Tri-Hybrid Nanofluid Flow Towards Convectively Heated Stretching Riga Plate with Variable Thickness

Abstract

An advanced tri-hybrid nanofluid model is studied for heat transfer in this current article. Tri-hybrid nanofluids are formed by involving three different types of nanoparticles in the base fluid. In the present study, the heat transfer characteristics of boundary layer flow of Al2O3–Cu–Ni/H2O tri-hybrid nanofluid have been studied on a convectively heated stretching Riga plate with variable thickness. The relevant governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations using appropriate similarity transformations which are solved using the bvp4c program in MATLAB. No previous investigation has been done on the flow of tri-hybrid nanofluid Al2O3–Cu–Ni/H2O past a convectively heated Riga plate of variable thickness to date. Consequently, to fill this gap, the present study has been taken out and the main aim of this work is to investigate the factors that enhance the heat transfer of base fluid (H2O) suspended with tri-hybrid nanoparticles (Al2O3, Cu, and Ni) past a convectively heated Riga plate with variable thickness. The plots obtained reveal that the variation in the non-dimensional physical parameters induced in the problem significantly affects the flow inside the boundary layer. The variation in skin friction coefficient and local Nusselt number are presented through graphs. Also, a comparative analysis of velocity and temperature profiles of nanofluid Al2O3/H2O, hybrid nanofluid Al2O3–Cu/H2O, and tri-hybrid nanofluid Al2O3–Cu-Ni/H2O has been displayed through graphs. The reason behind choosing the tri-hybrid nanoparticles Al2O3, Cu, and Ni was the stability and non-reactivity of Al2O3 with metals Cu and Ni which possess high thermal conductivity. The conducted study reveals that the heat transfer characteristics of tri-hybrid nanofluids are greater than that of hybrid and conventional nanofluids.