Impact of Power Law Coefficient on Buoyant Heat Transfer in Porous Trapezoidal Enclosures

The impact of the power-law coefficient on buoyant energy transfer in porous trapezoidal cavities is investigated in this study. The analysis focuses on non-Newtonian fluids, where the flow behaviour deviates from the classical Newtonian model and the power-law coefficient plays a important role in defining the fluid’s rheological properties. Partial differential equations are formulated using the stream function approach and solved with an in-house MATLAB code and validated against previously published work .The cavity geometry combined with a porous medium, introduces complex thermal and flow interactions. The study examines how varying the power-law coefficient influences heat transfer rates, velocity profiles and temperature distribution within the cavity. Numerical simulations are conducted under different Rayleigh numbers (Ra = 100 to 2000) and boundary conditions demonstrating that the power-law coefficient significantly affects the thermal performance of the system. Results indicate that higher power-law coefficients enhance convective heat transfer, while lower coefficients lead to more diffusive heat transport. This research provides valuable insights into optimizing energy transfer in industrial applications involving Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in porous media.