Effect of active wall location in a partially heated enclosure

Natural convection in a partially heated enclosure has been investigated in order to identify the optimum location of the active wall for better heat transfer, in consideration with entropy generation. To achieve it, the effect of active wall positions on heat transfer and entropy generation has been studied exhaustively considering six different configurations with enclosure aspect ratios 1.5, 2 and 4. The study shows total entropy generation sets the criteria for better heat transfer. To find the suitability of present geometry and condition in other relevant applications (like heating, drying or mixing), the thermal mixing and temperature uniformity are also analyzed in this work. From the numerically simulated results, different sets of active wall locations have been identified for better heat transfer, thermal mixing and temperature uniformity for Rayleigh number 103-106 and Prandtl number 0.71.