Investigation on flow and heat transfer of nanofluids by the thermal Lattice Boltzmann model

A nanofluid is a suspension consisting of a base liquid and nanoparticles, which has great potential for heat transfer enhancement. By considering the external and internal forces acting on the suspended nanoparticles as well as mechanical and thermal interactions among the nanoparticles and fluid particles, a thermal Lattice Boltzmann model is proposed for simulating flow and energy transport process of the nanofluid. The Nusselt number of the nanofluid is defined. By taking a nanofluid flowing through a channel as an example, some numerical computations are carried out and the enhancement mechanism of heat transfer of the nanofluid is discussed.