A numerical analysis is performed to study the fluid flow, heat transfer and entropy generation inside a square cavity embedded with heat flux and subject to the horizontal magnetic field. The cavity is consist of two same width layers: first layer filled with nanofluid (Al2O3+water) and second one is saturated porous media filled with a same nanofluid. The uniform constant heat flux is applied partly at the base wall, and the other parts of the base wall are assumed adiabatic. The upper horizontal wall kept adiabatic, while the vertical walls are maintained at constant cold temperature. Finite element method based on the variational formulation is employed to solve the main equations.
The results of the present study are based on visualization of heat flow via isotherms and heatfunctions (heatlines), fluid flow via streamfunctions, and irreversibility via Bejan number. Comparisons with previously numerical and experimental published works are performed and the results are found to be in a good agreement. In this study, the effect of the main pertinent parameters, such as: nanoparticles volume fraction (0≤Φ≤0.15), Rayleigh number (104≤Ra≤107), Darcy number (10−1≤Da≤10−5), Hartmann number (0≤Ha≤60) on the fluid flow, heat transfer and entropy generation are investigated.
The results show that the effect of the Hartmann on Nusselt number increases as Darcy number increases especially at high Rayleigh number. Also, at Ra=107 and Φ=0.15, the percentage decreasing in Nusselt number due to present magnetic field (Ha=40) are 85.89% at Da=10−1, 87.12% at Da=10−3 and 98.69% at Da=10−5.