Forced Convection Boundary Layer Flow Past Nonisothermal Thin Needles in Nanofluids

The classical problem of forced convection boundary layer flow and heat transfer past a needle with variable wall temperature using nanofluids is theoretically studied. The similarity equations are solved numerically for two types of metallic or nonmetallic, such as copper (Cu) and alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles in the based fluid of water with the Prandtl number Pr = 7 to investigate the effect of the solid volume fraction parameter phi of the fluid and heat transfer characteristics. The skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number, and the velocity and temperature profiles are presented and discussed. It is found that the solid volume fraction affects the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4003059]