Stability analysis of water-alumina nanofluid film at the spherical interface

Abstract

The interface of a viscous fluid and [Formula: see text]-water nanofluid is analyzed through linear instability analysis in a spherical configuration. The viscous fluid lies inside the sphere while the outside region contains nanofluid. In this model, the viscosity of the nanofluid is considered a function of the base fluid viscosity, nanoparticles volume fraction, fractal aggregates, and nanoparticles shape. The perturbed flow is taken as irrotational, and the linear perturbation equations are solved through viscous irrotational theory. The perturbations growth rate can be computed through a 2-degree polynomial and the coefficients of this polynomial are the functions of the Atwood number, Richardson number, Weber number, Reynolds number, etc. The nanofluid interface is found more stable than the viscous fluid interface. The density of nanofluids raises the amplitude of disturbances while the nanofluid's viscosity has a reverse effect.