Thermomagnetic Convection of Paramagnetic Gas in an Enclosure under No Gravity Condition

Abstract

The thermomagnetic convection of paramagnetic gaseous oxygen in an enclosure under a magnetic field was numerically studied to simulate the thermomagnetic convection in a space environment with no gravity. The magnetic field in the enclosure was non-uniform and was generated by a permanent magnet which had a high magnetic energy product. The magnet was placed at different locations along one of the adiabatic walls with magnetic poles perpendicular to the hot and cold walls of the enclosure. The heat transfer performance, flow field, and temperature field were studied with each location of the magnet. The results show that the thermomagnetic convection in the enclosure was obviously affected by the location of the magnet. There was an optimum magnet location in terms of the best heat transfer performance in the enclosure. The optimum magnet location changed slightly and moved toward the hot wall as the magnetic flux density increased. The value of the Nusselt number, defined as the ratio of convection to conduction, reached up to 2.54 in the studied range of parameters. By optimizing the magnet location, the convection was enhanced by up to 77% at the optimum magnet location.