The Impact of Alumina Nanofluid on the Heat Transfer and Hydraulic Performance in the Laminar Flow Conditions

Laminar forced convection heat transfer of nanofluid flow through a horizontal circular duct under an isothermal heat flux was studied numerically. The study was conducted in a volume concentration range not exceeding 3% for Al₂O₃ nanoparticles and the Reynolds number in the case of laminar flow conditions on the thermal and hydraulic fields and the system efficiency. ANSYS FLUENT is used to solve partial differential equations numerically based on the finite volume method and the SIMPLE algorithm. The findings show that the bulk and wall temperature decrease with increasing nanoparticle concentration and Reynolds number as well as the local heat transfer coefficient. The heat transfer performance factor of Nu number, the pressure drop of alumina nanofluids increases with increasing alumina concentration and Reynolds number while the best enhancement showed at 3% of concentration and Re = 2100 [-] about 2.5%, 62.4% and 2.49% compared with water. The friction factor of alumina nanofluids is the same as that of water, except, it has a slight increase that appeared at a low Reynolds number, which is a good indicator for the adoption of nanofluids in heat transfer applications.