Thermal analysis of hybrid nanoliquid contains iron-oxide (Fe3O4) and copper (Cu) nanoparticles in an enclosure

The major aim of this work is to analyze the thermophysical properties of hybrid nanoliquid inside a square lid driven enclosure under the effect of applied magnetic field and mixed convection. The Hybrid nanofluid is considered a suspension of Iron-oxide (Fe3O4) and Copper (Cu) nanoparticles into water. The cavity walls have varying properties such as top adiabatic wall is moving continuously while the lower wall is maintained at a high constant temperature, in addition, the vertical walls are kept at a low fixed temperature. The magnetic field is applied to the right vertical wall in a horizontal direction. Additionally, the effects of buoyancy forces caused by temperature gradients and shear forces caused by continuous lid motion are considered. The mathematical modelling of problem with all assumptions yields the nonlinear partial differential system. First this system is transferred into non-dimensional form and then transformed system is solved by using Galerkin finite element method (GFEM) along with Gaussian elimination method. Results for isotherms, streamlines and average Nusselt number are obtained versus Richardson number (0.1 ≤ Ri ≤ 15), Grashof number (10 ≤ Gr ≤ 10000), Hartmann number (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 100), volume fractions of solid nanoparticles (0.005 ≤ ϕ1 ≤ 0.02) and (0.005 ≤ ϕ2 ≤ 0.02). It is observed that the Richardson number and Grashof number have significant impacts on both flow velocity and temperature. In addition, concentration of hybrid nanoparticles improves the heat transfer performance. The obtained results may be crucial for thermal management in the cooling of electronics, heat exchangers, solar thermal collectors, industrial operations, medical equipment, HVAC systems, food processing, and renewable energy systems.