Three-dimensional numerical study of the laminar flow and heat transfer in a wavy-finned heat sink filled with Al₂O₃/ethylene glycol-water nanofluid

Wavy-finned arrangement and nanofluid medium are applied to a heat sink for the purpose of achieving more efficient thermal hydraulic performance. Laminar forced convection of Al₂O₃/ethylene glycol-water nanofluid in a 3D wavy channel is considered. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are conducted in a wide spectrum of nanoparticle volume concentrations (0.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 1% 2% 3% and 4%) with the Reynolds number varying between 400 and 1 200. Wavy channels are proved to dramatically improve the heat transfer performance compared with the plain channels of the same cross section. Utilizing nanofluid in a wavy channel further enhances the heat transfer but also brings additional flow resistance. Synthesizing wavy-finned arrangement and nanofluid technique achieves the highest overall thermal hydraulic performance factor of 1.74 for φ = 0.2% and Re = 600. In the wavy channel nanoparticle concentration is supposed to be less than 1.0% to provide a positive effect for the overall performance.