ABSTRACT

The problem of Darcian natural convection in inclined square cavity partially filled between the central
square hole filled with fluid and inside a square porous cavity filled with nanofluid is numerically
studied using the finite element method. The left vertical wall is maintained at a constant hot temperature
The and the right vertical wall is maintained at a constant cold temperature Tc, while the horizontal
walls are adiabatic. The governing equations are obtained by applying the Darcy model and
Boussinesq approximation. COMSOL’s finite element method is used to solve the non-dimensional
governing equations together with the specified boundary conditions. The governing parameters of
this study are the Rayleigh number (10^3 < Ra < 10^7), the Darcy number (10^-5 < Da < 10^-3), the
fluid layer thickness (0.4 < S < 0.8) and the inclination angle of the cavity ( 0 < w < 6 0). The
results for the values of the governing parameters in terms of the streamlines, isotherms and average
Nusselt number will be presented. The convection is shown to be inhibited by the presence of the
hole insert. The thermal property of the insert and the size have opposite influence on the convection.
The results have possible applications in heat-removal and heat-storage fluid-saturated porous
systems.