A numerical study of natural and mixed convection in an isothermally heated cylinder in a lid-driven cavity with extended surfaces filled with nano-fluid and encapsulation of nano-PCM

This research used Ansys Fluent to numerically examine the effects of incorporating horizontal fins into a circular cylinder heated isothermally. The cylinder is positioned at different places inside a square enclosure. Numerical analysis is conducted to investigate the heat transfer properties of steady, natural and mixed convection in an enclosure filled with pure water and MWCNT-water nanofluid. The work explores many situations, including cylinder position (1–9), nanoparticle concentration (1%−5%), Ri number and Ra numbers. The experiment revealed that the average Nusselt number varies greatly depending on the placement of the cylinder. It is highest when the cylinder is positioned near the surface of the cavity. Additionally, it was discovered that the Nusselt number increases as the concentration of nanoparticles increases, particularly for lower Richardson numbers and more significant Rayleigh numbers. Furthermore, it was noted that when the number of encapsulations increased, there was a substantial decrease in the Nusselt number. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.