Numerical investigation of efficiency of fully wet porous convective-radiative moving radial fin in the presence of shape-dependent hybrid nanofluid

Abstract

The main focus of the study is a fully wet porous fin of radial profile exposed to convective-radiative heat exchange with the hybrid nanofluid flowing past it with a constant velocity of U. In the analysis, spherical-spherical, spherical-cylindrical, and spherical-platelet shape combinations of two nanoparticles are considered. The mixture model is employed to assess all the thermophysical attributes of the hybrid nanofluid except thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity, which are estimated by applying the nanoparticle volume fraction-based interpolation method. The fin model with the applied conditions results in an ordinary differential equation which is made dimensionless and then numerically resolved by applying the Runge Kutta Fehlberg (RKF) 4-5th ordered technique. The effect of Peclet number, wet fin parameter, thermogeometric parameter, nanoparticle volume fraction, convective parameter, radiative parameter, exponential index, empirical shape factor and ambient temperature (dimensionless) on the energy field and thermal gradient profiles of the radial fin subjected to shape-dependent hybrid nanofluid flow has been graphically analysed. Furthermore, the thermal fin efficiency has been modelled and its variation with the significant parameters has been examined. One of the major outcomes was that efficiency increases with nanoparticle volume fraction. Further, it is significantly affected by the shape factor of the nanoparticles and achieves the highest value for spherical-platelet combination. The results obtained motivate further study of nanotechnology assisted extended surface technology.