The effect of real viscosity on the heat transfer of water based Al2O3 nanofluids in a two-sided lid-driven differentially heated rectangular cavity

Abstract

The heat transfer and fluid flow behavior of water based Al2O3 nanofluids are numerically investigated inside a two-sided lid-driven differentially heated rectangular cavity. Physical properties which have major effects on the heat transfer of nanofluids such as viscosity and thermal conductivity are experimentally investigated and correlated and subsequently used as input data in the numerical simulation. Transport equations are numerically solved with finite volume approach using SIMPLEC algorithm. It was found that not only the thermal conductivity but also the viscosity of nanofluids has a key role in the heat transfer of nanofluids. The results show that at low Reynolds number, increasing the volume fraction of nanoparticles increases the viscosity and has a deteriorating effect on the heat transfer of nanofluids. At high Reynolds number, the increase in the viscosity is compensated by force convection and the increase in the volume fraction of nanoparticles which results in an increase in heat transfer is in coincidence with experimental results.