Effect of corrugated minichannel variable width on entropy generation for convective heat transfer of alpha-Alumina-water nanofluid

Abstract

Energy management and sustainability in thermal systems require maximum utilization of resources with minimal losses. However, it is rarely unattainable due to the ever-increasing need for a high-performance system combined with device size reduction. The numerical study examined convective heat transfer of an alpha-Alumina-water nanofluid in variable-width corrugated minichannel heat sinks. The objective is to study the impact of nanoparticle volume fractions and flow area variation on the entropy generation rate. The determining variables are 0.005 – 0.02 volume fractions, the fluid velocity 3 – 5.5 m/s and heat flux of 85 W/cm2. The numerical results show an acceptable correlation with the experiment results. The results indicate the thermal entropy production drop with an increase in nanoparticles volume fraction. Contrastingly, the frictional resistance entropy suggests the opposite trend due to the turbulence effect on the fluid viscosity. The induction of Alumina-Water nanofluid with enhanced thermal conductivity declined the entropy generation rate compared to water alone. The increase in width ratio by 16% between the cases translates to at least a 9% increase in thermal entropy production. The outcome of this study can provide designers and operators of thermal systems more insight into entropy management in corrugated heatsinks.