Rheological properties of water-based Fe3O4 and Ag nanofluids between boundary layers due to shear flow over a still fluid

Abstract

This study focused on the heat transfer characteristic between two uniform boundary layer shear flows of viscous fluid above and another nanofluid with different strengths flowing in the same direction. The nanofluid is comprised of Iron (II, III) OxideFe3O4and Silver Ag nanoparticles mixed with water as a base fluid.The problem models the merging of unequal boundary layers. A real-world example can be found in the trailing edge flow of an airfoil with a camber, where the shear layers originating from the upper and lower surfaces possess unequal strengths. The nonlinear differential system is examined, and it is transformed into dimensionless ordinary differential equations (ODEs) through the utilization of suitable dimensionless variables. The resultant set of significantly nonlinear ODEs is then numerically solved using the 'bvp4c' solver in MATLAB. The resulting numerical solutions are used to construct graphs that illustrate and elucidate the effects of various physical parameters on flow patterns. For both fluids, results for the Nusselt number as well as shear are also presented graphically for dissimilar parameters. The obtained results show that the velocity profile increases for both upper and lower fluids by enhancing the shear parameter. Moreover, nanoparticles manifest exceptional heat transfer capabilities due to their remarkably high thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the number of streamlines is enhanced by augmenting values of the viscosities ratio.