Significance of solar radiation and Cattaneo-Chistov heat flux on Maxwall tri-component hybrid nanofluid flow with heat generation and entropy analysis: Application in drone technology

Abstract

The potential use of nanofluids (NFs) in solar drone technology applications is investigated in this work. NFs are ideal for enhancing the efficiency of solar thermal energy systems due to their high convective heat transfer coefficients , low specific heat , and density. However, for application in solar-powered drones, this study examines the effects of solar radiation and Cattaneo-Christov heat flux on Maxwell tri-component hybrid nanofluid flow, including heat generation and entropy analysis. Ethylene glycol (EG) is used as the base fluid, and the study investigates the use of zirconium dioxide (ZrO 2 ), aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), and iron (II, III) oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles . The ordinary differential equations (ODEs) governing the system are solved using the Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM). Detailed graphical analyses are used to examine and explain the effects of various parameters—such as the magnetic parameter, solar thermal radiation , Deborah number, velocity slip parameter, and porosity parameter—on the velocity profile , temperature distribution , and entropy production . Tri-component hybrid nanofluids (TCHNFs) outperformed both single-component nanofluids (SCNFs) and di-component hybrid nanofluids (DCHNFs) in terms of thermal efficiency . According to the results, the relative percentages of Nusselt numbers for TCHNFs and DCHNFs demonstrate a maximum efficiency of approximately 29.7 % and a minimum efficiency of 3.6 %. This study provides valuable insights into the optimal design and performance enhancement of solar-powered drones for security and surveillance applications.