A comparative study on best configuration for heat enhancement using nanofluid

Abstract

Nanofluid is a class of fluid which enhances the heat extraction from a hot surface. The concentration of nanoparticles enhances the conductivity of the fluid; however, it may change the fluid from Newtonian to a non-Newtonian. In addition, the type of base fluid plays a significant role in heat extraction. In this present study, three different configurations (porous block, porous straight channel and porous wavy channels) setups were investigated numerically using four different types of nanofluids mainly, 0.5% vol Al2O3/Water, 0.5% vol TiO2/Water, 0.5% vol Al2O3/Ethylene Glycol and 0.5% vol TiO2/Ethylene Glycol. Different parameters were assessed such as the local Nusselt number, the friction coefficient, the pressure drop, the temperature uniformity and the efficiency index. It was found that each nanofluid have a different performance for different configuration. If one relies on the efficiency index which combine the Nusselt number and the pressure drop, the nanofluid of 0.5% vol Al2O3 in water base provided the highest efficiency index.

Keywords

• Porous channels
• Porous block
• Porous wavy channel
• Nanofluid
• Heat enhancement
• Aluminum oxide nanofluid