Lattice Boltzmann Method Simulation of Nanofluid Natural Convection Heat Transfer in a Square Cavity with Constant Heat Flux at Walls

Abstract

In this study, for the first time, a nanofluid's natural convection heat transfer in a two-dimensional square cavity has been numerically investigated by use of the lattice Boltzmann method with the constant heat flux boundary condition. The horizontal walls of the cavity are insulated, and the vertical walls are kept at a constant heat flux. The diameters of the nanoparticles inside the cavity are the same and have a homogeneous distribution, and there is no chemical reaction between the particles. The flow is also assumed to be the steady state and two-dimensional. Constant temperature, streamlines, velocity, and average Nusselt have been investigated for different nanoparticle volume fractions and Rayleigh numbers. The results showed that the lattice Boltzmann method efficiently analyzes the natural heat transfer of nanofluids; moreover, by use of nanofluid in the cavity increases the heat transfer rate. With the increase in the nanoparticle volume fraction, the average Nusselt number on the right wall of the cavity increased. For a volume fraction of 20% with Grashof number 10⁵, the average Nusselt number increased by almost 50% compared to the base fluid at the same Grashof number. It has been observed that as the volume fraction of nanoparticles in the fluid increases, the fluid’s viscosity also increases; consequently, the velocity of the fluid is found to decrease.