Nanoparticle shape effect on the natural-convection heat transfer of hybrid nanofluid inside a U-shaped enclosure

The effect of nanoparticle shape on the natural convection heat transfer of Cu-Al2O3/water hybrid nanofluid inside a U-shaped enclosure is presented in this paper. The governing equations are transformed into the dimensionless form using dimensionless variables. A three-node triangular finite element method is used with the Newton-Raphson method to solve the problem numerically. The streamlines and isotherms as well as the local and average Nusselt numbers are presented for the fluid flow with Rayleigh number of 104 to 106.It is found that blade nanoparticle shape produces the highest heat transfer rate while sphere is the lowest.