Thermal efficiency of eco-friendly MXene based nanofluid for performance enhancement of a pin-fin heat sink: Experimental and numerical analyses

MXenes are an eco-friendly innovative type of graphene-like nanomaterials and are proven to exhibit remarkable thermal, electrical, mechanical and optical properties. This study is aimed at evaluating the thermal efficiency of novel Ti₃C₂T_x MXene-based nanofluid in a pin-fin heat sink was via experimental and numerical analyses. The aqueous-based 2D Ti₃C₂T_x MXene nanofluid was synthesised in a two-step process, followed by their characterisation and experimental testing. For the numerical analysis, the forced convection of the nanofluid was simulated through multiphase Lagrangian–Eulerian approximation by incorporating the interphase interactions of Brownian motion, thermophoresis, drag and Saffman lift forces, gravity, virtual mass and pressure gradient-induced forces. The thermal performance of the MXene nanofluids was assessed in terms of log mean temperature difference, average Nusselt number, local temperature and local Nusselt number distribution at the base of the heat sink and thermal contours. Their fluid flow characteristics were probed by analysing the coolant pumping power, flow streamlines distribution and performance evaluation criteria of the heat sink. Results demonstrated that utilising the MXene-based coolant resulted in a significant average Nusselt number enhancement at the expense of a small increase in coolant pumping power. Maximum improvements of 29.8 and 40.5% in the average Nusselt number were observed for nanoparticle concentrations of 0.013 vol% and 0.027 vol% respectively.