Dual solutions for MHD flow of a water-based TiO2-Cu hybrid nanofluid over a continuously moving thin needle in presence of thermal radiation

In this analysis, the flow and heat transfer characteristics of an aqueous hybrid nanofluid with TiO2 and Cu as the nanoparticles past a horizontal slim needle in the presence of thermal radiation effect is investigated. We hope that the present research is applicable in fiber technology, polymer ejection, blood flow, etc. The Prandtl number of the base fluid is kept constant at 6.2. The needle is considered thin when its thickness does not exceed that of the boundary layer over it. Using the similarity transformation method, the governing PDEs are transformed to a set of non-linear ODEs. Then, the converted ODEs are numerically solved with help of bvp4c routine from MATLAB. Results indicate that the dual similarity solutions are obtained only when the slim needle moves in the opposite direction of the free stream. In addition, the first solutions are stable and physically realizable. Besides, the second nanoparticle's mass and also the magnetic parameter lead to decrease the range of the velocity ratio parameter for which the solution exists.

Numerical Analysis of Cu + Al 2 O 3 / H 2 O Hybrid Nanofluid of Streamwise and Cross Flow with Thermal Radiation Effect: Duality and Stability

The motion of water conveying copper and aluminum nanoparticles on a heated moving sheet when thermal radiation and stretching/shrinking surface is significant and is investigated in this study to announce the increasing effects of volume fractions, thermal radiation, and moving parameters on this transport phenomenon. Furthermore, the flow of a Cu − Al 2 O 3 /water hybrid nanofluid across a heated moving sheet has been studied in both cross and streamwise directions. Thermal radiation effect is also considered, as this effect along with cross flow has not yet been investigated for the hybrid nanofluid in the published literature. Two distinct types of nanoparticles, namely, Al 2 O 3 (alumina) and Cu (copper), have been used to prepare hybrid nanofluid where water is considered as a base fluid. The system of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) has been transferred to ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by compatible transformations before solving them by employing the III-stage Lobatto-IIIa method in bvp4c solver in MATLAB 2017 software. Temporal stability analysis has been carried out in order to verify stable branch between two branches by obtaining the smallest eigenvalue values. The branches obtained are addressed in depth against every applied parameter using figures and tables. The results show that there are three ranges of branches, no solution exists when λ > λ c , dual branches exist when 0.23 ≤ λ ≤ λ c , and a single solution exists when λ > 0.23 . Moreover, thermal layer thickness declines initially and then enhances in the upper and lower solutions for the higher values of the thermal radiation parameter.

Mixed convection flow of a hybrid nanofluid past a vertical wedge with thermal radiation effect

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to numerically study the problem of mixed convection flow of a hybrid nanofluid past a vertical wedge with thermal radiation effect. Design/methodology/approach The governing nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations by a similarity transformation, which is then solved numerically through the function bvp4c from MATLAB for different values of the governing parameters. The solutions contain a mixed convection parameter λ that has a considerable impact on the flow fields. Findings It is found that the solutions of the ordinary (similarity) differential equations have two branches, upper and lower branch solutions, in a certain range of the mixed convection and several other parameters. To establish which of these solutions are stable and which are not, a stability analysis has been performed. The effects of the governing parameters on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are illustrated in tables and figures. It is found that dual (upper and lower branch) solutions exist for both the cases of assisting and opposing flow situations. A stability analysis has also been conducted to determine the physical meaning and stability of the dual solutions. Practical implications This theoretical study is significantly relevant to the applications of the heat exchangers placed in a low-velocity environment and electronic devices cooled by fans. Originality/value The case of mixed convection flow of a hybrid nanofluid past a vertical wedge with thermal radiation effects has not been studied before, and hence all generated numerical results are claimed to be original and novel.