Transient Analysis on Forced Convection Phenomena in a Fluid Valve Using Nanofluid

Abstract

A transient numerical study is conducted to investigate the transport mechanism of forced convection in a fluid valve filled with water-CuO nanofluid. The flow enters from one inlet at the left with uniform temperature and velocity T _i and U _i , respectively, but can leave the valve through two outlets at the right. The upper and lower boundaries of the valve are heated with constant temperature T _h , while the remaining walls are perfectly insulated. The numerical approach is based on the finite element technique with Galerkin's weighted residual simulation. Solutions are obtained for fixed Prandtl number (Pr = 1.47), Reynolds number (Re = 100), and solid volume fraction (φ = 5%). The streamlines, isotherm plots, flow rate and the local Nusselt number (Nu _local ) at both heated phases, the average Nusselt number (Nu) for base fluid, and nanofluid with the variation of nondimensional time (τ) are presented and discussed. It is found that the rate of heat transfer in the fluid valve reduces for longer time periods.