Numerical investigation of nonuniform transverse magnetic field effects on the flow and heat transfer of magnetic nanofluid in a sintered porous channel

In this paper, fluid flow and convective heat transfer of a ferrofluid (water and 4 vol% Fe₃O₄) in sintered Aluminum porous channel, which is subjected to a nonuniform transverse magnetic field have been studied. The numerical simulations supposed an ordinary cubic and staggered arrangement organized by uniformly sized particles with a small contact area for the porous media and constant heat flux at the surface of the microchannel. A wire, in which the electric current passes creates a nonuniform magnetic field, which is perpendicular to the flow direction. To do this simulation, the control volume technique and the two‐phase mixture model have been employed. The results show that the obtained local heat transfer coefficient on the channel surface increased with increasing mass flow rate and decreased slightly along the axial direction. Moreover, exerting the above‐mentioned magnetic field increases the Nusselt number that enhances the heat transfer rate while it has no effect on the pressure drop along the channel.