Numerical and experimental evaluation of the configurational effects on the thermohydraulics of an Ag-MgO/water hybrid nanofluid flow in a circular heatsink with optimization energy efficiency

Background: In this paper, the thermal performance of a novel circular mini heatsink (MHS) is investigated experimentally and numerically. An Ag-MgO/water hybrid nanofluid (NF) flow enters the center of a MHS, consisting of different layers and exits the system from the circumference. The circular heatsink includes four different internal configurations wherein the number of holes on the walls of each layer is different. Methods: An experimental setup is developed to measure the flow and heat sink temperatures as well as the flow pressure drop (PDP) under varying operational conditions. Heat transfer processes in the heatsink are also simulated numerically using a finite element technique. Significant findings: The numerical results are then validated against the obtained experimental data, and the outcomes are analyzed by considering thermohydraulics and economic criteria. An increment in the volume percentage of nanoparticles from 0 to 2% in heatsink models 1 to 4 enhances the pump power by 15.9%, 16.6%, 19%, and 22.5%, respectively. The enhancement in Re reduces the maximum temperature by 7.6% and the average temperature by 24.41 degrees (7.2%). When the volume percentage of nanoparticles is 2%, the FOM is increased by 5.2% with Re. As the volume percentage of nanoparticles changes from 2 to 1%, the FOM is decreased by 14.3%.