Numerical investigation of magnetohydrodynamic flow and heat transfer of copper–water nanofluid in a channel with non-parallel walls considering different shapes of nanoparticles

Abstract

This article presents the magnetohydrodynamic flow and heat transfer of water-based nanofluid in divergent and convergent channels. Equations governing the flow are transformed to a set of ordinary differential equations by employing suitable similarity transforms. Resulting system is solved using a strong numerical procedure called Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method. Results are compared with existing solutions available in the literature and an excellent agreement is seen. Three shapes of nanoparticles, namely, platelet-, cylinder-, and brick-shaped particles, are considered to perform the analysis. Influence of emerging parameters such as channel opening, Reynolds number, magnetic parameter, Eckert number, and the nanoparticle volume fraction are heighted with the help of graphs coupled with comprehensive discussions. The magnetic field can be used as a controlling parameter to reduce the backflow regions for the divergent channel case. Temperature of the fluid can be controlled with the help of strong magnetic field. It is also observed that platelet-shaped particles have higher temperature values as compared to cylinder- and brick-shaped particles.