LBM Analysis of Micro-Convection in MHD Nanofluid Flow

Abstract

The lattice Boltzmann-Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook method was used to simulate Al2O3-water nanofluid to find the effects of Reynolds, Rayleigh and Hartmann numbers, slip coefficient, nanoparticle volume fraction and axial distance on forced convection heat transfer in MATLAB. The ranges of studied Reynolds number, Rayleigh number, magnetic field strength, nanoparticle volume concentration and slip coefficient include 200 ≤ Re ≤ 4000; 103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106; 0 ≤ Ha 90; 0 ≤ φ ≤ 2%; 0.005 ≤ B ≤ 0.02, respectively. The results show that increasing Reynolds number and nanoparticle volume fractions improve heat transfer in the 2D microtube under laminar, turbulent, slip and temperature jump boundary conditions. Decreasing the values of slip coefficient decreases the temperature jump and enhances the Nusselt number. A critical value for the Rayleigh number (105) and magnetic field strength (Ha 10) exists, at which the impacts of the solid volume fraction and slip coefficient effects are the most pronounced. The pressure drop shows a similar type of enhancement in magnitude, as observed in the case of the Nusselt number. However, application of nanofluids for low Reynolds numbers is more beneficial, and the effect of volume fractions are more pronounced in comparison to slip coefficient, though the effects are marginal.