Consequences of thermal conductivity and thermal density on heat and mass transfer in the nanofluid boundary layer flow toward a stretching sheet in the presence of a magnetic field

Abstract

The term “thermal conductance” is used to describe a material’s ability to transport or conduct heat. Materials with high thermal conductivity are employed as heating elements, while those with poor thermal conductivity are used for insulation purposes. It is known that the thermal conductivity of pure metals decreases as temperature increases. In this study, the primary focus is on the physical assessment of thermal conductivity, entropy, and the improvement rate of thermal density in a magnetic nanofluid. To achieve this, nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations. These equations are further solved using a computational method known as the Keller box technique. Various flow parameters, such as the Eckert number, density parameter, magnetic-force parameter, thermophoretic number, buoyancy number, and Prandtl parameter, are examined for their impact on velocity, temperature distribution, and concentration distribution. For the asymptotic results, the appropriate range of parameters, such as 1.0 ≤ ξ ≤ 5.0, 0.0 ≤ n ≤ 0.9, 0.1 ≤ Ec ≤ 2.0, 0.7 ≤ Pr ≤ 7.0, 0.1 ≤ Nt ≤ 0.5, and 0.1 ≤ Nb ≤ 0.9, is utilized. The key findings of this study are related to the assessment of heat transfer in a magnetic nanofluid considering thermal conductivity, entropy generation, and temperature density. It is observed that the temperature distribution increases as entropy generation increases. From a physical perspective, thermal conductivity acts as a facilitating factor in enhancing heat transfer. The study concludes by emphasizing the consistency achieved through a comparison of the latest findings with previously reported analyses.