Numerical Study of the Effect of Magnetic Field on Nanofluid Heat Transfer in Metal Foam Environment

Abstract

The magnetic field can act as a suitable control parameter for heat transfer and fluid flow. It can also be used to maximize thermodynamic efficiency in a variety of fields. Nanofluids and porous media are common methods to increase heat transfer. In addition to improving heat transfer, porous media can increase pressure drop. This research is a computational simulation of the impacts of a magnetic field induced into a cylinder in a porous medium for a volume fraction of 0.2 water/Al2O3 nanofluid with a diameter of 10 μm inside the cylinder. For a wide variety of controlling parameters, simulations have been made. The fluid flow in the porous medium is explained using the Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer equation, and the nanofluid flow is represented utilizing a two-phase mixed approach as a two-phase flow. In addition, simulations were run in a slow flow state using the finite volume method. The mean Nusselt number and performance evaluation criteria (PEC) were studied for different Darcy and Hartmann numbers. The results show that the amount of heat transfer coefficient increases with increasing the number of Hartmann and Darcy. In addition, the composition of the nanofluid in the base fluid enhanced the PEC in all instances. Furthermore, the PEC has gained its highest value at the conditions relating to the permeable porous medium.