Heat transfer and entropy generation of the nanofluid flow inside sinusoidal wavy channels

Thermal-hydraulic performance and flow phenomenon evaluation of a curved trapezoidal corrugated channel with E-shaped baffles implementing hybrid nanofluid

A numerical investigation of a curved trapezoidal-corrugated channel with E-shaped baffles is conducted for thermal-hydraulic performance and flow behavior involving the use of single and hybrid nanofluids. This investigation introduces a unique integrated methodology for enhancing heat transfer efficiency by simultaneously combining geometric modifications and optimizing coolant utilization. To simulate turbulent, single-phase flow in three-dimensional corrugated channels, a computational model has been developed. The model considers a Reynolds number (Re) range of 5 × 103≤Re ≤ 35 × 103 and implies a uniform heat flux of 1000 W/m2. A commercial software, Ansys fluent was used in order to simulate the fluid flow by setting the inlet temperature at 300 K and velocity according to the Reynolds number. The continuity equation, momentum equation, and energy equations are discretized using a second-order upwind method. The equation's residual has been assigned a value of 1 × 106 for absolute criteria. The study evaluates the thermal-hydraulic performance of single nanofluids (Al2O3/water, CuO/water, SiO2/water) and hybrid nanofluids (Al2O3-Cu/water, TiO2-SiO2/EG-water) at varying volume fractions (1%≤φ ≤ 5%). Additionally, the investigation examines the effects of corrugations, baffles, and geometric parameter: blockage ratio (BR = 0.10, 0.15, 0.25). The findings demonstrate that the effects of baffles and corrugations can lead to the creation of vortex flow and greater turbulence, which can promote heat transfer enhancement. Various nanofluids demonstrated a significant rise in the Nusselt number, ranging from 35% to 60%, when compared to water in a curved corrugated channel. Additionally, a lower BR resulted in a smaller but still notable gain of 15%-19%. An effective heat exchanger that results in a significant energy dissipation is measured by the energy ratio (ER). The use of corrugated channels with narrow baffles has been found to consistently outperform smooth channels in terms of thermo-hydraulic parameters, leading to enhanced heat transfer. Using BR = 0.10 over 0.25 resulted in an increase in ΔP, HTC, and ER of 48.44%, 18.71%, and 45.86%, respectively. The implementation of a hybrid nanofluid consisting of 1% (20% TiO2-80% SiO2)/(60% Water-40% EG) volume fraction in a curved corrugated channel with baffles resulted in a significant improvement of 36.49% in thermal performance. This finding suggests that the aforementioned nanofluid composition and design parameter, characterized by a blockage ratio of 0.10, are the most effective in enhancing thermal performance.

Simulation Analysis of Concrete Pumping Based on Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics and Discrete Elements Method Coupling

With an increase of suction efficiency of fresh concrete pumping in confined spaces, the laminar flow state will be damaged by the return flow caused by distribution value direction changes and concrete gravity. This is a fact, but one which is rarely studied. In this work, the flow state, flow velocity, and suction efficiency of fresh concrete pumping are simulated using the coupled smooth particle hydrodynamics and Discrete Elements Method (SPH-DEM). The rheological parameters and Herschel-Bulkley-Papanastasiou (HBP) rheological model are adopted to simulate fresh concrete in the numerical simulation model. The study reveals that the error between the slump experimental result and that obtained by the HBP model is negligible. A model is therefore established for numerical simulations of the suction efficiency of fresh concrete pumping. An experimental concrete pumping platform is built, and the pressure and efficiency data during pumping are collected. A comparison of the numerical simulation with experimental results shows that the error is less than 10%.

The Influence of Forced Convective Heat Transfer on Hybrid Nanofluid Flow in a Heat Exchanger with Elliptical Corrugated Tubes: Numerical Analyses and Optimization

The capabilities of nanofluids in boosting the heat transfer features of thermal, electrical and power electronic devices have widely been explored. The increasing need of different industries for heat exchangers with high efficiency and small dimensions has been considered by various researchers and is one of the focus topics of the present study. In the present study, forced convective heat transfer of an ethylene glycol/magnesium oxide-multiwalled carbon nanotube (EG/MgO-MWCNT) hybrid nanofluid (HNF) as single-phase flow in a heat exchanger (HE) with elliptical corrugated tubes is investigated. Three-dimensional multiphase governing equations are solved numerically using the control volume approach and a validated numerical model in good agreement with the literature. The range of Reynolds numbers (Re) 50 < Re < 1000 corresponds to laminar flow. Optimization is carried out by evaluation of various parameters to reach an optimal case with the maximum Nusselt number (Nu) and minimum pressure drop. The use of hybrid nanofluid results in a greater output temperature, a higher Nusselt number, and a bigger pressure drop, according to the findings. A similar pattern is obtained by increasing the volume fraction of nanoparticles. The results indicate that the power of the pump is increased when EG/MgO-MWCNT HNFs are employed. Furthermore, the thermal entropy generation reduces, and the frictional entropy generation increases with the volume fraction of nanoparticles and Re number. The results show that frictional and thermal entropy generations intersect by increasing the Re number, indicating that frictional entropy generation can overcome other effective parameters. This study concludes that the EG/MgO-MWCNT HNF with a volume fraction (VF) of 0.4% is proposed as the best-case scenario among all those considered.

Effects of Different Wall Shapes on Thermal-Hydraulic Characteristics of Different Channels Filled with Water Based Graphite-SiO2 Hybrid Nanofluid

In the current numerical study, various wall shape effects are investigated on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of different channels filled with water-based graphite-SiO2 hybrid nanofluid. In this work, the performance evaluation criteria (PEC) index is employed as the target parameter to attain optimum geometry. Six different cases are studied in this research, and each case has different geometrical dimensions. The inlet temperature for the fluids in the channel is 300 K, over a range of different flow velocities. According to the obtained results, an increase in the volume fraction of nanoparticles results in higher PEC values. In addition, an increase in Reynolds number to Re = leads to an increase in the PEC index. The results clearly show that increasing the Reynolds number has two consequences: on the one hand, it increases the pressure drop penalty; on the other hand, it improves heat transfer. Therefore, the maximum value of the PEC index occurs at Re = 15,000.

Investigation of Forced Convection Enhancement and Entropy Generation of Nanofluid Flow through a Corrugated Minichannel Filled with a Porous Media

Corrugating channel wall is considered to be an efficient procedure for achieving improved heat transfer. Further enhancement can be obtained through the utilization of nanofluids and porous media with high thermal conductivity. This paper presents the effect of geometrical parameters for the determination of an appropriate configuration. Furthermore, the optimization of forced convective heat transfer and fluid/nanofluid flow through a sinusoidal wavy-channel inside a porous medium is performed through the optimization of entropy generation. The fluid flow in porous media is considered to be laminar and Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model has been utilized. The obtained results were compared with the corresponding numerical data in order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the numerical procedure. As a result, increasing the Darcy number leads to the increased portion of thermal entropy generation as well as the decreased portion of frictional entropy generation in all configurations. Moreover, configuration with wavelength of 10 mm, amplitude of 0.5 mm and phase shift of 60° was selected as an optimum geometry for further investigations on the addition of nanoparticles. Additionally, increasing trend of average Nusselt number and friction factor, besides the decreasing trend of performance evaluation criteria (PEC) index, were inferred by increasing the volume fraction of the nanofluid (Al2O3 and CuO).

Numerical Simulation of Entropy Generation for Power-Law Liquid Flow over a Permeable Exponential Stretched Surface with Variable Heat Source and Heat Flux

This novel work explored the second law analysis and heat transfer in a magneto non-Newtonian power-law fluid model with the presence of an internal non-uniform heat source/sink. In this investigation, the motion of the studied fluid was induced by an exponentially stretching surface. The rheological behavior of the fluid model, including the shear thinning and shear thickening properties, are also considered as special case studies. The physical problem developed meaningfully with the imposed heat flux and the porosity of the stretched surface. Extensive numerical simulations were carried out for the present boundary layer flow, in order to study the influence of each control parameter on the boundary layer flow and heat transfer characteristics via various tabular and graphical illustrations. By employing the Shooting Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg Method (SRKFM), the resulting nonlinear ordinary differential equations were solved accurately. Based on this numerical procedure, the velocity and temperature fields are displayed graphically. By applying the second law of thermodynamics, and characterizing the entropy generation and Bejan number, the present physical problem was examined and discussed thoroughly in different situations. The attained results showed that the entropy generation can be improved significantly by raising the magnetic field strength and the group parameter. From an energetic point of view, it was found that the Reynolds number boosts the entropy generation of the fluidic medium and reduces the Bejan number. Also, it was observed that an amplification of the power-law index diminished the entropy generation near the stretched surface. As main results, it was proven that the heat transfer rate can be reduced with both the internal heat source intensity and the magnetic field strength.