Numerical study of natural convection heat transfer for second-grade fluids confined in square cavity subjected to horizontal heat flux

Abstract

In this paper, numerical study on natural convection heat transfer for confined viscoelastic fluids is conducted. To describe the rheological behavior a Second grade model is adopted, which includes both the elasticity and shear thinning effects. The geometry of interest is a fluid-filled square cavity subjected at its vertical walls to a uniform density of heat flux, while the horizontal ones are insulated, without slipping conditions at all the solid boundaries. The governing partial differential equations written in terms of non-dimensional velocities, pressure and temperature formulation with the corresponding boundary conditions are discretized using a finite volume method in a collocated uniform grid system. Coupled equations of conservation are solved through iterative Semi Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equation (SIMPLE) algorithm. The main purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of elastic property on the fluid flow and the resulting heat transfer.