Free Convection in an Air-Saturated Porous Square Cavity with a Wavy Wall

Buoyancy-driven fluid movement gives rise to free or natural convection, which occurs without external influences. This study numerically examines free convection within an air-saturated square porous enclosure featuring a vertical wavy wall. Heat is applied linearly from the bottommost boundary, while the upper boundary is adiabatic and the side boundaries are at a lower temperature. The study examines the effects of varying Rayleigh number, [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), Darcy number, [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), and wavy numbers (2, 4, and 8) on thermofluid properties with the support of entropy generation, stream functions, isotherms, and Nusselt number ([Formula: see text]). The SIMPLE algorithm is used to solve the governing differential equations generated through a numerical route using ANSYS Fluent. Results demonstrate that at higher [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]), flow circulation intensifies significantly due to augmented buoyancy forces, particularly at [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text], where the values of circulation strength at the center reach 4.51 and 10.33, respectively. Additionally, higher wavy numbers lead to the augmentation of [Formula: see text]. Circulation strengths of 0.0828, 0.0911, and 0.112 are observed for wavy numbers of 2, 4, and 8, respectively.