Thermal Radiation and Mass Transfer Analysis in an Inclined Channel Flow of a Clear Viscous Fluid and H2O/EG-Based Nanofluids through a Porous Medium

Abstract

Nanofluid flow has acquired various interesting dimensions with the advent of several novel approaches to studying thermophysical properties. The present work focuses on a comparative study of clear viscous and nanofluid (EG−Al2O3, EG−Zr, H2O−Al2O3, H2O−Zr) flow in a two-phase inclined channel saturated with a porous medium in the presence of thermal radiation, species diffusion, and viscous and Darcy dissipation effects. The controlling equations of the flow model were solved analytically using the regular perturbation technique. The graphical solutions are used to examine the impacts of physical parameters on the most significant flow features. Surface graphs with distinct entrenched parameters represent heat transfer rates and shear stresses on plates. The resulting heat transfer was enhanced by raising the thermal and solute buoyancy strengths, while thermal radiation had the opposite outcome. This enhancement of temperature was maximum for water–zirconium and minimum for ethylene glycol–aluminum oxide nanofluid. The concentration of the entire fluid medium is reduced by decreased mass diffusivity. The enhancement of temperature and velocity is found to be maximum in the nanofluid region and clear fluid region, respectively. This study is validated with previously published works to demonstrate its effectiveness.