Heat generation/absorption effects in thermally radiative mixed convective flow of Zn-TiO2/H2O hybrid nanofluid

Investigation on hybrid nanofluids has increased significantly, and findings indicate that these fluids are effective heat transfer fluids for industrial applications. The thermal conductivity of nanoparticles, particle volume fractions, and mass flow rates play a major role in the enhancement of heat transfer of nanofluids. The enhancement in thermal transport only depends on the thermal conductivity of the nanoparticles when particle volume fractions and flow rates are constant. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyze the flow of Zn - TiO2/H2O hybrid nanofluid past an inclined shrinking surface. The PDEs of the flow model are converted into ODEs by using similarity conversions. The mathematical problem is tackled numerically by employing the bvp4c solver in Matlab software. The impacts of controlling parameters on fluid velocity, temperature distribution, skin friction coefficient, and local Nusselt number are studied and graphically depicted. The obtained results reveal that the mixed convection parameter is found to enhance friction drag and heat transport rate for the upper branch while it reduces the lower branch. Moreover, the kinetic energy is inclined as the heat sink/source, Eckert number, and temperature ratio parameters increase, causing the thermal distribution to rise for both branches.

Automated summary

Investigation on hybrid nanofluids shows their effectiveness as heat transfer fluids for industrial applications, with nanoparticles' thermal conductivity, particle volume fractions, and mass flow rates playing a major role in enhancing heat transfer. This article aims to analyze the flow of Zn-TiO2/H2O hybrid nanofluid past an inclined shrinking surface and numerically solve the problem using Matlab software. The study reveals the impacts of controlling parameters on fluid velocity, temperature distribution, skin friction coefficient, and local Nusselt number, showing that mixed convection parameter, heat sink/source, Eckert number, and temperature ratio influence the fluid flow and thermal distribution.