Irreversibility analysis of the convective flow through corrugated channels: a comprehensive review

Abstract

This article presents recent developments in flow configurations with built-in corrugated structures at the walls of the channels towards the improvement of convective transport of heat and a simultaneous reduction in thermodynamic irreversibility. The comprehensive reviews of the works related to entropy generation and heat transfer in the corrugated channels with and without the use of nanofluid are provided. Several aspects of different numerical, analytical, and experimental studies focusing on the underlying heat transfer and its consequences on the entropy generation using both nanofluids and conventional fluids are discussed. Also, a brief discussion on the entropy generation associated with the convective transport of heat in the corrugated microchannels, including the effect of corrugation configurations and nanofluids on the development of thermodynamic irreversibility is presented. The effects of different types of nanoparticles such as metallic, non-metallic, metal oxides, etc., have been discussed along with water, ethylene glycol, etc., as base fluids on the underlying thermo-hydrodynamics are discussed. We believe that this review article will provide a basis for the advanced research on the irreversibility analysis of the nanofluid in corrugated microchannels to improve the performance of the system involving the application of corrugated channels.