Numerical simulations of fluid flow and heat transfer in a four-sided, lid-driven rectangular domain

Abstract

Numerical simulations for 2-D unsteady, incompressible flow with heat transfer in a four-sided lid-driven rectangular domain are reported in the present study. For the four-sided lid-driven rectangular domain, the lower wall is moved to the left, the upper wall is moved to the right, while the right wall is moved upwards and the left wall is moved downwards. All four walls move with equal speed. Different constant temperatures are applied to the left and right moving walls, and thermal insulation is applied to the upper and bottom moving walls. The governing equations are discretized using the QUICK scheme of finite volume methods. The SIMPLE algorithm is adopted to compute the numerical solutions of the flow variables, $u$-velocity, $v$-velocity, $P$, and $\theta$ as well as local and average Nusselt numbers for $50 \le Re \le 1500$ and $Pr=6.63$. Due to the force generated by moving fluid, the direction of moving walls and the Reynolds number affect fluid flow in the rectangular domain in addition, at different Reynolds numbers along the cold wall of the domain, the variation in average and local Nusselt numbers reveals that overall heat transfer increases isotherms showed that as Reynolds numbers increase, the horizontal temperature gradient near the vertical walls decreases, because of which heat transfer decreases.decreases.