Abstract
The limitless capability of the mixed convection cooling to secure practical implementation in wide range of technology makes it the current cynosure for research purposes. This paper centralizes on the two-dimensional simulation of steady-state mixed heat convection of dissimilar aqueous-based nanofluids in a square figured cavity having mono/dual movable lids to impart laminar fluid movement. For a cavity, the forced convection is imparted by giving momentum to one of the lid is categorized as lid-driven cavity. In this article, three cavity types—Standard lid, Uni-directive lids, Bi-directive lids—based on the three fluidic patterns of the flow field generated by different configurations of movable lids are investigated by employing Aluminium oxide (Al
2
O
3
)/Copper oxide (CuO)/Multi-Walled Carbon Nano Tubes (MWCNT) in pure water as the working fluid. Additionally, the influences of various operational variables such as Re (1100–1900), Gr (20,000, 13,000, 5000), and additive volume percentage of nanoparticles (1%, 3%, and 5%) are analyzed. Grid sensitivity analysis has been carried out for the sizes of (50 × 50, 100 × 100, 125 × 125, 150 × 150, 175 × 175, and 200 × 200) and selected an optimum grid as 175 × 175. The movement of the lid is framed by setting velocity to the one or more edges of the cavity. It is detected that cavity with uni-directive lids delivers greater heat transmission rates than bi-directive and standard lid. At (Grashof number) Gr = 20,000 and (Reynolds number) Re = 1500, the mean Nu of pure water in Uni-directive and Bi-directive lids is greater than Standard lid by a factor of 61.03% and 48.58%, respectively. Similar behavior is exhibited by all the heat transmission nanofluids. Increment in Gr, Re, and nanoparticle additive concentration is found to have a positive impact on heat transmission. Addition of 5% of Al
2
O
3
, CuO, and MWCNT nanoparticles in water results in the improvement of mean Nu by 37.1%, 60.03%, and 1028.1%, respectively, for mixed heat convection at Gr = 20,000 and Re = 1100. MWCNT/H
2
O nanofluid has the best heat transmission characteristics followed by CuO/H
2
O and Al
2
O
3
/H
2
O for the same volumetric addition concentration of nanoparticles.