Numerical Analysis of Lid Driven Convective Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow around a Tilted Elliptical Cylinder

A study of the heat transport and fluid flow behaviour around a tilted elliptical cylinder located concentrically in a square enclosure whose top horizontal wall is driven by a lid in the positive x-direction is presented. Due to the disparities in the results of convective heat transfer in square cavities in the literature, this study seeks to investigate the combined effects of the Grashof number, Aspect ratio of the geometry, and Elliptical cylinder inclination angle on the dynamics of thermal and flow fields within the geometry investigated. COMSOL Multiphysics 5.5 version was used to resolve the non-dimensional transport equations, while simulations were performed to examine the implications of salient parameters such as the elliptical inclination angle (0° ≤ ϕ ≤ 90°), Grashof number (103 ≤ Gr ≤ 105), and aspect ratio (1 ≤ AR ≤ 3). The simulation outcomes are displayed as average Nusselt numbers, velocity streamlines, and isothermal contours. Findings from this study show that an increase in aspect ratio resulted in increased heat transfer at the elliptical cylinder wall, with the highest heat transfer rate occurring when AR = 3.0. Furthermore, the inclination angle increments when Gr=103 and 104 led to a reduction in the average Nusselt number of the elliptical cylinder wall. At Gr = 105 and AR ranges of 1.5 ≤ AR ≤ 2, the Nu value of the elliptical cylinder wall increased as the ellipse's inclination angle increased. The findings of this study have found use in heat transfer systems, particularly electronic cooling and nuclear technologies. © 2022 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland.