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Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A: Applications
An International Journal of Computation and Methodology
Volume 71, 2017 - Issue 11
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Original Articles

Natural convection enhancement in an eccentric horizontal cylindrical annulus using hybrid nanofluids

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Pages 1159-1173 | Received 25 Mar 2017, Accepted 16 May 2017, Published online: 28 Jun 2017
 

ABSTRACT

The problem of natural convection in an eccentric annulus between two horizontal cylinders filled with Cu–Al2O3/water hybrid nanofluids is investigated numerically in this paper. The inner cylinder wall is heated at a uniform temperature whereas the outer wall is kept isothermally cooled. The basic equations that govern the problem are formulated in the bipolar coordinates and written in terms of the vorticity-stream function equations using the dimensionless form for the bidimensional, laminar, and incompressible flow under steady-state conditions. The dimensionless equations are discretized using the finite-volume method and solved by a FORTRAN program. A numerical parametric study is performed for an annulus filled with regular water, Al2O3/water nanofluid, and Cu–Al2O3/water hybrid nanofluid for various volume fractions of nanoparticles and hybrid nanoparticles (0 ≤ ϕ ≤0.12) and Rayleigh numbers (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106). It is found that employing a Cu–Al2O3/water hybrid nanofluid provides a better thermal and dynamic performance compared with the similar Al2O3/water nanofluid.

Nomenclature

Cp=

specific heat at constant pressure (J kg−1 K−1)

D=

hydraulic diameter (m)

g=

gravitational acceleration (m. s−2)

h=

scale factor (m)

H=

dimensionless of h

Nu=

Nusselt number

Pr=

Prandtl number

R=

radius ratio

Ra=

Rayleigh number

Ri, Ro=

inner and outer radii of annulus, respectively (m)

T=

dimension temperature (K)

u, v=

axial and radial velocities (m.s−1)

Vξ, Vθ=

velocity components in the ξ, θ directions. (m.s−1)

x, y=

Cartesian coordinates (m)

Greek symbols=
α=

thermal diffusivity (m2. s−1)

β=

thermal expansion coefficient (K−1).

γ=

orientation angle of the annulus (°)

λ=

thermal conductivity (Wm−1 K−1)

μ=

dynamic viscosity (kgm−1 s−1)

υ=

kinematic viscosity (m2 s−1)

ρ=

density (kg m−3)

ϕ=

volume fraction of the nanoparticles

θ=

second bipolar coordinate

ξ=

first bipolar coordinate

ψ=

stream function (m2. s−1)

ω=

vorticity (s−1)

ε=

absolute eccentricity (m)

σ=

dimensionless eccentricity

Subscripts=
c=

cold

h=

hot

nf=

nanofluid

hnf=

hybrid nanofluid

f=

fluid

p=

solid particles

i=

inner cylinder

o=

outer cylinder

Superscript=
*=

dimensionless parameters

Nomenclature

Cp=

specific heat at constant pressure (J kg−1 K−1)

D=

hydraulic diameter (m)

g=

gravitational acceleration (m. s−2)

h=

scale factor (m)

H=

dimensionless of h

Nu=

Nusselt number

Pr=

Prandtl number

R=

radius ratio

Ra=

Rayleigh number

Ri, Ro=

inner and outer radii of annulus, respectively (m)

T=

dimension temperature (K)

u, v=

axial and radial velocities (m.s−1)

Vξ, Vθ=

velocity components in the ξ, θ directions. (m.s−1)

x, y=

Cartesian coordinates (m)

Greek symbols=
α=

thermal diffusivity (m2. s−1)

β=

thermal expansion coefficient (K−1).

γ=

orientation angle of the annulus (°)

λ=

thermal conductivity (Wm−1 K−1)

μ=

dynamic viscosity (kgm−1 s−1)

υ=

kinematic viscosity (m2 s−1)

ρ=

density (kg m−3)

ϕ=

volume fraction of the nanoparticles

θ=

second bipolar coordinate

ξ=

first bipolar coordinate

ψ=

stream function (m2. s−1)

ω=

vorticity (s−1)

ε=

absolute eccentricity (m)

σ=

dimensionless eccentricity

Subscripts=
c=

cold

h=

hot

nf=

nanofluid

hnf=

hybrid nanofluid

f=

fluid

p=

solid particles

i=

inner cylinder

o=

outer cylinder

Superscript=
*=

dimensionless parameters

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