Nanoparticle migration effects at film boiling of nanofluids over a vertical plate

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to theoretically investigate the effects of nanoparticle migration on the heat transfer enhancement at film boiling of nanofluids. The modified Buongiorno model is used for modeling the nanofluids to observe the effects of nanoparticle migration. Design/methodology/approach - The governing partial differential equations including continuity, momentum, energy and nanoparticle continuity are transformed to ordinary ones and solved numerically. For nanoparticle distribution, an analytical expression has been found. The results have been obtained for different parameters, including the Brownian motion to thermophoretic diffusionN(BT), saturation nanoparticle volume fraction phi(sat) and normal temperature difference. Findings - A closed-form expression for nanoparticle distribution is obtained, and it is indicated that nanoparticle migration significantly affects the flow fields and thermophysical properties of nanofluids. It was shown that temperature gradient at heated wall grows as the migration of nanoparticles increases, which has positive effects on the heat transfer rate. However, decrement of thermal conductivity at heated wall because of nanoparticle depletion plays a negative role in heat transfer enhancement. In fact, there is a tradeoff between thermal conductivity reduction and an increment in temperature gradient at the wall, which determines the net enhancement/deterioration of the heat transfer rate. Research limitations/implications - Flow has been assumed to be laminar, and the vapor temperature is constant such that boiling is the only heat transfer mechanism between the liquid-vapor interface. Also, the shear stress at the liquid-vapor interface is assumed to be negligible. The film thickness is small relative to the plate length to justify the boundary layer assumptions. Inertia forces are neglected relative to shear stress forces. Practical implications - Outcomes of the present study are suitable for several heat exchange purposes such as evaporation and condensation in heat pipes, immersion, microchannel cooling of microelectronics and crystal growth. Originality/value - The novelty of this paper has three aspects: modeling the film boiling of nanofluids considering the effects of nanoparticle migration; how it influences the cooling performance; and an analytical expression for the nanoparticle distribution at film boiling of nanofluids.