Heat transfer enhancement of ferrofluid inside an 90° elbow channel by non-uniform magnetic field

In this article, numerical studies are done to examine the effects of non-uniform magnetic field on the heat transfer of ferrofluid inside 90° elbow channel. In order to simulate the flow inside the domain, the finite volume method with the SIMPLEC algorithm is applied to reveal the effects of non-uniform magnetic field on the thermal and friction factor of ferrofluid. The ferrofluid inside elbow is assumed single phase and laminar and constant heat flux is applied on the wall while a single wire is chosen as a source of non-uniform magnetic field in the center of the elbow. The effects of magnetic field on the flow feature and temperature distribution in the vicinity of magnetic source are comprehensively explained. Comprehensive parametric studies are done to study the influence of various factors such as intensity of magnetic field and Reynolds number on the heat transfer. Obtained results demonstrated that the average Nusselt number of ferrofluid increases more than 28.6% as the magnetic field with strength of Mn = 9.32 × 10 6 is applied in the vicinity of the elbow. Furthermore, heat transfer augments approximately 18% as the Reynolds number inside the elbow is increased from 50 to 100.