Optimization approach for MoS2-water ethylene glycol mixture nanofluid flow in a wavy enclosure

The mixed convective heat transfer in a two-dimensional enclosure containing ethylene glycol-water mixture-based MoS2 nanofluid in the presence of magnetic field and thermal radiation is evaluated, adopting Galerkin standard finite element method. The Boussinesq approximation is applied to simulate natural convection. The partial differential governing equations with the appropriate boundary conditions are numerically handled using FlexPDE software. In order to validate the implemented numerical method, results were compared against outcomes obtained from the previous studies. Afterward, the influences of key indicators such as Hartmann number (Ha), Radiation parameter (Rd), Volume fraction (φ), and Shape factor of nanoparticles (Sf) on the profiles of local Nusselt number, temperature, and velocity are discussed. Furthermore, the streamlines and isothermal lines for the various values of considered control factors are demonstrated to assess a nanofluid hydrothermal behavior. Finally, the Taguchi method is undertaken to achieve the optimum condition, in which the mean Nusselt number is maximum. The obtained results reveal that in the existence of thermal radiation, augmenting Ha from 0 to 60 leads to an increment in the Nuave up to about 17%. Based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA), the nanoparticles’ volume fraction is the most influential factor affecting the average total Nusselt among the investigated control parameters, with a contribution of 56.9%. © 2023