Numerical investigation of thermo-hydraulic transport characteristics of laminar flow through partially filled porous wavy channel: Effect of Prandtl number

The present study numerically investigates the impact of different Prandtl numbers on thermo-hydraulic transport characteristics of partial porous wavy channel for a laminar flow. The series of simulations are performed for various thicknesses (S = 0, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) of the porous slab at different Prandtl numbers (0.72 <= Pr <= 100), Darcy numbers (10(-6)<= Da <= 10(-2)), and Reynolds number (Re = 5, 50, 200). Firstly, the variation of the average Nusselt number Nu(avg), Enhancement Ratio ER, and Performance Factor PF has been delineated at constant Da for all the geometry configurations, Re, and range of Pr. The result shows a significant increment in the Nu(avg) and ER with increasing Pr and Re for all geometry configurations. However, the performance factor deteriorates with increasing slab thickness (S = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) compared to S = 0. Later, the effect of the various Da is evaluated, which revealed that the Nu(avg) decreases with increasing Da values, while the ER almost becomes double for Da values between 10(-2) to 10(-6) at S = 0.4. Streamline contours and temperature field distribution contours are also shown to visualize the physical phenomenon governing fluid flow and heat transfer.

Automated summary

This study numerically investigates the impact of different Prandtl numbers on the thermo-hydraulic transport characteristics of a partial porous wavy channel for a laminar flow. The results show that increasing the Prandtl number and Reynolds number leads to an increase in the Nusselt number and enhancement ratio, while the performance factor deteriorates with increasing slab thickness. Additionally, the effect of different Darcy numbers was evaluated.