Numerical Simulation of the Cooling of Heated Electronic Blocks in Horizontal Channel by Mixed Convection of Nanofluids

Abstract

The present work is devoted to the numerical study of steady and laminar mixed convection of nanofluid (water nanoparticles) in a horizontal channel provided with sources of heat at constant temperature, which simulate hot electronic components. The transport equations for continuity, momentum, and energy are solved with finite volume approach using the SIMPLE algorithm. The effective thermal conductivity and the dynamic viscosity of the nanofluid are calculated using, respectively, the Maxwell-Garnett and Brinkman model. The influence of the volume fraction of the nanoparticles 0%≤ϕ≤10%, Reynolds numbers 5≤Re≤75, the distance between the blocks 0≤d/H≤3, and the types of nanoparticles added (TiO2, Al2O3, CuO, Ag, Cu, and MgO) were investigated and discussed. It emerges from this simulation that the heat transfer increases with the increase in the volume fraction of the nanoparticles and the Reynolds number and decreases with the augmentation of separation distance between heated sources. Moreover, the study shows that the heat transfer is improved by 20% at a solid volume fraction of 10% of Cu nanoparticles.