Numerical Study on the Mechanism of Heat Transfer Enhancement in Fe3O4 Nanoferrofluids With Magnetic Field

Abstract

Nanofluids is reported to significantly enhance heat transfer but with little cost of pressure loss. To further the enhancement of heat transfer using Fe3O4 nanofluids, a magnetic field is employed to control the trajectory of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. A numerical study is conducted with commercial soft ANSYS FLUENT and the simulations are done with a two-phase flow approach named Euler-Lagrange. By comparing heat transfer of laminar flow in a horizontal tube with magnetic field or not, various volume fraction (0.5%/2%) and Reynolds numbers (Re = 200–1000) are considered. Results show that magnetic field contributes an average 4% promotion in convective heat transfer coefficients compared with the condition of no magnet. The mechanism of the enhancement of heat transfer with magnetic field is explored based on the analysis of velocity field. Fe3O4 Nanoparticles move up and down under the magnetic force, and convective heat transfer is enhanced because of the disturbance of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Slip flow between the base fluid and nanoparticles also contributes to the enhancement of heat transfer.