Flow of colloidal suspension and irreversibility analysis with aggregation kinematics of nanoparticles in a microchannel

Abstract

AbstractThe current exploration focuses on the ethylene glycol (EG) based nanoliquid flow in a microchannel. The effectiveness of the internal heat source and linear radiation is reflected in the present investigation. The estimation of suitable thermal conductivity model has affirmative impact on the convective heat transfer phenomenon. The examination is conceded with the nanoparticle aggregation demonstrated by the Maxwell-Bruggeman and Krieger-Dougherty models which tackle the formation of nanolayer. These models effectively describe the thermal conductivity and viscosity correspondingly. The dimensionless mathematical expressions are solved numerically by the Runge Kutta Fehlberg approach. A higher thermal field is attained for the Bruggeman model due to the formation of thermal bridge. A second law analysis is carried out to predict the sources of irreversibility associated with the thermal system. It is remarked that lesser entropy generation is obtained for the aggregation model. The entropy generation rate declines with the slip flow and the thermal heat flux. A notable enhancement in the Bejan number is attained by increasing the Biot number. It is established that the nanoparticle aggragation model exhibits a higher Bejan number in comparision with the usual flow model.