Fluid Flow Characteristics and Heat Transfer Optimization of Al2O3-Water Nanofluids in Corrugated Heat Exchangers

International Journal of Physics | Vol. 3, No. 4, April 2012 | pp. 27–34

DOI: 10.46882/2012/IJP/000028

Article Type: Original Research Paper

Title: Fluid Flow Characteristics and Heat Transfer Optimization of Al2O3-Water Nanofluids in Corrugated Heat Exchangers

Names of Authors: A. O. Bello¹, M. A. Al-Mansoori²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Department of Physics, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria; ²Department of Mechanical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE

Abstract: Traditional thermal fluids, such as water and ethylene glycol, are limited by poor thermal conductivities that hinder the development of high-efficiency, compact cooling networks. This study analyzes the forced convection heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop configurations of alumina-water (Al₂O₃-H₂O) nanofluids flowing through a sinusoidal corrugated channel. The multi-phase fluid domain was simulated numerically using a finite-volume framework under steady laminar and turbulent flow conditions. The nanoparticle volume fractions were varied from 1.0% to 4.0%, while the Reynolds number (Re) was adjusted from 500 to 5000. Our numerical findings show that the Nusselt number scales directly with both the nanoparticle concentration and the Reynolds number. A maximum heat transfer enhancement of 32% was achieved using a 4.0% nanoparticle volume fraction at Re = 4500. This enhancement comes from corrugation-induced vortex shedding and brownian motion particles accelerating heat transfer across layers. However, adding nanoparticles increased the fluid viscosity, leading to a 18% increase in pumping power requirements. We evaluate the system's thermal-hydraulic performance index, confirming that corrugated channels optimize net energy gains when using dilute nanofluid mixtures.

Keywords: Nanofluids; Heat transfer enhancement; Alumina nanoparticles; Corrugated channel; Finite volume method; Nusselt number; Reynolds number; Pumping power.

Manuscript Timeline: Received: January 14, 2012; Revised: February 25, 2012; Accepted: March 18, 2012; Published: April 06, 2012.

Citation: Bello, A. O., & Al-Mansoori, M. A. (2012). Fluid Flow Characteristics and Heat Transfer Optimization of Al2O3-Water Nanofluids in Corrugated Heat Exchangers. International Journal of Physics, 3(4), 27–34.

Subscribe to read the full article: https://internationalscholarsjournals.org/subscribe-to-read