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The homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions in the boundary-layer of a flat surface are considered. The autocatalysts are assumed to be of regular sizes, while the solution is a dilute nanofluid. The heat release due to the chemical reactions is taken into account. The Buongiorno's model is used to describe the behaviors of this reaction system. This configuration makes the current model be different from all previous publications. Multiple solutions are given numerically to the rescaled nonlinear system, whose stability is verified. The results show that the strength coefficients of the homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions are key factors to cause the appearance of the multiple solutions in the distribution of the chemical reactions. Nanofluids enhance the diffusion of heat and help maintain the stability of chemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fully developed steady immiscible flow of nanofluid in a two-layer microchannel is studied in the presence of electro-kinetic effects. Buongiorno's model is employed for describing the behavior of nanofluids. Different from the previous studies on two-layer channel flow of a nanofluid, the present paper introduces the flux conservation conditions for the nanoparticle volume fraction field, which makes this work new and unique, and it is in coincidence with practical observations. The governing equations are reduced into a group of ordinary differential equations via appropriate similarity transformations. The highly accurate analytical approximations are obtained. Important physical quantities and total entropy generation are analyzed and discussed. A comparison is made to determine the significance of electrical double layer (EDL) effects in the presence of an external electric field. It is found that the Brownian diffusion, the thermophoresis diffusion, and the viscosity have significant effect on altering the flow behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on the two-dimensional pulsating nanofluid flow through a parallel-plate channel in the presence of a magnetic field. The pulsating flow is produced by an applied pressure gradient that fluctuates with a small amplitude. A kind of proper transformation is used so that the governing equations describing the momentum and thermal energy are reduced to a set of non-dimensional equations. The analytical expressions of the pulsating velocity, temperature, and Nusselt number of nanofluids are obtained by the perturbation technique. In the present study, the effects of the Cu-H2O and Al2O3-H2O nanofluids on the flow and heat transfer in pulsating flow are compared and analyzed. The results show that the convective heat transfer effect of Cu-H2O nanofluids is better than that of Al2O3-H2O nanofluids. Also, the effects of the Hartmann number and pulsation amplitude on the velocity, temperature, and Nusselt number are examined and discussed in detail. The present work indicates that increasing the Hartmann number and pulsation amplitude can enhance the heat transfer of the pulsating flow. In addition, selecting an optimal pulsation frequency can maximize the convective heat transfer of the pulsating flow. Therefore, improved understanding of these fundamental mechanisms is conducive to the optimal design of thermal systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the three-dimensional nanofluid bio-convection near a stagnation attachment is studied. With a set of similarity variables, the governing equations embodying the conservation of total mass, momentum, thermal energy, nanoparticles and microorganisms are reduced to a set of fully coupled nonlinear differential equations. The homotopy analysis method (HAM)-finite difference method (FDM) technique is used to obtain exact solutions. The effect of various physical parameters on distribution of the motile microorganisms and the important physical quantities of practical interests are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]