In this study, a two-dimensional steady state double-diffusive mixed convective flow in a square cavity with Soret effect is presented. The numerical investigation is considered with two different conditions, (a) top and bottom walls move with same velocity (Uo) towards right and (b) top wall moves towards right and bottom wall moves towards left with the same velocity (Uo). The left and right walls remain stationary. The top and bottom walls are adiabatic; the left wall is maintained at high temperature and concentration. The right wall is maintained at low temperature and concentration.
INTRODUCTIONThe combined effect of temperature and concentration gradients along with some externally applied forces in which heat and mass transfer occur simultaneously is known as double-diffusive mixed convection. Double-diffusive mixed convection in cavities is an area extensively investigated because of the multitude of engineering applications they are often encountered in. The aforementioned areas of research include nuclear reactors, solar collectors, cooling of electronic systems, chemical processing equipment, etc. Double-diffusive convection is also referred to as buoyancy driven flow induced by both temperature and concentration gradients. Bergman (1989) studied the influence of Soretinduced solutal buoyancy forces on the hydrodynamics and heat transfer rates of an initially uniform concentration fluid contained in an enclosure associated with natural convection. The effect of Soret phenomenon may or may not be important in natural convection. However, the Soret effect must be included in the analysis of the water-based binary fluid. Reima et al. (1993) carried out numerical studies for mixed convection in a driven cavity with a stable vertical temperature gradient. Flow is generated by the top horizontal boundary wall, which slides in its own plane at constant speed. A stabilizing externally-applied vertical temperature gradient is imposed on the system boundaries: the top wall is maintained at a higher temperature than the bottom wall. It was observed that at Ri < 1.0, in the bulk of the interior, fluids are well mixed, and temperature variations are small. For Ri > 1.0, the majority of the fluid interior is stagnant. . The findings were, that heat and mass transfer differs with the change in magnitude of the temperature and concentration gradients. These gradients decide the thermal and solutal dominant regions in the cavity. The effect of double-diffusive natural convection of water in a partially heated enclosure with Soret and Dufour effect around the density maximum is numerically analyzed by Nithyadevi et al. (2009). The temperature and concentration between the two walls are varied. They found that the rate of heat and mass transfer increases when the values of thermal Ra increase in all heating locations
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