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This study aims to undertake a comprehensive examination of heat transfer by convection in porous systems with top and bottom walls insulated and differently heated vertical walls under a magnetic field. For a specific nanofluid, the study aims to bring out the effects of different segmental heating arrangements.

An existing in-house code based on the finite volume method has provided the numerical solution of the coupled nondimensional transport equations. Following a validation study, different explorations include the variations of Darcy–Rayleigh number (Ra_m = 10–10⁴), Darcy number (Da = 10^–5–10^–1) segmented arrangements of heaters of identical total length, porosity index (ε = 0.1–1) and aspect ratio of the cavity (AR = 0.25–2) under Hartmann number (Ha = 10–70) and volume fraction of φ = 0.1% for the nanoparticles. In the analysis, there are major roles of the streamlines, isotherms and heatlines on the vertical mid-plane of the cavity and the profiles of the flow velocity and temperature on the central line of the section.

The finding of a monotonic rise in the heat transfer rate with an increase in Ra_m from 10 to 10⁴ has prompted a further comparison of the rate at Ra_m equal to 10⁴ with the total length of the heaters kept constant in all the cases. With respect to uniform heating of one entire wall, the study reveals a significant advantage of 246% rate enhancement from two equal heater segments placed centrally on opposite walls. This rate has emerged higher by 82% and 249%, respectively, with both the segments placed at the top and one at the bottom and one at the top. An increase in the number of centrally arranged heaters on each wall from one to five has yielded 286% rate enhancement. Changes in the ratio of the cavity height-to-length from 1.0 to 0.2 and 2 cause the rate to decrease by 50% and increase by 21%, respectively.

Further research with additional parameters, geometries and configurations will consolidate the understanding. Experimental validation can complement the numerical simulations presented in this study.

This research contributes to the field by integrating segmented heating, magnetic fields and hybrid nanofluid in a porous flow domain, addressing existing research gaps. The findings provide valuable insights for enhancing thermal performance, and controlling heat transfer locally, and have implications for medical treatments, thermal management systems and related fields. The research opens up new possibilities for precise thermal management and offers directions for future investigations.

This study aims to minimize the pressure drop across wavy microchannels using secondary branches without compromising its capacity to transfer the heat. The impact of secondary flows on the pressure drop and heat transfer capabilities at different Reynolds numbers are investigated numerically for different wavy microchannels. Finally, different channels are evaluated using performance evaluation criteria to determine their effectiveness.

To investigate the flow and heat transfer capabilities in wavy microchannels having secondary branches, a 3D conjugate heat transfer model based on finite volume method is used. In conventional wavy microchannel, secondary branches are introduced at crest and trough locations. For the numerical simulation, a single symmetrical channel is used to minimize computational time and resources and the flow within the channels remains single-phase and laminar.

The findings indicate that the suggested secondary channels notably improve heat transfer and decrease pressure drop within the channels. At lower flow rates, the secondary channels demonstrate superior performance in terms of heat transfer. However, the performance declines as the flow rate increased. With the same amplitude and wavelength, the introduction of secondary channels reduces the pressure drop compared with conventional wavy channels. Due to the presence of secondary channels, the flow splits from the main channel, and part of the core flow gets diverted into the secondary channel as the flow takes the path of minimum resistance. Due to this flow split, the core velocity is reduced. An increase in flow area helps in reducing pressure drop.

Many complex and intricate microchannels are proposed by the researchers to augment heat dissipation. There are challenges in the fabrication of microchannels, such as surface finish and achieving the required dimensions. However, due to the recent developments in metal additive manufacturing and microfabrication techniques, the complex shapes proposed in this paper are feasible to fabricate.

Wavy channels are widely used in heat transfer and micro-fluidics applications. The proposed wavy microchannels with secondary channels are different when compared to conventional wavy channels and can be used practically to solve thermal challenges. They help achieve a lower pressure drop in wavy microchannels without compromising heat transfer performance.

The particle distribution in a fluid is mostly not homogeneous. The inhomogeneous dispersion of solid particles affects the velocity profile as well as the heat transfer of fluid. This study aims to highlight the effects of varying density of particles in a fluid. The fluid flows through a wavy curved passage under an applied magnetic field. Heat transfer is discussed with variable thermal conductivity.

The mathematical model of the problem consists of coupled differential equations, simplified using stream functions. The results of the time flow rate for fluid and solid granules have been derived numerically.

The fluid and dust particle velocity profiles are being presented graphically to analyze the effects of density of solid particles, magnetohydrodynamics, curvature and slip parameters. Heat transfer analysis is also performed for magnetic parameter, density of dust particles, variable thermal conductivity, slip parameter and curvature. As the number of particles in the fluid increases, heat conduction becomes slow through the fluid. Increase in temperature distribution is noticed as variable thermal conductivity parameter grows. The discussion of variable thermal conductivity is of great concern as many biological treatments and optimization of thermal energy storage system’s performance require precise measurement of a heat transfer fluid’s thermal conductivity.

This study of heat transfer with inhomogeneous distribution of the particles in a fluid has not yet been reported.

In this paper, the authors aim to study the effect of hydrogen on the pitting corrosion behavior of Incoloy 825, a commonly used material for heat exchanger tubes in hydrogenated heat exchangers.

The pitting initiation and propagation behaviors were investigated by electrochemical and chemical immersion experiments and observed and analyzed by scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer methods.

The results show that hydrogen significantly affects the electrochemical behavior of Incoloy 825; the self-corrosion potential decreased from −197 mV before hydrogen charging to −263 mV, −270 mV and −657 mV after hydrogen charging, and the corrosion current density increased from 0.049 µA/cm² before hydrogen charging to 2.490 µA/cm², 2.560 µA/cm² and 2.780 µA/cm² after hydrogen charging. The pitting susceptibility of the material increases.

Hydrogen is enriched on the precipitate, and the pitting corrosion also initiates at that location. The synergistic effect of hydrogen and precipitate destroys the passive film on the metal surface and promotes pitting initiation.

This study aims to delve into the coupled mixed convective heat transport process within a grooved channel cavity using CuO-water nanofluid and an inclined magnetic field. The cavity undergoes isothermal heating from the bottom, with variations in the positions of heated walls across the grooved channel. The aim is to assess the impact of heater positions on thermal performance and identify the most effective configuration.

Numerical solutions to the evolved transport equations are obtained using a finite volume method-based indigenous solver. The dimensionless parameters of Reynolds number (1 ≤ Re ≤ 500), Richardson number (0.1 ≤ Ri ≤ 100), Hartmann number (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 70) and magnetic field inclination angle (0° ≤ γ ≤ 180°) are considered. The solved variables generate both local and global variables after discretization using the semi-implicit method for pressure linked equations algorithm on nonuniform grids.

The study reveals that optimal heat transfer occurs when the heater is positioned at the right corner of the grooved cavity. Heat transfer augmentation ranges from 0.5% to 168.53% for Re = 50 to 300 compared to the bottom-heated case. The magnetic field’s orientation significantly influences the average heat transfer, initially rising and then declining with increasing inclination angle. Overall, this analysis underscores the effectiveness of heater positions in achieving superior thermal performance in a grooved channel cavity.

This concept can be extended to explore enhanced thermal performance under various thermal boundary conditions, considering wall curvature effects, different geometry orientations and the presence of porous structures, either numerically or experimentally.

The findings are applicable across diverse fields, including biomedical systems, heat exchanging devices, electronic cooling systems, food processing, drying processes, crystallization, mixing processes and beyond.

This work provides a novel exploration of CuO-water nanofluid flow in mixed convection within a grooved channel cavity under the influence of an inclined magnetic field. The influence of different heater positions on thermomagnetic convection in such a cavity has not been extensively investigated before, contributing to the originality and value of this research.

Inclination angle has been reported to have an enhancing effect on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics and entropy of some thermal systems. Therefore, this paper aims to numerically investigate the effects of inclination angle, volume concentration and Reynolds number on the thermal and hydraulic characteristics and entropy generation rates of water-based Al₂O₃ nanofluids through a smooth circular aluminum pipe in a turbulent flow.

A constant heat flux of 2,000 Watts is applied to the circular surface of the tube. Reynolds number is varied between 4,000 and 20,000 for different volume concentrations of alumina nanoparticles of 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% for tube inclination angles of ±90o, ±60o, ±45o, ±30o and 0o, respectively. The simulation is performed in an ANSYS Fluent environment using the realizable kinetic energy–epsilon turbulent model.

Results show that +45o tube orientation possesses the largest thermal deviations of 0.006% for 0.5% and 1.0% vol. concentrations for Reynolds numbers 4,000 and 12,000. −45o gives a maximum pressure deviation of −0.06% for the same condition. The heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop give maximum deviations of −0.35% and −0.39%, respectively, for 2.0% vol. concentration for Reynolds number of 20,000 and angle ±90o. A 95%–99.8% and 95%–98% increase in the heat transfer and total entropy generation rates, respectively, is observed for 2.0% volume concentration as tube orientation changes from the horizontal position upward or downward.

Research investigating the effect of inclination angle on thermal-hydraulic performance and entropy generation rates in-tube turbulent flow of nanofluid is very scarce in the literature.

The purpose of this study is to adapt the incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ISPH) method with artificial intelligence to manage the physical problem of double diffusion inside a porous L-shaped cavity including two fins.

The ISPH method solves the nondimensional governing equations of a physical model. The ISPH simulations are attained at different Frank–Kamenetskii number, Darcy number, coupled Soret/Dufour numbers, coupled Cattaneo–Christov heat/mass fluxes, thermal radiation parameter and nanoparticle parameter. An artificial neural network (ANN) is developed using a total of 243 data sets. The data set is optimized as 171 of the data sets were used for training the model, 36 for validation and 36 for the testing phase. The network model was trained using the Levenberg–Marquardt training algorithm.

The resulting simulations show how thermal radiation declines the temperature distribution and changes the contour of a heat capacity ratio. The temperature distribution is improved, and the velocity field is decreased by 36.77% when the coupled heat Cattaneo–Christov heat/mass fluxes are increased from 0 to 0.8. The temperature distribution is supported, and the concentration distribution is declined by an increase in Soret–Dufour numbers. A rise in Soret–Dufour numbers corresponds to a decreasing velocity field. The Frank–Kamenetskii number is useful for enhancing the velocity field and temperature distribution. A reduction in Darcy number causes a high porous struggle, which reduces nanofluid velocity and improves temperature and concentration distribution. An increase in nanoparticle concentration causes a high fluid suspension viscosity, which reduces the suspension’s velocity. With the help of the ANN, the obtained model accurately predicts the values of the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers.

A novel integration between the ISPH method and the ANN is adapted to handle the heat and mass transfer within a new L-shaped geometry with fins in the presence of several physical effects.

The purpose of this study is to numerically investigate the geometric influence of different corrugation profiles (rectangular, trapezoidal and triangular) of varying heights on the flow and the natural convection heat transfer process over isothermal plates.

This work is an extension and finalization of previous studies of the leading author. The numerical methodology was proposed and experimentally validated in previous studies. Using OpenFOAM® and other free and open-source numerical-computational tools, three-dimensional numerical models were built to simulate the flow and the natural convection heat transfer process over isothermal corrugation plates with variable and constant heights.

The influence of different geometric arrangements of corrugated plates on the flow and natural convection heat transfer over isothermal plates is investigated. The influence of the height ratio parameter, as well as the resulting concave and convex profiles, on the parameters average Nusselt number, corrected average Nusselt number and convective thermal efficiency gain, is analyzed. It is shown that the total convective heat transfer and the convective thermal efficiency gain increase with the increase of the height ratio. The numerical results confirm previous findings about the predominant effects on the predominant impact of increasing the heat transfer area on the thermal efficiency gain in corrugated surfaces, in contrast to the adverse effects caused on the flow. In corrugations with heights resulting in concave profiles, the geometry with triangular corrugations presented the highest total convection heat transfer, followed by trapezoidal and rectangular. For arrangements with the same area, it was demonstrated that corrugations of constant and variable height are approximately equivalent in terms of natural convection heat transfer.

The results allowed a better understanding of the flow characteristics and the natural convection heat transfer process over isothermal plates with corrugations of variable height. The advantages of the surfaces studied in terms of increasing convective thermal efficiency were demonstrated, with the potential to be used in cooling systems exclusively by natural convection (or with reduced dependence on forced convection cooling systems), including in technological applications of microelectronics, robotics, internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, information technology, industry 4.0, etc.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the results presented are new in the scientific literature. Unlike previous studies conducted by the leading author, this analysis specifically analyzed the natural convection phenomenon over plates with variable-height corrugations. The obtained results will contribute to projects to improve and optimize natural convection cooling systems.

This paper aims to study the synergistic lubrication effects of Sn–Ag–Cu and MXene–Ti₃C₂ to improve the tribological properties of M50 bearing steel with microporous channels.

M50 matrix self-lubricating composites (MMSC) were designed and prepared by filling Sn–Ag–Cu and MXene–Ti₃C₂ in the microporous channels of M50 bearing steel. The tribology performance testing of as-prepared samples was executed with a multifunction tribometer. The optimum hole size and lubricant content, as well as self-lubricating mechanism of MMSC, were studied.

The tribological properties of MMSC are strongly dependent on the synergistic lubrication effect of MXene–Ti₃C₂ and Sn–Ag–Cu. When the hole size of microchannel is 1 mm and the content of MXene–Ti₃C₂ in mixed lubricant is 4 wt.%, MMSC shows the lowest friction coefficient and wear rate. The Sn–Ag–Cu and MXene–Ti₃C₂ are extruded from the microporous channels and spread to the friction interface, and a relatively complete lubricating film is formed at the friction interface. Meanwhile, the synergistic lubrication of Sn–Ag–Cu and MXene–Ti₃C₂ can improve the stability of the lubricating film, thus the excellent tribological property of MMSC is obtained.

The results help in deep understanding of the synergistic lubrication effects of Sn–Ag–Cu and MXene–Ti₃C₂ on the tribological properties of M50 bearing steel. This work also provides a useful reference for the tribological design of mechanical components by combining surface texture with solid lubrication.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-12-2023-0381/