Numerical investigation of thermo-hydraulic transport characteristics of laminar flow through partially filled porous wavy channel: Effect of Prandtl number

The present study numerically investigates the impact of different Prandtl numbers on thermo-hydraulic transport characteristics of partial porous wavy channel for a laminar flow. The series of simulations are performed for various thicknesses (S = 0, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) of the porous slab at different Prandtl numbers (0.72 ≤ Pr ≤ 100), Darcy numbers (10−6≤Da ≤ 10−2), and Reynolds number (Re = 5, 50, 200). Firstly, the variation of the average Nusselt number Nuavg, Enhancement Ratio ER, and Performance Factor PF has been delineated at constant Da for all the geometry configurations, Re, and range of Pr. The result shows a significant increment in the Nuavg and ER with increasing Pr and Re for all geometry configurations. However, the performance factor deteriorates with increasing slab thickness (S = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) compared to S = 0. Later, the effect of the various Da is evaluated, which revealed that the Nuavg decreases with increasing Da values, while the ER almost becomes double for Da values between 10−2 to 10−6 at S = 0.4. Streamline contours and temperature field distribution contours are also shown to visualize the physical phenomenon governing fluid flow and heat transfer.