Numerical Study on Thermo-Hydraulic Performances of Hybrid Nanofluids Flowing through a Corrugated Channel with Metal Foam

In this study, a novel design was proposed for enhancing heat transfer in a channel with metal foam, corrugated walls, and hybrid nanofluids. The numerical analysis of hybrid nanofluids (MWCNTs+TiO2) with DW (distillate water) as the base fluid was performed in a channel with triangular corrugations and open metal foam. The mass fractions of hybrid nanofluids (mixture of DW and MWCNTs+TiO2) were set at 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.075%. The effects of metal foam porosity and PPI (pore density), as well as different Reynolds numbers (ranging from 7000 to 13000), on thermal performance were investigated. The results showed that the heat transfer enhancement with metal foam increased by 130% for all hybrid nanofluids. Moreover, the heat transfer enhancement in metal foam with a porosity of 0.9 was 9.8% higher than that of metal foam with a porosity of 0.99. Additionally, quadratic correlations for the average Nusselt number (Nua) were proposed for all hybrid nanofluids, taking into account PPI, porosity, and Reynolds numbers as variables. Finally, the optimum values of Nua for all hybrid nanofluids were determined, providing valuable insights for optimizing the heat transfer performance in this configuration.