Dielectrophoretic buoyancy and heat transfer in a dielectric liquid contained in a cylindrical annular cavity

Abstract

The effect of a thermoelectric body force on the flow of a dielectric fluid with a radial temperature gradient and an alternating electric voltage in a cylindrical annular cavity has been studied by a direct numerical simulation. The radial temperature gradient induces a vertical ascending flow near the hot surface and descending flow near the cold surface. A radial dielectrophoretic force with the electric field acting induces a thermoelectric convection in the form of columnar vortices that can transfer heat from the hot surface to the cold one. The heat transfer coefficient in the dielectric fluid significantly increases with the applied electric voltage.