Effect of the Heating Block Position on Natural Convection in a Three-Dimensional Cavity Filled with Nanofluids

This paper consists on a three-dimensional numerical approach of natural convection in a cavity containing the nanofluid. The cavity contains an isothermal heating block in the middle of the bottom (case BH) and the top (case TH) walls and kept at a hot temperature TH. The right and the left vertical walls of the cavity are kept at a cold temperature Tc. The study's parameters are: the volume fraction Ф varying between 0 and 0.03, and the Rayleigh number 3 5 10 10 Ra. The considered nanofluid is water + Cu. The results illustrate that the Rayleigh number Ra and the volume fraction Ф have a positive effect and they also improve the heat transfer. Interesting results have also been found while comparing the two considered configurations.