EFFECTS OF DUFOUR AND OHMIC HEATING ON MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS (MHD) NANOFLUID FLOW THROUGH A POROUS MEDIUM

Abstract

In this dissertation, the effects of energy flux caused by composition gradient and ohmic heating on Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) nanofluid flow in a porous medium are considered. The nanofluids under consideration in this study are Copper (Cu) - water and Alumina (Al2O3) – water. The partial differential equations governing the heat and mass transfer of the nanofluid flow are non-dimensionalized and solved numerically using fourth order Runge-Kutta scheme along with shooting techniques for various values of parameters controlling the heat and mass transfer nanofluid flow. The results are presented in graphs and tables. Comparison is made with the existing work in the literature and they are found to be in agreement. Also the qualitative properties of the models are established under certain conditions. Finally, the study shows that an increase in the volume fraction (𝜙) of nanoparticles results in the decline of copper (Cu)-water velocity while it enhances the velocity of Alumina-water (Al2O3) nanofluid due to a significant difference in the thermal properties of both nanoparticles.