Effect of selected geometric parameters on natural convection in concentric square annulus

The research is focused on natural convection heat transfer in a concentric square annulus with tilted inner elliptic cylinder subjected to isothermal heating and cooling. Numerical method was adopted for the solution. The governing elliptic conservation equations were solved using Garlerkin Finite Element Method. Ranges of parameters considered for the study were orientation angle, aspect ratio and Rayleigh number. Physical model was generated using CorelDRAW 2019 version while meshing and simulation was done using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Results show that orientation angle had no significant effect on the average Nusselt number at low Rayleigh number. Beyond a critical Rayleigh number, average Nusselt number increases with an increase in orientation angle. Analyses of the results show that Rayleigh number, Nusselt number and orientation angle significantly influence the natural convection in concentric square annulus. The results presented in this study can be applied in heat exchanger devices, solar collectors, nuclear reactors and thermal storage systems.