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Purpose: Natural convection in finite enclosures is a common phenomenon in various thermal applications. To provide the thermal design guidelines, this study aims to numerically explore the potential of using internal baffles and nanofluids to either enhance or suppress heat transport in a vertical annulus. Furthermore, the annular-shaped enclosure is filled with aqueous-silver nanofluid and the effects of five distinct nanoparticle shapes are examined. In addition, the influence of baffle design parameters, including baffle position, thickness and length, is thoroughly analyzed. Design/methodology/approach: The finite difference method is used in conjunction with the alternating direction implicit and successive line over relaxation techniques to solve nonlinear and coupled partial differential equations. The single phase model is used for nanofluid which is considered as a homogeneous fluid with improved thermal properties. The independence tests are carried out for assessing the sufficiency of grid size and time step for obtaining results accurately. Findings: The baffle dimension parameters and nanoparticle shape exhibit significant impact on the convective flow and heat transfer characteristics, leading to the following results: sphere- and blade-shaped nanoparticles demonstrate around 30% enhancement in the heat transport capability compared with platelet-shaped nanoparticles, which exhibit the least. When considering the baffle design parameter, either a decrease in the baffle length and thickness or an increase in baffle height leads to an improvement in heat transport rate. Consequently, a threefold increase in baffle height yields a 40% improvement in thermal performance. Originality/value: Understanding the impact of nanoparticle shapes and baffle design parameters on flow and thermal behavior will enable engineers to provide valuable insight on thermal management and overall system efficiency. Therefore, the current work focuses on exploring buoyant nanofluid flow and thermal mechanism in a baffled annular-shaped enclosure. Specifically, an internal baffle that exhibits conductive heat transfer through it is considered, and the impact of baffle dimensions (thickness, length and position) on the fluid flow behavior and thermal characteristics is investigated. In addition, the current study also addresses the influence of five distinct nanoparticle shapes (e.g. spherical, cylindrical, platelet, blade and brick) on the flow and thermal behavior in the baffled annular geometry. In addition to deepening the understanding of nanofluid behavior in a baffled vertical annulus, the current study contributes to the ongoing advancements in thermal applications by providing certain guidelines to design application-specific enclosures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: One of the major challenges in the design of thermal equipment is to minimize the entropy production and enhance the thermal dissipation rate for improving energy efficiency of the devices. In several industrial applications, the structure of thermal device is cylindrical shape. In this regard, this paper aims to explore the impact of isothermal cylindrical solid block on nanofluid (Ag – H2O) convective flow and entropy generation in a cylindrical annular chamber subjected to different thermal conditions. Furthermore, the present study also addresses the structural impact of cylindrical solid block placed at the center of annular domain. Design/methodology/approach: The alternating direction implicit and successive over relaxation techniques are used in the current investigation to solve the coupled partial differential equations. Furthermore, estimation of average Nusselt number and total entropy generation involves integration and is achieved by Simpson and Trapezoidal's rules, respectively. Mesh independence checks have been carried out to ensure the accuracy of numerical results. Findings: Computations have been performed to analyze the simultaneous multiple influences, such as different thermal conditions, size and aspect ratio of the hot obstacle, Rayleigh number and nanoparticle shape on buoyancy-driven nanoliquid movement, heat dissipation, irreversibility distribution, cup-mixing temperature and performance evaluation criteria in an annular chamber. The computational results reveal that the nanoparticle shape and obstacle size produce conducive situation for increasing system's thermal efficiency. Furthermore, utilization of nonspherical shaped nanoparticles enhances the heat transfer rate with minimum entropy generation in the enclosure. Also, greater performance evaluation criteria has been noticed for larger obstacle for both uniform and nonuniform heating. Research limitations/implications: The current numerical investigation can be extended to further explore the thermal performance with different positions of solid obstacle, inclination angles, by applying Lorentz force, internal heat generation and so on numerically or experimentally. Originality/value: A pioneering numerical investigation on the structural influence of hot solid block on the convective nanofluid flow, energy transport and entropy production in an annular space has been analyzed. The results in the present study are novel, related to various modern industrial applications. These results could be used as a firsthand information for the design engineers to obtain highly efficient thermal systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]