Enhanced Heat Transfer in Natural Convection by Means of Liquid Metals and Partitioned Domains

Abstract

Heat generation by commonly used systems and components, such as the large batteries used for energy storage, powerful instrumentation in computing, and advanced HVAC and climate control systems, has continued to increase and is further augmented by technological advancement. Assuming progress continues, the research of heat transfer efficiency remains a meaningful and worthwhile endeavor. This study explores possible ways to increase the effectiveness of heat transfer based on natural convection for systems at relatively low temperatures, which increases the range of applications for which it can be applied. It is hypothesized that the high energy density and high thermal conductivity of liquid metals and the effects of vertical partitions on flow organization in a fluid cavity can positively impact the heat transfer rate of a convective cell. The hypothesis is explored for a geometry of a cylindrical cavity with a single partition using Ansys Fluent CFD simulations. The aspect ratio of the cylinder, the Rayleigh number of the convective fluid flow, and the gap height between the top and bottom cylinder surfaces and a partition are considered as factors of a parametric optimization study. The results show manyfold enhancement of the heat transfer rate by a partition and indicate a strong potential in heat transfer applications.