Hybrid Nanofluids Impact on Convective Heat Transfer Optimization: A Numerical Study

Abstract

The objective of this work is to conduct a numerical investigation for solving a problem related to natural convection in a square cavity containing a base fluid (water) and different compositions of hybrid nanoparticles (NTC-Cu, NTC-Al₂O₃, NTC-Ag, Cu-Al₂O₃, Cu-Ag and Al₂O₃-Ag) 50:50 vol %. The finite difference method is employed to discretize the governing equations. Numerical simulations are presented and discussed for Prandtl number Pr = 6.2 and Rayleigh numbers in the range of , nanoparticle volume fractions  between 0 to 10%. The effects of nanoparticle concentration and Rayleigh number on comprehensive heat transfer, characterized by the average Nusselt number, are illustrated and discussed for different hybrid nanoparticle compositions. The presented results show that heat transfer enhancement depends on the type of nanoparticles.