Magneto-ferrofluid convective heat transfer with radiation in mirror-trapezoidal thermal systems with two Y-shaped cooling channels

This investigation presents a comprehensive numerical analysis of magneto-ferrofluid thermal management in mirror-trapezoidal enclosures featuring Y-shaped cooling channels under thermal radiation effects. The study examines Fe3O4–H2O ferrofluid convection across varying geometric configurations, magnetic field conditions, and radiative parameters using finite element methodology (FEM). The governing equations incorporating the magnetohydrodynamic effects and thermal radiation are solved across Rayleigh numbers (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106), Hartmann numbers (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 70), magnetic field inclination angles (0° ≤ γ ≤ 150°), radiation parameters (0 ≤ Rd ≤ 3), and Y-shaped cooling channel heights (0.05 ≤ ht ≤ 0.35). Results demonstrate that heat transfer enhancement reaches 301% as Ra increases from 103 to 106, while magnetic field application provides systematic flow control with up to 42% suppression at Ha = 70. Thermal radiation substantially augments thermal performance, yielding 165% enhancement at Rd = 3 through synergistic radiation-convection coupling. The Y-shaped cooling channel height emerges as a critical geometric parameter, with optimal configurations (ht = 0.3–0.35) providing 23% performance improvement over baseline designs. Additionally, energy transport pathways through the flow domain during both conduction- dominated and convection-dominated scenarios are analyzed using the heatline visualization technique under varying operational conditions. All irreversibilities involved are also quantified to analyze total entropy generation in the system over the parametric spaces, and it establishes the principal contribution from the thermal irreversibility. The investigation demonstrates that ferrofluid systems achieve exceptional thermal management performance through multi-modal enhancement strategies combining geometric optimization, magnetic field control, and radiation effects. The findings of this study have practical applications and real-world impact such as electronic cooling systems, thermal management in renewable energy devices, and biomedical thermal therapy.