Heat transfer characteristics of magnetized tetra hybrid nanofluid with heat source and joule heating over a convectively heated porous surface

Abstract

This study examines the thermal characteristics of a tetra hybrid nanofluid compared to nano, hybrid, and ternary nanofluids. The single nanofluid contains Alumina ( A l 2 O 3 ); the hybrid nanofluid contains Alumina and copper (Cu); the ternary hybrid includes Alumina, copper, and silver (Ag); and the tetra hybrid consists of Alumina, copper, silver, and iron (II, III) oxide ( F e 3 O 4 ). Nanoparticles are dispersed in sodium alginate, which serves as the base fluid. The aim is to assess how increasing nanoparticle diversity influences heat transfer for engineering applications. A heat transfer model for tetra hybrid nanofluid flow over a two-dimensional stretching surface is developed by incorporating thermal radiation, porous media, magnetic fields, Joule heating, viscous dissipation, and heat sources. The governing equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations using a similarity transformation and solved with MATLAB's bvp4c solver. Results, presented in figures and tables, highlight physical effects on flow and heat transfer. Magnetic and porosity effects suppress velocity but elevate temperature profile. Quantitative results show that, compared to the single nanofluid, the skin friction coefficient decreases by 2.8% for the hybrid, 6.5% for the ternary hybrid, and 10% for the tetra hybrid nanofluid. The heat transfer rate increases by 5%, 8.2%, and 12% for hybrid, ternary, and tetra hybrid nanofluids, respectively. The tetra hybrid nanofluid shows the highest thermal performance, confirming its strong potential for high-efficiency thermal management applications.