Nanoparticle shape effect on the natural-convection heat transfer of hybrid nanofluid inside a U-shaped enclosure

Abstract

The effect of nanoparticle shape on the natural-convection heat transfer of Cu-Al2O3-water hybrid nanofluid inside a U-shaped enclosure is presented in this paper. The governing equations are transformed into the dimensionless form using dimensionless variables. A three-node triangular finite element method is used with the Newton-Raphson method to solve the problem numerically. The streamlines and isotherms as well as the local and average Nusselt numbers are presented for the fluid-flow with Rayleigh number of 104 to 106. It is found that blade nanoparticle shape produces the highest heat transfer rate while sphere is the lowest.

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