Entropy generation and friction factor analysis of fly ash nanofluids flowing in a horizontal tube: Experimental and numerical study

This article presents experimental studies for the determination of heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and friction factor for the flow of a fly ash nanofluid in a copper tube under constant heat flux boundary condition. Fly ash/water nanofluid in the concentration range of 0.5–2.0 vol % is used. Stability, viscosity, and thermal conductivity have been found experimentally and validated with previously reported literature. Experimentation was performed at various flow rates and bulk fluid temperature of 30°C. The highest thermal conductivity ratio and viscosity ratio of 1.21 and 1.18 were observed for a concentration of 2 vol% at 30 °C. The augmentation in Nusselt number (Nu) and friction factor was 46.9% and 9.89%, respectively at 2.0 vol%, when compared to the base fluid. With an increase in Reynolds number, the total entropy generation reduces, whereas the friction entropy generation increased. The maximum PEC value of 1.42 was observed at 2 vol% for fly ash nanofluid. The experimental findings are compared with CFD results, with good agreement between them. ANSYS Fluent software is used for computational validation.