Thermo-magneto-hydrodynamical effects on merging flow of TiO2–water nanofluid

Abstract

The steady flow of a nanofluid (mixture of titanium dioxide and water) in a rectangular channel under the influence of an inclined magnetic field is studied. The channel contains an upstream hot splitter plate in alignment with the upper and lower plates of the channel. It may be said that two incoming channel flows merge to form a single channel flow. This setup may apply to the heating chamber in which titanium dioxide can be used to enhance the thermal transfer rate. It is observed that the position of the splitter plate (that may act as an electric heater) affects the velocity and temperature of the fluid. Therefore, in order to ensure these facts, the examination of the flow behavior and the temperature distributions in the channel if the splitter is placed at different positions in the upstream have been probed. In addition, the effect of nanoparticles on the convection process has been probed. The streamlines are almost similar for a clear fluid as well as for a nanofluid (for low values of solid volume fraction of nanoparticles (i.e.$$\varphi < 0.05$$)) for all values of the Reynolds number. However, the rise in the temperature is noted for the nanofluid if the concentration of nanoparticles is increased. The increase in the Reynolds number also supports the enhancement of the Nusselt number and, hence, the thermal transfer rate of the nanofluid. The Nusselt number is dominant in the vicinity of the trailing edge of the splitter because the trailing edge exhibits as a stagnation point. In addition, the maximum Nusselt number for nanofluid at moderate Reynolds number (e.g., Re = 100) is enhanced to 0.3% with respect to the clear fluid. Moreover, obtained results for this particular case are compared with the existing literature, and the results compare well.