Thermal efficiency of MHD micropolar penta-hybrid nanofluid squeezing flow under nonlinear thermal radiation and activation energy effects

Abstract

The dynamics of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) squeezing flow and heat transfer have broad industrial and engineering applications, including micro-electromechanical systems, lubrication technology, squeezefilm dampers, extrusion, rolling, coating processes, and biomedical engineering, where blood flow in narrow arteries is of interest. Motivated by these applications, this study examines the MHD micropolar squeezing flow and thermal behavior of a nonlinear radiative penta-hybrid nanofluid between two parallel disks under the influence of activation energy. To enhance thermal efficiency, the nanofluid is formulated by dispersing copper (𝐶𝑢), silver (𝐴𝑔), gold (𝐴𝑢), magnesium oxide (𝑀𝑔𝑂), and titanium dioxide (𝑇 𝑖𝑂2) nanoparticles in a water base fluid. The penta-hybrid nanofluid comprises Ag, Au, MgO, Cu, and TiO2 nanoparticles, with equal volume fraction distribution. The governing partial differential equations are reduced to nonlinear ordinary differential equations via similarity transformations and solved using the Spectral Weighted Residual Technique (SWRT). Graphical and tabular results reveal the effects of key parameters on velocity, microrotation, temperature, and concentration profiles, providing insights for optimizing advanced thermal and industrial processes. Increasing the magnetic field decreases fluid velocity but improves heat energy transfer, micropolar effects suppress flow intensity, improving stability and momentum transfer in industrial applications, and higher chemical reaction rates reduce solute concentration, while increased activation energy weakens the concentration gradient.