Two-phase analysis of nano fl uid fl ow within an innovative four-layer microchannel heat exchanger: Focusing on energy ef fi ciency principle

This investigation presents a two-phase analysis of water-alumina nanofluid flow and heat transfer within a novel four-layer microchannel heat exchanger (MCHE). The counter-current arrangement is adopted and the hot fluid involves the nanofluid, while water is selected as the cold fluid. The two-phase mixture model is used to perform the solutions. On a comparative basis with the base fluid, employing the nanofluid demonstrates a more prominent performance. The nanofluid significantly contributes to the overall heat transfer coefficient (U) enhancement with negligible pressure drop increment. The channel number increment causes severer disruption in the thermal boundary layer resulting in superior U. The effectiveness of the MCHE for all the conditions under study is higher than 0.75. Employing the MCHE with greater channel number results in severer pressure drop. The performance evaluation criterion increases by the volume fraction increment, whereas it declines when the mass flow rate or channel number elevates.

Automated summary

The study shows that using nanofluid in a four-layer microchannel heat exchanger can significantly enhance the overall heat transfer coefficient without increasing pressure drop. An increase in channel number leads to a more severe disruption in the thermal boundary layer, resulting in improved heat transfer performance.