Effect of triangular porous layer on the transfer of heat and species in a channel‐open cavity

Abstract

This paper addresses the heat and species transfer in a composite cavity linked with a horizontal channel. The cavity comprises a triangular porous layer and one of its vertical sides is exposed to a high temperature and concentration. The mathematical conservation equations are solved numerically using the Galerkin finite element method. The ranges of Reynolds and Richardson numbers are taken to ascertain laminar flow, Re = 50–250 and Ri = 0.1–100. The size of the porous layer is quantified by the thickness of the porous layer Hp = 0.25–1. The problem is studied for two cases of heat and species sources; the opposing case, when the active side is on the right, and assisting case, when the active side is on the left. Results reveal that for specified conditions, the triangular porous layer increases Nusselt and Sherwood numbers by 30% and 32%, respectively, more than the horizontal porous layer. The opposing case gives maximum convective heat transfer, where for Ri = 0.01, the Nusselt number is higher by 61% and 134% for Re = 50 and 250, respectively, while for Ri = 100, the percentages increase are 67% and 43%.

Numerical Study for Enhancement of Heat Transfer Using Discrete Metal Foam with Varying Thickness and Porosity in Solar Air Heater by LTNE Method

“…Metal foam has a lower density, high structural strength, and high superficial area, and can increase convection due to which the heat transfer increases. Recently, the application of partially filled porous media, graded metal foam [4,5], or triangular porous media [6,7] have been required to increase the heat transfer in the system and to lower the cost. Nowadays, in solar applications, different porous media like metal foam [1,[8][9][10][11], wire mesh [12][13][14][15][16][17][18], and spherical pebbles [15] are used to increase the temperature of the working fluid.…”