Numerical Development of the Thermal Convection Characteristics of Nanofluids

Abstract

This chapter presents the numerical research and development on the thermal convection of nanofluids. It covers both single-phase and two-phase models relevant to the numerical simulation of nanofluids. A succinct introduction of various two-phase models, including the mixture, volume of fluid, Eulerian and Euler–Lagrange models, is provided. The numerical results of forced, natural, and mixed convection are critically analysed. The forced convective heat transfer of nanofluids in both simple and complex geometries is reported. If properly interpreted, numerical simulation can serve as an effective method to investigate the thermal convection performance of nanofluids.