PARAMETRIC STUDY OF NATURAL CONVECTION INSIDE A PARTITIONED CAVITY IN THE PRESENCE OF A MAGNETIC FIELD

Steady laminar natural convection fl ow is studied numerically. The fl ow domain is a differentially heated square cavity with two partitions that is exposed to a constant horizontal magnetic fi eld. A fi nite volume-based code is developed by the SIMPLER algorithm. A parametric study is carried out, using different values of the Rayleigh numbers, partition positions, partition heights, and the Hartmann numbers (from zero to 200). It is found that the Nusselt number is an increasing function of the Rayleigh number, but a decreasing function of the partition height and Hartmann number. The position of the partitions affects the streamlines and isotherms, but has a minimal effect on the mean Nusselt number. In addition, the results show that for low partition heights convective heat transfer in a cavity is signifi cant, the braking effect of the Lorentz force is more pronounced, and the mean Nusselt number decreases considerably with increasing magnetic fi eld strength. 
   
Author:  M. Pirmohammadi and A. Salehi-Shabestari
Keywords:  magnetic fi eld, natural convection, partitioned cavity
Page:  1255