Enhancing Natural Convection Heat Transfer Through Dome-Shaped Nanofluid Enclosures: Two-Phase Simulation Analysis

Abstract

This study utilizes numerical analysis to investigate laminar flow and natural convective heat transfer of nanofluids (NFs) within dome-shaped enclosures (DSEs). The horizontal walls of the enclosure are adiabatic, while the vertical walls on the right and left are maintained at isothermal conditions with low and high temperatures, respectively. The study focuses on examining the impact of DSEs on flow patterns and natural convection (N.C.) under varying parameters, including Rayleigh numbers (Ra), Lewis numbers (Le), enclosure inclination angles, dome angles, and buoyancy ratio number (Nr). The Prandtl number (Pr) and nanoparticle volume fraction are consistently maintained at 10 and 0.05, respectively. The governing equations have been resolved by applying the Eulerian–Eulerian two-phase model. The study reveals that the DSE significantly influences flow dynamics, leading to smoother circulation patterns that intensify convection currents. This movement of hot fluid toward cooler regions within the enclosure enhances natural convective heat transfer. Across all enclosure inclination angles, the average Nusselt number (Nu) increases with higher Ra, while the Le remains constant at 4. Significantly, due to its robust convective currents, the average Nu in the DSE with a 45° dome angle surpasses those of corresponding square and rectangular enclosures.

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rafel H. Hameed

Rafel Hekmat Hameed is an Assistant Professor and faculty member in the college of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Babylon, Iraq. She has earned both her M.Sc. in 2010 and Ph.D. in 2017 in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Babylon. Her master’s degree focused on the cooling of electrical instruments, while her doctoral research delved into the mechanism of solidification and melting of water. Her current research area is in the field of heat transfer, fluid flow, nano-fluids, and solar energy.

Qusay Rasheed Al-Amir

Qusay Rashid Abdul Amir is a Professor in the Mechanical Power Technical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Technology, Mustaqbal University, Babylon, Iraq. He has made notable contributions to the field of air conditioning and refrigeration since 2010. His publications predominantly focus on subjects like heat and mass transfer, renewable energy, and solar energy.

Hameed K. Hamzah

Hameed K. Hamza is a Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Babylon. His research areas are heat transfer, fluid flow, porous mediums, nanofluids, fluid-structure interaction, and non-Newtonian fluids. His academic interests revolve around improving heat transfer, exploring solar energy applications, and delving into the potential of geothermal energy. Additionally, he has provided guidance and supervision to numerous MSc and PhD students.

Farooq H. Ali

Farooq H. Ali is a Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the College of Engineering, University of Babylon. He holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the same institution. His academic contributions are underscored by the publication of numerous research papers in international journals, 46 in total, all indexed in the Scopus database, with an H-index of 12. Furthermore, he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree, focusing on absorption cooling processes utilizing solar energy.

Ali Alahmer

Ali Alahmer is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. He was a visiting scholar at Auburn University in the Industrial and Systems Engineering department from February 2022 to January 2024. He obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University in 2011. His research interests include modeling, simulation, renewable energy, solar cooling technologies, alternative fuel, and human comfort. He has served as a guest editor for various special issues in international journals. He was awarded an Australian Endeavor Scholarship and Fellowship in 2016 at the University of Tasmania, Australia, and received a scholarship from the German Research Foundation (DFG) in 2017 at Hochschule Ostwestfalen Lippe - University of Applied Science, Germany. He has published over 110 articles in esteemed journals and conferences.