Heat Transfer and Irreversibility Analysis of Al2O3-CuO-TiO2-Ag/H2O Nanofluid Flow in a Microtube

This work presents a numerical investigation of a laminar flow of Al2O3-CuO-TiO2-Ag/H2O tetra-hybrid nanoliquid in a microtube subjected to a constant wall heat flux. A numerical model was developed and validated using available experimental and analytical data. The combined effects of volume fraction, viscous dissipation, slip velocity, and external magnetic field on heat transfer and irreversibility parameters are investigated. The results revealed that tetra-hybrid nanoliquid enhances the heat transfer of the microflow in comparison with base liquid, mono, di, and ternary hybrid nanoliquids, with an increase in all irreversibility components and a reduction in the Bejan number. A higher slip velocity improves heat transfer and reduces total entropy production, while a higher Brinkman number reduces heat transfer and increases total entropy production. The increase in nanoparticle volume fraction, or the intensity of the magnetic field, leads to an increase in heat transfer and total entropy production. The evolutions of all irreversibility components are discussed in this paper.