Sensitivity analysis of entropy production in Al2O3/H2O nanofluid through converging pipe

This work numerically investigated entropy production rate in Al2O3/H2O nanofluid flowing through a convergent pipe in laminar flow regime using computational fluid dynamic and response surface methodology. A parametric study was carried out on Reynolds number (400-2000), nanoparticle concentration (0-3%) and convergence angle (0 degrees, 2.5 degrees, 5 degrees and 7.5 degrees) on entropy production rate and Bejan number. Based on the number of variables and levels, the condition of 20 runs was defined and 20 simulations were performed. The result showed that the increase in Reynolds number and converging angle decreases the entropy production rate. Also, the result of ANOVA revealed that Reynolds number, converging angle and interaction between them are statistically significant to the entropy production rate. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis carried out on the regression model showed that the convergence angle is the most sensitive parameter among the three.