Experimental and numerical investigation of natural convection of magnetic fluids in a cubic cavity

In this article, natural convections of a magnetic. fluid in a cubic cavity under a uniform magnetic field are investigated experimentally and numerically. Results obtained from experiments and numerical simulations reveal that the magnetic field and magnetization are influenced by temperature. There exist relative larger magnetization and magnetic forces in the regions near the upper wall and center inside the cavity than in the region near the bottom and side walls. A weak. flow roll occurs inside cavity under the magnetic force, and it brings the low temperature. fluid downward in the center region, and streams the high temperature fluid upward along the regions near the sidewalls. With the magnetic field imposed, the heat transfer inside the cavity is enhanced significantly compared to that without the magnetic field, and increasing the strength of the magnetic field the heat transfer is increased further. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.