Analysis of melting behavior of PCMs in a cavity subject to a non-uniform magnetic field using a moving grid technique

Melting flow and heat transfer of electrically conductive phase change materials subjecting to a non-uniform magnetic field are addressed in a square enclosure. The top and bottom walls of the cavity are adiabatic, and the sidewalls are isothermal at different temperatures. The temperature of the hot wall is higher than the fusion temperature of PCM (T_f), and the cold wall is at the fusion temperature or lower. At the initial time, the cavity is filled with a solid saturated PCM. In the vicinity to the hot wall, there is an external line-source magnet, inducing a magnetic field. The location of the magnetic source (Y₀) can be changed along the hot wall. The cavity domain is divided into two parts of the liquid domain and the solid domain. The moving grid method is utilized to track the phase change interface at the exact fusion temperature of T_f. The governing equations for continuity, flow and heat transfer associated with the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) moving mesh technique are solved using the finite element method. The results are investigated for the melting behavior of PCM by the study of Hartmann number (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 50) and the location of the magnetic source (0 ≤ Y₀ ≤ 1). Outcomes show that the effect of the magnetic field on the melting behavior of PCM is negligible at the initial stages of the melting (Fo < 1.15). However, after the initial stages of the melting, the effect of the presence of a magnetic field becomes significant. Moreover, the location of the magnetic source induces a feeble effect on the melting front at the initial melting stages, but its effect on the shape of the melting front increases by the increase of the non-dimensional time. The location of the magnetic source also significantly affects the streamlines patterns. Changing the position of the magnetic source from the bottom of the cavity (Y₀ = 0.2) to the almost middle of the cavity (Y₀ = 0.6) would decrease the required non-dimensional time of full melting from Fo = 10.4 to Fo = 9.0.     

Lie symmetry group analysis of magnetic field effects on free convective flow of a nanofluid over a semi-infinite stretching sheet

We investigate the steady two-dimensional flow of an incompressible water based nanofluid over a linearly semi-infinite stretching sheet in the presence of magnetic field numerically. The basic boundary layer equations for momentum and heat transfer are non-linear partial differential equations. Lie symmetry group transformations are used to convert the boundary layer equations into non-linear ordinary differential equations. The dimensionless governing equations for this investigation are solved numerically using Nachtsheim–Swigert shooting iteration technique together with fourth order Runge–Kutta integration scheme. Effects of the nanoparticle volume fraction ϕ, magnetic parameter M, Prandtl number Pr on the velocity and the temperature profiles are presented graphically and examined for different metallic and non-metallic nanoparticles. The skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number are also discussed for different nanoparticles.     

Computation of melting with natural convection inside a rectangular enclosure heated by discrete protruding heat sources

This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation of the heat transfer by natural convection during the melting of a phase change material (PCM, n-eicosane with melting point of 36 °C) contained in a rectangular enclosure. This latest is heated by three discrete protruding heat sources (simulating electronic components) placed on one of its vertical walls. The power generated by heat sources is dissipated in PCM. The advantage of using this cooling scheme is that the PCMs are able to absorb high amount of heat generated by the heat sources, without acting the fan during the charging process (melting of the PCM). The thermal behavior and thermal performance of the proposed PCM based-heat sink are numerically investigated by developing a mathematical model based on the mass, momentum and energy conservation equations. The obtained numerical results show the impact of various key parameters on the cooling capacity of the PCM-based heat sink. Correlations encompassing a wide range of parameters were developed in terms of the dimensionless secured operating time (time required by one of the electronic components before reaching its critical temperature, T_cr ∼ 75 °C) and the corresponding liquid fraction, using the asymptotic computational fluid dynamics (ACFD) technique.     

Combined effects of free and forced convection on magnetohydrodynamic flow in a rotating channel

The steady flow in a channel rotating with an angular velocity \(\vec \Omega \) and subjected to a constant transverse magnetic field is analysed. An exact solution of the governing equations is obtained. The solution in the dimensionless form contains three parameters: the Grash of number,G, the Hartmann number,M ² and the rotation parameter,K ². The effects of these parameters on the velocity and magnetic field distributions are studied. For large values ofK ² andM ², there arise thin boundary layers on the walls of the channel which may be identified as the Ekman-Hartmann layers.     

Numerical study of melting in an enclosure with discrete protruding heat sources

In order to explore the capability of a solid–liquid phase change material (PCM) for cooling electronic or heat storage applications, melting of a PCM in a vertical rectangular enclosure was studied. Three protruding generating heat sources are attached on one of the vertical walls of the enclosure, and generating heat at a constant and uniform volumetric rate. The horizontal walls are adiabatic. The power generated in heat sources is dissipated in PCM (n-eicosane with the melting temperature, T_m = 36 °C) that filled the rectangular enclosure. The advantage of using PCM is that it is able to absorb high amount of heat generated by heat sources due to its relatively high energy density. To investigate the thermal behaviour and thermal performance of the proposed system, a mathematical model based on the mass, momentum and energy conservation equations was developed. The governing equations are next discretised using a control volume approach in a staggered mesh and a pressure correction equation method is employed for the pressure–velocity coupling. The PCM energy equation is solved using the enthalpy method. The solid regions (wall and heat sources) are treated as fluid regions with infinite viscosity and the thermal coupling between solid and fluid regions is taken into account using the harmonic mean of the thermal conductivity method. The dimensionless independent parameters that govern the thermal behaviour of the system were next identified. After validating the proposed mathematical model against experimental data, a numerical investigation was next conducted in order to examine the thermal behaviour of the system by analyzing the flow structure and the heat transfer during the melting process, for a given values of governing parameters.     

Group method analysis of magneto-elastico-viscous flow along a semi-infinite flat plate with heat transfer

The group theoretic method is applied for solving problem of the flow of an elastico-viscous liquid past an infinite flat plate in the presence of a magnetic field normal to the plate. The application of one-parameter transformation group reduces the number of independent variables, by one, and consequently the system of governing partial differential equations with boundary conditions reduces to a system of ordinary differential equations with appropriate corresponding conditions. Numerical solution of the velocity field and heat transfer have been obtained. The effect of the magnetic parameter M on velocity field, shear stress, temperature fields and heat transfer has been discussed.     

Group method analysis of combined heat and mass transfer by MHD non-Darcy non-Newtonian natural convection adjacent to horizontal cylinder in a saturated porous medium

The group theoretic method is applied for solving problem of combined magneto-hydrodynamic heat and mass transfer of non-Darcy natural convection about an impermeable horizontal cylinder in a non-Newtonian power law fluid embedded in porous medium under coupled thermal and mass diffusion, inertia resistance, magnetic field, thermal radiation effects. The application of one-parameter groups reduces the number of independent variables by one and consequently, the system of governing partial differential equations with the boundary conditions reduces to a system of ordinary differential equations with appropriate boundary conditions. The ordinary differential equations are solved numerically for the velocity using shooting method. The effects of magnetic parameter M, Ergun number Er, power law (viscosity) index n, buoyancy ratio N, radiation parameter R_d, Prandtl number Pr and Lewis number Le on the velocity, temperature fields within the boundary layer, heat and mass transfer are presented graphically and discussed.     

MHD-mixed convection from a vertical slender cylinder

The problem of steady laminar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convection heat transfer about a vertical slender cylinder is studied numerically. A uniform magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the cylinder. The resulting governing equations are transformed into the non-similar boundary layer equations and solved using the Keller box method. The velocity and temperature profiles as well as the local skin friction and the local heat transfer parameters are determined for different values of the governing parameters, mainly the transverse curvature parameter, the magnetic parameter, the electric field parameter and the Richardson number. For some specific values of the governing parameters, the results agree very well with those available in the literature. Generally, it is determined that the local skin friction coefficient and the local heat transfer coefficient increase, increasing the Richardson number, Ri (i.e. the mixed convection parameter), electric field parameter E₁ and magnetic parameter Mn.     

The effect of conjugate heat transfer on MHD mixed convection about a vertical slender hollow cylinder

The problem of steady laminar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convection heat transfer about a vertical slender hollow cylinder is studied numerically, under the effect of wall conduction. A uniform magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the cylinder. The non-similar solutions using the Keller box method are obtained. The wall conduction parameter, the magnetic parameter and the Richardson number are the main parameters. For various values of these parameters the local skin friction and local heat transfer parameters are determined. The validity of the methodology is checked by comparing the results with those available in the open literature and a fairly good agreement is observed. Finally, it is determined that the local skin friction and the local heat transfer coefficients increase with an increase the magnetic parameter Mn and buoyancy parameter Ri and decrease with conjugate heat transfer parameter p.     

Transient hydromagnetic flow in a rotating channel permeated by an inclined magnetic field with magnetic induction and Maxwell displacement current effects

Closed-form solutions are presented for the transient hydromagnetic flow in a rotating channel with inclined applied magnetic field under the influence of a forced oscillation. Magnetic Reynolds number is large enough to permit the inclusion of magnetic induction effects. The Maxwell displacement current effect is also included and simulated via a dielectric strength parameter. The governing momentum and magnetic induction conservation equations are normalized with appropriate transformations and the resulting quartet of partial differential equations are solved exactly. A parametric study is performed of the influence of oscillation frequency parameter (ω), time (T), inverse Ekman number, i.e. rotation parameter (K ²), square of the Hartmann magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) parameter (M ²), and magnetic field inclination (θ) on the primary and secondary induced magnetic field components (b _x , b _y ) and velocity components (u, v) across the channel. Network solutions are also obtained to validate the exact solutions and shown to be in excellent agreement. Applications of the study arise in planetary plasma physics and rotating MHD induction power generators and also astronautical flows.     

Analytical solution of unsteady three-dimensional MHD boundary layer flow and heat transfer due to impulsively stretched plane surface

The unsteady magnetohydrodynamic viscous flow and heat transfer of Newtonian fluids induced by an impulsively stretched plane surface in two lateral directions are studied by using an analytic technique, namely, the homotopy method. The analytic series solution presented here is highly accurate and uniformly valid for all time in the entire region. The effects of the stretching ratio and the magnetic field on the surface shear stresses and heat transfer are studied. The surface shear stresses in x- and y-directions and the surface heat transfer are enchanced by increasing stretching ratio for a fixed value of the magnetic parameter. For a fixed stretching ratio, the surface shear stresses increase with the magnetic parameter, but the heat transfer decreases. The Nusselt number takes longer time to reach the steady state than the skin friction coefficients. There is a smooth transition from the initial unsteady state to the steady state.     

Effects of hall current and heat transfer on MHD flow of a Burgers’ fluid due to a pull of eccentric rotating disks

The effect of Hall current and heat transfer on the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) flow of an electrically conducting, incompressible Burgers’ fluid between two infinite disks rotating about non-coaxial axes perpendicular to the disks is studied. The flow is due to a pull with constant velocities of eccentric rotating infinite disks and an external uniform magnetic field normal to the disks is applied. Exact solutions are obtained for the governing momentum and energy equations. The effects of Hartmann number M, Prandtl number Pr, Eckert number Ec and Hall parameter η are studied.     

MHD mixed convection of a viscous dissipating fluid about a permeable vertical flat plate

The problem of steady laminar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convection heat transfer about a vertical plate is studied numerically, taking into account the effects of Ohmic heating and viscous dissipation. A uniform magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the plate. The resulting governing equations are transformed into the non-similar boundary layer equations and solved using the Keller box method. Both the aiding-buoyancy mode and the opposing-buoyancy mode of the mixed convection are examined. The velocity and temperature profiles as well as the local skin friction and local heat transfer parameters are determined for different values of the governing parameters, mainly the magnetic parameter, the Richardson number, the Eckert number and the suction/injection parameter, f_w. For some specific values of the governing parameters, the results agree very well with those available in the literature. Generally, it is determined that the local skin friction coefficient and the local heat transfer coefficient increase owing to suction of fluid, increasing the Richardson number, Ri (i.e. the mixed convection parameter) or decreasing the Eckert number. This trend reverses for blowing of fluid and decreasing the Richardson number or decreasing the Eckert number. It is disclosed that the value of Ri determines the effect of the magnetic parameter on the momentum and heat transfer.     

Exergetic efficiency optimization for an irreversible quantum Brayton refrigerator with spin systems

The purpose of this paper is to study the optimal performance for an irreversible quantum Brayton refrigerator with spin systems, which consists of two isomagnetic field branches connected by two irreversible adiabatic branches. The time evolution of the total magnetic moment M is determined by solving the generalized quantum master equation of an open system in the Heisenberg picture. The time of two irreversible adiabatic processes is considered based on finite-rate evolution in this paper. The optimization region (or criteria) for an irreversible quantum Brayton refrigerator with spin systems is obtained. The relationship between the exergetic efficiency ε_E and dimensionless cooling load R for the irreversible quantum Brayton refrigerator with heat leakage and other irreversibility losses are derived.     

Simultaneous effects of partial slip and thermal-diffusion and diffusion-thermo on steady MHD convective flow due to a rotating disk

The purpose of present research is to derive analytical expressions for the solution of steady MHD convective and slip flow due to a rotating disk. Viscous dissipation and Ohmic heating are taken into account. The nonlinear partial differential equations for MHD laminar flow of the homogeneous fluid are reduced to a system of five coupled ordinary differential equations by using similarity transformation. The derived solution is expressed in series of exponentially-decaying functions using homotopy analysis method (HAM). The convergence of the obtained series solutions is examined. Finally some figures are sketched to show the accuracy of the applied method and assessment of various slip parameter γ, magnetic field parameter M, Eckert Ec, Schmidt Sc and Soret Sr numbers on the profiles of the dimensionless velocity, temperature and concentration distributions. Validity of the obtained results are verified by the numerical results.     

Similarity solutions for magneto-forced-unsteady free convective laminar boundary-layer flow

The group theoretic method is applied for solving problem of a unsteady free-convective laminar boundary-layer flow on a non-isothermal vertical plate under the effect of an external velocity and a magnetic field normal to the plate. The application of two-parameter transformation group reduces the number of independent variables, by two, and consequently the system of governing partial differential equations with the boundary and initial conditions reduces to a system of ordinary differential equations with appropriate corresponding conditions. The Runge–Kutta shooting method used to find the numerical solution of the velocity field, shear stress, heat transfer and heat flux has been obtained. The effect of the magnetic field on the velocity field and the Prandtl number on the heat transfer and heat flux has been discussed.     

Analytical approach to heat and mass transfer in MHD free convection from amoving permeable vertical surface

An analytical study is performed on heat and mass transfer in MHD‐free convection from a moving permeable vertical surface and the results are compared with previous works on this phenomenon to test the validity. The coupled equations of boundary layer are transformed from their non‐linear form to ordinary form using similarity transformation and then are solved by a newly developed method, homotopy analysis method. Having different base functions, homotopy analysis method provides us with great freedom in choosing the solution of a nonlinear problem. Solving the boundry layer equations, the effects of different parameters such as magnetic field strength parameter (M), Prandtl number (Pr), Schmidt number (Sc), buoyancy ratio and suction/blowing parameter (f_w) on velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are taken into consideration. Obtained results show that increment of magnetic field strength parameter (M) leads to decrease in velocity profile. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the analytical solution for MHD natural convection flow and heat generation fluid in porous medium

Homotopy analysis method (HAM) is employed to investigate the momentum, heat and mass transfer characteristics of MHD natural convection flow and heat generation fluid driven by a continuously moving permeable surface immersed in a fluid saturated porous medium. The solution is found to be dependent on several governing parameters, including the magnetic field strength parameter, Prandtl number, Darcy number, the dimensionless inertia coefficient, the dimensionless heat generation/absorption coefficient and the dimensionless suction/blowing coefficient. A parametric study of all governing parameters is carried out and representative results are illustrated to reveal a typical tendency of the solutions. Representative results are presented for velocity and temperature distributions as well as the local friction coefficient and local Nusselt number. Finally, a proper discussion is derived on the obtained results and some remarkable conclusions are mentioned.     

Heat transfer in a liquid film over an unsteady stretching surface with viscous dissipation in presence of external magnetic field

This paper presents a mathematical analysis of MHD flow and heat transfer to a laminar liquid film from a horizontal stretching surface. The flow of a thin fluid film and subsequent heat transfer from the stretching surface is investigated with the aid of similarity transformation. The transformation enables to reduce the unsteady boundary layer equations to a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations. Numerical solution of resulting non-linear differential equations is found by using efficient shooting technique. Boundary layer thickness is explored numerically for some typical values of the unsteadiness parameter S and Prandtl number Pr, Eckert number Ec and Magnetic parameter Mn. Present analysis shows that the combined effect of magnetic field and viscous dissipation is to enhance the thermal boundary layer thickness.     

On the exact solutions of laminar MHD flow over a stretching flat plate

The magnetohydrodynamic steady-state laminar flow of a viscous incompressible and electrically conducting fluid over a continuous permeable stretching surface is considered. It is shown that in the presence of a vertical inverse-linear magnetic field, we establish a sufficient condition for the existence of exact solutions of this problem with respect to the three parameters: the magnetic parameter M, the suction/injection parameter γ, and the stretching parameter ξ. Numerical results are also obtained and give the effect of the suction parameter and the magnetic parameter on the velocity.