Magnetic Field Effect on Nanofluid, 2-D

Description

Nanofluids sit at the center of nano-fluid flow modeling, where suspending nanoscale metal or alloy particles in a base fluid enhances thermal conductivity and heat transfer performance. This CFD study uses ANSYS Fluent to simulate the effect of a magnetic field on an iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanofluid flowing through a two-dimensional channel, examining how magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects influence flow behavior and heat transfer in nanofluid systems.

Methodology

The two-dimensional channel geometry, exploiting the symmetry of the problem, is built in Design Modeler with a length of 0.49 m and a width of 0.01 m, featuring an inlet on the left, an outlet on the right, a central axis as the lower boundary, and a fluid-solid interface adjacent to the outer wall. The domain is discretized in ANSYS Meshing using a structured grid of 9,282 elements. The nanofluid is modeled with 2% Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles by volume, assigned a density of 1081.158 kg/m³, specific heat capacity of 3841 J/kg·K, thermal conductivity of 0.640835 W/m·K, and viscosity of 0.001055 kg/m·s. The magnetic field is introduced through the magnetic induction method, applying a constant magnetic flux of 1 tesla along the y-axis, corresponding to the channel's radial direction. An insulation condition is set on the outer wall to prevent electric current flow, while a coupling condition governs current transmission across the fluid-solid interface at the inner wall. The nanofluid enters at 0.0837 m/s and 300 K, exits at atmospheric pressure, and the outer wall is held at a constant 320 K. The laminar flow model and energy equation are enabled to resolve the velocity field and temperature distribution.

Results Analysis

Post-processing yields two-dimensional contours of pressure, velocity, temperature, and magnetic field components in both horizontal and vertical directions, along with a profile of the perpendicular magnetic field variation along the channel's central axis. The results demonstrate how the applied magnetic field, combined with the thermal boundary condition, influences nanofluid flow behavior and heat transfer performance within the channel.