Molecular dynamics simulation of enhanced heat transfer through conical Al/Cu nanostructures

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the improvement of heat transfer efficiency of the Al and Cu substances by modifying the surfaces with conical nanostructures. The natural evaporation is simulated using the molecular dynamics method for a thin layer of Ar atoms on the solid surface. Moreover, a comparison of heat transfer behavior of the Ar atoms is presented for different substances through a comprehensive investigation. The investigated configurations include smooth Al and Cu surfaces, as well as the surfaces modified by conical Al/Cu nanostructures. Also, the distribution of Al/Cu nanostructures on surfaces is investigated. The results indicate that using Cu surface rather than the Al surface improves the heat transfer efficiency by 16.67%. In comparison with the smooth Al surface, employing conical Al and Cu nanostructures can enhance the heat transfer by 38.89% and 44.44%, respectively. Additionally, it is observed that featuring the Cu surface with Al and Cu nanostructures leads to improvement of heat transfer capability of the surface by and 39.81% and 47.59%, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of conically shaped Cu/Al nanostructures with different distribution but the same contact area to be used on the Al/Cu smooth surface on the heat transfer enhancement is studied. Based on the results, for all the structures in which Cu is considered as the base substance, the fluid temperature reaches the solid temperature faster, compared to Al as the base substance. Also, by embedding the nanostructures on Al and Cu smooth surfaces, the fluid temperature reaches the solid temperature faster in the case of Al/Cu smooth surfaces. Additionally, it is observed that employing the Cu nanostructure instead of the Al on Cu smooth surface is more effective for improving the heat transfer performance.