Numerical energy and entropy analyses of a tube with wavy tape insert including CoFe2O4/water nanofluid under laminar regime

Abstract

The primary objective of this investigation is to assess the impact of vortex generator geometry and nanofluid on thermohydraulic and irreversibility characteristics within a laminar flow regime. The study introduces an original CoFe2O4/H2O (1 % vol.) nanofluid and employs a wave tape insert to induce forced convection in a tube, accompanied by first and second-law thermodynamic analysis. The novelty of this research lies in the numerical exploration of heat transfer and flow profiles for a nanofluid in a tube, varying the wave rate (y = 4-5-6). The investigation considers the laminar model and single-phase approach in all analyses under constant heat flux (q” = 2000 W/m2). The study observed that the nanofluid flowing in the tube with a wave ratio of 4, 5, and 6 resulted in an average enhancement in the Nusselt number of 93.25 %, 86.26 %, and 80.06 %, respectively. The optimal performance evaluation criterion (PEC) for water flowing in the tube with a wave ratio of 6 at Re = 500 exhibited an increase of 11.0 %, whereas the CoFe2O4/H2O flow showed a 9.14 % increment in the average PEC along the Reynolds number. Moreover, the total entropy generation values for water flowing in tubes with wave ratios of 5, 6, and 4 exhibited increases of 101.88 %, 94.66 %, and 51.34 %, respectively, in comparison to the smooth tube.