Numerical analysis of convective heat transfer of nanofluids in circular ducts with two-phase mixture model approach

Computational fluid dynamics simulations for initially hydro-dynamically fully developed laminar flow with nanofluids in a circular duct under constant wall temperature condition are performed with two-phase mixture model by using Fluent software. Thermal behaviors of the system are investigated for constant wall temperature condition for Al2O3/water nanofluid. Hamilton-Crosser model and the Brownian motion effect are used for the thermal conductivity model of nanofluid instead of the Fluent default model for mixtures which gives extraordinary high thermal conductivity values and is valid for macro systems. Also, thermal conductivity and viscosity of the base fluid are taken as temperature dependent. The effects of nanoparticle volume fraction, nanoparticle size, and inlet Peclet number on the heat transfer enhancement are investigated. The results are compared with single-phase results which give slightly lower heat transfer coefficient values than the results of two-phase mixture model.