Thermophoresis and Brownian motion effects on boundary layer flow of nanofluid in presence of thermal stratification due to solar energy

Abstract

The problem of laminar fluid flow, which results from the stretching of a vertical surface with variable stream conditions in a nanofluid due to solar energy, is investigated numerically. The model used for the nanofluid incorporates the effects of the Brownian motion and thermophoresis in the presence of thermal stratification. The symmetry groups admitted by the corresponding boundary value problem are obtained by using a special form of Lie group transformations, namely, the scaling group of transformations. An exact solution is obtained for the translation symmetrys, and the numerical solutions are obtained for the scaling symmetry. This solution depends on the Lewis number, the Brownian motion parameter, the thermal stratification parameter, and the thermophoretic parameter. The conclusion is drawn that the flow field, the temperature, and the nanoparticle volume fraction profiles are significantly influenced by these parameters. Nanofluids have been shown to increase the thermal conductivity and convective heat transfer performance of base liquids. Nanoparticles in the base fluids also offer the potential in improving the radiative properties of the liquids, leading to an increase in the efficiency of direct absorption solar collectors.