Comparison of 2D and 3D modelling applied to single phase flow of nanofluid through corrugated channels

Nanofluid flow through non-corrugated and corrugated channels is studied using a two-dimensional (2D) and three dimensions (3D) numerical simplification. Due to the high computational costs of a full 3D grid model, the 2D approach offer a more practical advantage. However, little information about its validity is available. The aim of this study is to explore to which extent 2D simulations can describe the flow within a 3D geometry, and to investigate how effective the commonly used 2D numerical simplification is in nanofluid flow through non-corrugated and corrugated channels. A case study has implemented with 2D and 3D mesh models to compare their results taking into consideration the analysis of heat transfer and pressure drop. A simulation has been carried out using Ansys fluent software to compare the results for different Reynolds Numbers ranges from 10000 to 30000 and different geometries non�corrugated, semicircle and rectangular channels. The results show that for non�corrugated channel there is a slight difference between 2D and 3D results for all Reynolds number ranges, while for both semicircle and rectangular corrugated channels, the difference becomes larger for high Reynold’s Number

Numerical Study of Three-Dimensional Models of Single- and Two-Phase Nanofluid Flow through Corrugated Channels

This study delves into computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) predictions for SiO2–water nanofluids, meticulously examining both single-phase and two-phase models. Employing the finite volume approach, we tackled the three-dimensional partial differential equations governing the turbulent mixed convection flow in a horizontally corrugated channel with uniform heat flux. The study encompasses two nanoparticle volume concentrations and five Reynolds numbers (10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 25,000, and 30,000) to unravel these intricate dynamics. Despite previous research on the mixed convection of nanofluids using both single-phase and two-phase models, our work stands out as the inaugural systematic comparison of their predictions for turbulent mixed convection flow through this corrugated channel, considering the influences of temperature-dependent properties and hydrodynamic characteristics. The results reveal distinct variations in thermal fields between the two-phase and single-phase models, with negligible differences in hydrodynamic fields. Notably, the forecasts generated by three two-phase models—Volume of Fluid (VOF), Eulerian Mixture Model (EMM), and Eulerian Eulerian Model (EEM)—demonstrate remarkable similarity in the average Nusselt number, which are 24% higher than the single-phase model (SPM). For low nanoparticle volume fractions, the average Nusselt number predicted by the two-phase models closely aligns with that of the single-phase model. However, as the volume fraction increases, differences emerge, especially at higher Reynolds numbers. In other words, as the volume fraction of the nanoparticles increases, the nanofluid flow becomes a multi-phase problem, as depicted by the findings of this study.</p