Effect of the Aspect Ratio and Tilt Angle on the Free Convection Heat Transfer Coefficient Inside Al2O3–Water-Filled Square Cuboid Enclosures

Abstract

This experimental study provides a comprehensive investigation of natural convection heat transfer inside shallow square cuboid enclosures filled with aluminum oxide–water nanofluid at four different volume concentrations: 0.0%, 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.8%. Two square cuboid enclosures were used with sizes 30 × 30 × H cm3, where H is the inside thickness of the enclosures. This led to two different enclosure aspect ratios (κ = H/30 = 0.033 and 0.066). Four inclination angles to the horizontal position of the enclosures were used: 0°, 30°, 60°, and 90°. The crucial thermophysical properties of the synthetic nanofluid were obtained. The thermal conductivity of the nanofluid was measured experimentally at various volume concentrations. Furthermore, the viscosity and density were also measured experimentally at temperatures ranging from 15 to 40 °C as a function of the volume concentration. The heat transfer data were generated by heating the lower surface of the enclosure using a uniform flexible heat flux heater. The opposite surface was cooled using an air fan. The results of the experimental physical parameter measurements show that the percent of maximum deviation in thermal conductivity with those in the literature were 6.61% at a 1.0% volume concentration. The deviation of dynamic viscosity was between 0.21% and 16.36% at 0.1% and 1% volume concentrations, respectively, and for density it was 0.29% at 40 °C and a 1% volume concentration. The results showed up to a 27% enhancement in the Nusselt number at an angle of 60° and a 0.4% volume concentration in the largest aspect ratio (κ = 0.066). However, for the low aspect ratio enclosure (κ = 0.033), there was no noticeable improvement in heat transfer at any combination of volume concentration and inclination angle. The results show that the inclination angle is a significant factor in natural convection only for large aspect ratio enclosures. Furthermore, for large aspect ratio, the Nusselt number increased until the angle approached 60°, then it decreased again.

Forced Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient Measurement of Low Concentration Nanorods ZnO–Ethylene Glycol Nanofluids in Laminar Flow

“…Results revealed that clustering reduces the thermal conductivity of NFs; however, the sedimentation phenomenon, which increases with cluster size, can cause results to alter [34]. The findings of heat transfer coefficient measurement inside Al 2 O 3 -water-filled square cuboid enclosures reveal that inclination angle is only a significant component in natural convection for enclosures with a large aspect ratio [35].…”

“…ZnO-based dispersion stability and thermophysical properties were assessed to evaluate the heat transfer earlier [40]. However, some limitations of water-based NFs for HTC measurement have been reported [35]. Once the NFs are prepared, stability can be assessed by observing the sedimentation and UV-vis analysis [41].…”

Alternative Internal Configurations for Enhancing Heat Transfer in Telecommunication Cabinets

“…Although numerous studies have been conducted for tilted cavities [26][27][28][29][30][31][32], all studies are not directly comparable due to the different positions of the heat sources or the cavity shape. Previous studies included those conducted on fully enclosed and open rectangular cavities as well as 'T'-shaped cavities.…”

“…It was reported that Nu increases approximately from 0°to 60°and then falls from 60°to 90°with the maximum value observed at 60°. The working fluids were water [28] and aluminium-oxide-water nanofluid [29].…”

Natural convection coupled to surface radiation in an air‐filled square cavity containing two heat‐generating bodies

“…In recent decades, heat transfer by natural convection has been found in many practical applications in engineering, including nuclear reactors, heat exchangers, solar collectors, air conditioning, and the cooling of electronic equipment 1–3 . In this last case, the electronic components generate heat during their operation, which affects their proper functioning.…”