Numerical Simulation of a Forced Convection Laminar Fluid Flow with Regard for the Thermodiffusion of Nanoparticles in It

The forced convection of the nanofluid representing a water with aluminum oxide particles, flowing in the laminar regime in a circular channel with a heat flow of constant density at the channel wall, was numerically investigated by the homogeneous and heterogeneous models of the fluid flow with regard for the transport of nanoparticles in it due to their diffusion or thermodiffusion. An increase in the thermodiffusion of nanoparticles in a laminar fluid flow with increase in their concentration in it was demonstrated. The results of calculations performed by the indicated two models are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental data. However, the homogeneous model as a whole approximates experimental data more closely. It is shown that, in the case where the concentration of nanoparticles in a fluid is high (6%), the influence of their thermal diffusion on the heat transfer and the pressure drop in the laminar fluid flow in a channel does not exceed 2%.