Mixed convective hybrid nanofluid flow in lid-driven undulated cavity: effect of MHD and Joule heating

A numerical analysis has been conducted to show the effects of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and Joule heating on heat transfer phenomenon in a lid driven triangular cavity. The heat transfer fluid (HTF) has been considered as water based hybrid nanofluid composed of equal quantities of Cu and TiO2 nanoparticles. The bottom wall of the cavity is undulated in sinusoidal pattern and cooled isothermally. The left vertical wall of the cavity is heated while the inclined side is insulated. The two dimensional governing partial differential equations of heat transfer and fluid flow with appropriate boundary conditions have been solved by using Galerkin's finite element method built in COMSOL Multyphysics. The effects of Hartmann number, Joule heating, number of undulation and Richardson number on the flow structure and heat transfer characteristics have been studied in details. The values of Prandtl number and solid volume fraction of hybrid nanoparticles have been considered as fixed. Also, the code validation has been shown. The numerical results have been presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms and average Nusselt number of the hybrid nanofluid for different values of governing parameters. The comparison of heat transfer rate by using hybrid nanofluid, Cu-water nanofluid, TiO2 -water nanofluid and clear water has been also shown. Increasing wave number from 0 to 3 enhances the heat transfer rate by 16.89%. The enhanced rate of mean Nusselt number for hybrid nanofluid is found as 4.11% compared to base fluid.