The main reason for this study is to enhance the thermal properties of the reaction medium inside the flat bottom flask and to ameliorate the rate of chemical reactions using nanofluids. The flat bottom wall is maintained at a constant high-temperature T-h. While the top, left and right walls of the cavity are maintained at a low-temperature T-L. The NF comprises Cu and Al2O3 NanoParticles (NP) suspended in pure water. The governing equations are solved numerically using the finite-volume approach and formulated using the Boussinesq approximation. In this simulation we examined the effects of the NP volume fraction (phi) from 0% to 5%, the Rayleigh number from 10(3) to 10(6), the various inclination angles of enclosure (gamma=0 degrees,5 degrees,10 degrees, 15 degrees) and the NF type (Cu and Al2O3) on the flow streamlines, isotherm distribution, and Nusselt number. The obtained results show that the addition of Cu and Al2O3 NP increases the mean Nusselt number which enhances the heat transfer in the flat bottom flask and causes significant changes in the flow pattern. In addition, the mean Nusselt number is increased with increasing the Rayleigh number and the volume fraction, and the best results have been obtained from the Cu nanofluid. Also, as the inclination angle increases the mean Nusselt number decreases, and the highest value of the Nusselt number was obtained for a vertical enclosure (gamma=0 degrees). The obtained streamlines are mostly symmetric and their values are generally increased by increasing the Rayleigh number and volume fractions of NPs. Besides, the obtained isotherms generally follow the geometry of the flat bottom flask.

Automated summary

In this study, the natural convection of nanofluids in an inclined flat bottom flask was numerically investigated. The results showed that the addition of nanoparticles enhanced the heat transfer and caused significant changes in the flow pattern. Furthermore, it was found that the heat transfer performance increased with increasing Rayleigh number and nanoparticle volume fraction.