Numerical simulation of forced convection of ferro-nanofluid in a U-shaped tube subjected to a magnetic field

Abstract

In this paper, the forced convection of forced convection of ferro-nanofluid in a U-shaped tubed subjected to a magnetic field is investigated. Modeling is performed in three sizes of the bending radius. The Reynolds number and Hartmann number ranges are 600 ≤ Re ≤ 1200 and 2 ≤ Ha ≤ 12, respectively. The ferro-nanofluid is composed of water-based Fe3O4 particles that vary in volume fraction from 0.01 to 0.03. The simulation is carried out under a 3-D model, incompressible, laminar and steady-state by using the finite volume method. The results show that at a constant bending radius, as the Hartmann number increases, the current density increases. In addition, in all cases, as the Hartmann number increases, the coefficient of friction increases, and the presence of a magnetic field reduces the velocity of the fluid flow. Also, the maximum and minimum friction coefficients are related to the minimum Reynolds number and the maximum Reynolds number, respectively. The results also show that the effect of flow velocity on the heat transfer rate is much more significant than the intensity of the magnetic field and increasing the bending radius of the tube leads to a further reduction of fluid energy and the fluid receives less heat flux from the wall.