Yanwei Hu

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of alumina-water nanofluid in a square cavity

A lattice Boltzmann model is developed by coupling the density (D2Q9) and the temperature distribution functions with 9-speed to simulate the convection heat transfer utilizing Al2O3-water nanofluids in a square cavity. This model is validated by comparing numerical simulation and experimental results over a wide range of Rayleigh numbers. Numerical results show a satisfactory agreement between them. The effects of Rayleigh number and nanoparticle volume fraction on natural convection heat transfer of nanofluid are investigated in this study. Numerical results indicate that the flow and heat transfer characteristics of Al2O3-water nanofluid in the square cavity are more sensitive to viscosity than to thermal conductivity.

Numerical simulation of natural convection in a square enclosure filled with nanofluid using the two-phase Lattice Boltzmann method

Considering interaction forces (gravity and buoyancy force, drag force, interaction potential force, and Brownian force) between nanoparticles and a base fluid, a two-phase Lattice Boltzmann model for natural convection of nanofluid is developed in this work. It is applied to investigate the natural convection in a square enclosure (the left wall is kept at a high constant temperature (TH), and the top wall is kept at a low constant temperature (TC)) filled with Al2O3/H2O nanofluid. This model is validated by comparing numerical results with published results, and a satisfactory agreement is shown between them. The effects of different nanoparticle fractions and Rayleigh numbers on natural convection heat transfer of nanofluid are investigated. It is found that the average Nusselt number of the enclosure increases with increasing nanoparticle volume fraction and increases more rapidly at a high Rayleigh number. Also, the effects of forces on nanoparticle volume fraction distribution in the square enclosure are studied in this paper. It is found that the driving force of the temperature difference has the biggest effect on nanoparticle volume fraction distribution. In addition, the effects of interaction forces on flow and heat transfer are investigated. It is found that Brownian force, interaction potential force, and gravity-buoyancy force have positive effects on the enhancement of natural convective heat transfer, while drag force has a negative effect.

Natural Convection of Cu-Gallium Nanofluid in Enclosures

In this work, the natural convection heat transfer of Cu-gallium nanofluid in a differentially heated enclosure is investigated. A single-phase model is employed with constant or temperature-dependent properties of the fluid. The results are shown over a wide range of Grashof numbers, volume fractions of nanoparticles, and aspect ratios. The Nusselt number is demonstrated to be sensitive to the aspect ratio. It is found that the Nusselt number is more sensitive to thermal conductivity than viscosity at a low velocity (especially for a low aspect ratio and a low Grashof number), however, it is more sensitive to the viscosity than the thermal conductivity at a high velocity (high aspect ratio and high Grashof number). In addition, the evolution of velocity vectors, isotherms, and Nusselt number for a small aspect ratio is investigated.

Commercially Available Activated Carbon Fiber Felt Enables Efficient Solar Steam Generation

Sun-driven steam generation is now possible and has the potential to help meet future energy needs. Current technologies often use solar condensers to increase solar irradiance. More recently, a technology for solar steam generation that uses heated surface water and low optical concentration is reported. In this work, a commercially available activated carbon fiber felt is used to generate steam efficiently under one sun illumination. The evaporation rate and solar conversion efficiency reach 1.22 kg m-2 h-1 and 79.4%, respectively. The local temperature of the evaporator with a floating activated carbon fiber felt reaches 48 °C. Apart from the high absorptivity (about 94%) of the material, the evaporation performance is enhanced thanks to the well-developed pores for improved water supply and steam escape and the low thermal conductivity, which enables reduced bulk water temperature increase. This study helps to find a promising material for solar steam generation using a water evaporator that can be produced economically (∼6

Experiments on natural convection of TiO2-water in a square enclosure

/m2) with long-term stability.

Experimental investigation of thermal conductivity and viscosity of ethylene glycol based ZnO nanofluids

In this paper, TiO2-water nanofluid of volume fraction about 0.94% was prepared and an experimental setup of natural convection was built in a square enclosure. Temperature difference was tested between the heating wall and cooling wall under different heating powers. In addition, the thermal conductivities of TiO2-water and water were compared. Natural convection heat transfer of TiO2-water nanofluid was found out to be no better than water, even worse when Ra is low. The possible explain is that the negative effect of enhanced viscosity is stronger than the positive effect of enhanced thermal conductivity on natural convection heat transfer in this work.