Analysis of boundary layer flow of nanofluid with the characteristics of heat and mass transfer

Thesis (MTech (Mechanical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011.Nanofluid, which was first discovered by the Argonne laboratory, is a nanotechnology- based heat transfer fluid. This fluid consists of particles which are suspended inside conventional heat transfer liquid or base fluid. The purpose of this suspension is for enhancing thermal conductivity and convective heat transfer performance of this base fluid. The name nanofluid came about as a result of the nanometer- sized particles of typical length scales 1-100nm which are stably suspended inside of the base fluids. These nanoparticles are of both physical and chemical classes and are also produced by either the physical process or the chemical process. Nanofluid has been discovered to be the best option towards accomplishing the enhancement of heat transfer through fluids in different unlimited conditions as well as reduction in the thermal resistance by heat transfer liquids. Various manufacturing industries and engineering processes such as transportation, electronics, food, medical, textile, oil and gas, chemical, drinks e.t.c, now aim at the use of this heat transfer enhancement fluid. Advantages such organisations can obtain from this fluid includes, reduced capital cost, reduction in size of heat transfer system and improvement of energy efficiencies. This research has been able to solve numerically, using Maple 12 which uses a fourth- fifth order Runge -kutta- Fehlberg algorithm alongside shooting method, a set of nonlinear coupled differential equations together with their boundary conditions, thereby modelling the heat and mass transfer characteristics of the boundary layer flow of the nanofluids. Important properties of these nanofluids which were considered are viscosity, thermal conductivity, density, specific heat and heat transfer coefficients and microstructures (particle shape, volume concentration, particle size, distribution of particle, component properties and matrixparticle interface). Basic fluid dynamics equations such as the continuity equation, linear momentum equation, energy equation and chemical species concentration equations have also been employed