Sensitivity study of thermal enhancement featuring ternary-hybrid nanofluid in a two-layered cross-flow microchannel heat exchanger
摘要
Improving heat transfer (HT) efficiency in microchannel heat exchangers (MCHEs) is vital for advanced cooling applications. Ternary-hybrid nanofluids, which combine three types of nanoparticles in a base fluid, within complex wavy microchannel geometries, are a relatively unexplored area. The research focuses on enhancing heat transfer rate (HTR) while managing pressure drops under laminar flow. It examines how flow configurations, channel shapes, and nanofluid properties affect thermal and hydrodynamic performance, aiming to identify the optimal combination of nanoparticle type, shape, and concentration to boost ɛ. It analyzes the thermal and flow characteristics of a two-layered wavy-shaped MCHE using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), boron nitride (BN), and graphene (G) in distilled water. The numerical approach is solved using the finite element method (FEM), which is based on the Navier–Stokes and energy conservation equations. Effects of Re, volume fractions, sizes, shape factors, and concentration ratios of nanoparticles are examined. Flow fields and thermal distributions are analyzed using isotherms and streamlines and further assessed through analysis of variance (ANOVA) and sensitivity analysis (SA). Results indicate that the maximum ɛ value is 69% at