Natural convection of CuO-water nanofluid in a conventional oil/water separator cavity: Application to combined-cycle power plants

The oily water from various sources in combined cycle power plants is collected in oil/water separator in which the oil separates from water due to the density difference. The idea of the presented geometry is taken from conventional oil/water separators. This paper studies the natural convection of the CuO-water nanoliquid in a rectangular cavity with fins attached to the insulated wall and porous media. Discretion of Navier-Stokes equations is done by Finite Element Method and assumptions are laminar, steady and incompressible flow. Heat transfer performance and entropy generation are investigated for distinct Rayleigh numbers (10³–10⁵), Darcy numbers (10⁻²–10⁻⁴), and Hartmann numbers (0, 10, 20). Different sizes of the fins are also studied to show consequences of fin size on heat transfer in cavity. This is the first time that these parameters and their impacts on Nusselt number and entropy generation are studied for a conventional oil/water separator cavity. Corollaries demonstrate that increasing Rayleigh number and Darcy number improves heat transfer performance and average Nusselt number. Nevertheless, Hartmann number has a reverse effect with average Nusselt number. Finally, a new equation for average Nusselt number is developed with regard to Rayleigh number, Hartmann number, and Darcy number.