Evanescent magnetic field effects on entropy generation at the onset of natural convection

This paper numerically investigates the effect of an externally evanescent magnetic field on total entropy generation in a fluid enclosed in a square cavity by using a control volume finite element method to solve the conservation equations at Prandtl number of 0·71. The values of relaxation time of the magnetic field are chosen, so that the Lorentz force acts only in the transient state of entropy generation in natural convection. The total entropy generation was calculated for, fixed value of irreversibility distribution ratio, different relaxation time varying from 0 to 1/5 and Grashof number varying from 10⁴ to 10⁵. The effects of the Hartman number and the magnetic field inclination angle on the evolution of total entropy generation throughout the transient regime were investigated. Results show that the application of evanescent magnetic field not only suppresses the fluctuation of the total entropy generation in the transient state, but also reduces the gap for magnetic field relaxation time less than 1/10.