Thermal transport in single, binary and tri-hybrid nanofluid over porous medium for heat and aeronautical applications

Abstract This study examines the flow and heat transfer behavior of a tri-hybrid nanofluid over an exponentially stretching/shrinking surface, incorporating the influences of thermal radiation, viscous dissipation, internal heat generation, and magnetic fields. The working fluid consists of a suspension of Al2O3, Cu, and TiO2 nanoparticles in water. Governing partial differential equations are reduced to an ordinary differential system through similarity transformations, subject to prescribed surface temperature (PST) and prescribed heat flux (PHF) conditions. The transformed equations are solved numerically using MATLAB’s bvp4c solver. Parametric effects on velocity, thermal characteristics, and Nusselt number are analysed and illustrated via tables and graphs for both PST and PHF cases. Comparative analysis highlights the efficiency of the tri-hybrid nanofluid Al2O3-Cu-TiO2-H2O over single and binary nanofluids. Results show enhanced heat transfer with increasing magnetic parameter, supporting applications in thermal and aeronautical engineering, including heat exchangers, solar absorbers, and lightweight cooling systems.