Mathematical analysis and numerical resolution of a heat transfer problem arising in water recirculation

Abstract This work is devoted to the analysis and resolution of a well-posed mathematical model for several processes involved in the artificial circulation of water in a large waterbody. This novel formulation couples the convective heat transfer equation with the modified Navier–Stokes system following a Smagorinsky turbulence model, completed with a suitable set of mixed, nonhomogeneous boundary conditions of diffusive, convective and radiative type. We prove several theoretical results related to existence of solution, and propose a full algorithm for its computation, illustrated with some realistic numerical examples.