Enhancement of heat dissipation in a minichannel by different structural designs of vortex generators and aluminum oxide hydroxide nanoparticles.

• The heat dissipation of the base surface is evaluated using vortex generators. • The effect of vortex generators' angle is investigated with Reynolds number. • The rectangular shaped vortex generators cause highest heat transfer rate. • The Nusselt number descends with decreasing the angle of vortex generators. • The platelet shaped nanoparticles has highest cooling performance. In the present study, the impact of different shapes of nanoparticles and vortex generators is analyzed to enhance the heat dissipation of the surface in the proposed single-channel heat sink. The assessment of hydrothermal proficiency of the heat sink is carried out for four different physical designs of vortex generators, including triangular, trapezoidal I, trapezoidal II, and rectangular shapes in which the Al 2 O 3 / w a t e r nanofluid with three different nanoparticles' shapes (platelet, cylinder, and brick shaped) is utilized as a coolant, and the effect of two vortex generators angles on the cooling of the minichannel's surface is evaluated. The outcomes exhibit that the nanofluid with platelet shaped nanoparticles augments the heat transfer rate between coolants and base surface in the minichannel heat sink more than other nanoparticles shapes, and the rectangular shaped vortex generators at the angle of 45 degrees have the highest thermal proficiency in the proposed heat sink. It is also obtained that when the rectangular vortex generators are considered, the Nusselt number of the single-channel heat sink is improved by 56% compared to the conventional case, and utilizing the nanofluids platelet shaped nanoparticles as a coolant enhances the Nusselt number by 40% compared to that of pure water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]