Nanoparticles shape effects on controlling irreversibilities of a Jeffrey hybrid nanofluid flow over a curved surface embedded in non-Darcy medium

Purpose The purpose of this research is to analyze the impacts of nanoparticle shapes on the flow and heat transportation toward a stagnation point of a Jeffrey hybrid nanofluid over a vertically oriented curved surface. The surface is drenched in a Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium. Furthermore, the combined effects of magnetic field, solar radiation and suction/injection at the wall are also imposed to enhance the applicability of the current model. Design/methodology/approach Appropriate similarity transformations have been used to convert the governing partial differential equations into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which are then solved numerically using the bvp4c scheme of MATLAB. Findings The results reveal that an increase in the ratio of relaxation time to retardation time (λ1) enhances the velocity while reducing the temperature distribution. Additionally, lamina-shaped nanoparticles accelerate both velocity and temperature profiles more effectively than the needle and spherically shaped particles. The local wall friction (Cfs*) gets boosted by 5%, while the Nusselt number (Nus*) declined by less than 1% when the Forchheimer factor (Fr) is enhanced from 0.0 to 0.3. Total overall irreversibilities can be lessened with the decrement of the radiation parameter (Rd) and Brinkman number (Br). The authors hope that this study contributes to the advancement of geothermal systems, solar energy collectors, nuclear waste management, and drug encapsulation for targeted delivery applications. Originality/value This paper analyzes three distinct shapes of graphene oxide (GO), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles suspended in a novel non-Newtonian fluid polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution. Furthermore, it provides predictive insights aimed at optimizing entropy generation in relevant physical contexts.