Numerical study of magnetohydrodynamic natural convection in a non-Darcian porous enclosure filled with electrically conducting helium gas

Abstract

A theoretical and computational study of MHD natural convection in an isotropic non-Darcian porous medium saturated with electrically conducting helium gas in an enclosure in the presence of heat generation is presented. A Brinkman extended Darcy-Forchheimer model is employed and the working fluid is assumed to be incompressible. The model is non-dimensionalised and converted into pressure-velocity form. The Harlow-Welch marker and cell (MAC) finite difference technique is employed to solve the nonlinear boundary value problem via pressure-vorticity coupling. A parametric investigation of the influence of Grashof number (Gr), Hartmann magnetic number (Ha), Darcy number (Da), and the internal heat generation parameter (Γ) on streamline and isotherm distributions with Prandtl number (Pr) is 0.71 (Helium) is conducted. The variation in local Nusselt number along the left and right walls of the computational 2 D enclosure is also studied. Validation house-computational numerical MATLAB code is tests are included. Local Nusselt number is elevated at both left and right walls with greater Darcy number (higher medium permeability) and Grashof number. However, with greater internal heat generation, local Nusselt number magnitudes are enhanced at the left (cold) wall only but suppressed at the right (hot) wall. Increasing magnetic field reduces local Nusselt number at both left and right walls. With increasing magnetic field, the single vortex is strongly distorted and skewed towards the top left and lower right corners of the enclosure. Temperature contours at the left and right wall are however less intense with greater magnetic field effect. The simulations are of relevance to hybrid electromagnetic gaseous fuel cells, magnetic field control of filtration processes and porous media materials processing systems.