Mixed Convection of Hybrid Nanofluids in an Annulus

Abstract

 In this study, mixed convection in an annulus formed by two horizontal isothermal cylinder surfaces and filled with hybrid nanofluids was examined with Galerkin weighted residual finite element method. The outer cylinder is rotating and inner cylinder is stationary. Influence of Rayleigh number, angular rotational speed of the outer cylinder, eccentricity of the inner cylinder, solid volume fractions of different nanoparticles (alumina, copper, hybrid particles between 0 and 0.02) on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics were analyzed. It was observed that average heat transfer enhances with Rayleigh number, solid volume fractions of nanoparticles and eccentricity ratio and reduces as the angular rotational speed of the outer cylinder increases. Adding nanoparticles was found to be advantageous for lower values of Rayleigh number and higher values of angular rotational speed. At the highest volume fraction of Cu nanoparticles, average Nusselt number increases by 31.75 % when the inner cylinder center moves in +y direction. Nanofluid with hybrid nanoparticles gives heat transfer rates which are higher than that of with alumina and lower than that of with copper nanoparticles for the same volume fraction.