Convective heat transfer of Titania nanofluids of different base fluids in cylindrical annulus with discrete heat source

Abstract In the current work, the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of Titania nanofluids filling a cylindrical annulus are numerically investigated. Ethylene glycol, engine oil, and water are used as base fluids. The Maxwell model for convective heat transfer in nanofluids is followed to account for the effects of nanoparticle volume fraction distribution on the continuity, momentum, and energy equations, in which a developed computer code is used. The latter is based upon the finite volume method coupled with the SIMPLER algorithm. Numerical results for the heat transfer are presented in the form of streamlines and isotherm profiles for a different value of Rayleigh number, base fluid, and nanoparticle volume fraction. The effects of these parameters on the local Nusselt number are analyzed.