Natural Convection of Cu-Gallium Nanofluid in Enclosures

Abstract

In this work, the natural convection heat transfer of Cu-gallium nanofluid in a differentially heated enclosure is investigated. A single-phase model is employed with constant or temperature-dependent properties of the fluid. The results are shown over a wide range of Grashof numbers, volume fractions of nanoparticles, and aspect ratios. The Nusselt number is demonstrated to be sensitive to the aspect ratio. It is found that the Nusselt number is more sensitive to thermal conductivity than viscosity at a low velocity (especially for a low aspect ratio and a low Grashof number), however, it is more sensitive to the viscosity than the thermal conductivity at a high velocity (high aspect ratio and high Grashof number). In addition, the evolution of velocity vectors, isotherms, and Nusselt number for a small aspect ratio is investigated.