Entropy generation and heat transfer performances of Al2O3-water nanofluid transitional flow in rectangular channels with dimples and protrusions

Abstract

Nanofluid has great potentials in heat transfer enhancement and entropy generation decrease as an effective cooling medium. Effects of Al2O3-water nanofluid flow on entropy generation and heat transfer performance in a rectangular conventional channel are numerically investigated in this study. Four different volume fractions are considered and the boundary condition with a constant heat flux is adopted. The flow Reynolds number covers laminar flow, transitional flow and turbulent flow. The influences of the flow regime and nanofluid volume fraction are examined. Furthermore, dimples and protrusions are employed, and the impacts on heat transfer characteristic and entropy generation are acquired. It is found that the average heat transfer entropy generation rate descends and the average friction entropy generation rate rises with an increasing nanofluid volume fraction. The effect of nanofluid on average heat transfer entropy generation rate declines when Reynolds number ascends, which is inverse for average friction entropy generation rate. The average wall temperature and temperature uniformity both drop accompanied with increasing pumping power with the growth in nanofluid volume fraction. The employment of dimples and protrusions significantly decreases the average entropy generation rate and improve the heat transfer performance. The effect of dimple-case shows great difference with that of protrusion-case.