Unsteady MHD Nanofluid Flow Through a Divergent Conduit with Chemical Reaction and Radiation

Abstract

Inefficient heat transfer rates have resulted in high energy consumption costs in heat exchanger systems. In this study, unsteady MHD(Magneto-hydrodynamics) Nanofluid flow (Silver-water) through a divergent conduit with chemical reaction and radiation is investigated. The chemical reactions taking place within the Nanofluid are considered to be of first order with the radiation effects being in a steady state. The governing partial differential equations have been transformed into ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations. The resulting system of non-linear ordinary differential equations is then solved using the spectral collocation method and implemented in MATLAB software. The results for velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are presented graphically and discussed. It was observed that increasing the Reynolds number and Hartmann number led to an increase in the velocity profile. Increasing the Eckert number and Joule heating parameter increased the temperature profile while increasing the radiation parameter led to a decrease in the temperature of the Nanofluid. The concentration of the Nanofluid increased with an increase in the Soret number and Chemical reaction parameter while the concentration decreased with an increase in the Schmidt number. The findings have practical applications in designing and optimizing heat exchangers by maximizing heat transfer thus contributing to the sustainability of geothermal power generation in the energy industry.