Sensitivity Analysis of Tri‐Hybrid Nanofluid Flow Over a Convective Riga Plate with Diffusion and Activation Energy Aspects

ABSTRACT The Riga plate produces a Lorentz force to control boundary layers (BL) and improve cooling purposes for effective electromagnetic flow control in nuclear and aeronautical engineering systems. Furthermore, the synergistic interactions of different nanoparticles optimize heat transfer. A Riga surface is a specialized electromagnetically active device that controls the flow regime by modifying the Hartmann number. Riga surfaces have been used in industrial setups for chemical engineering, biomedicine procedures, and environmental engineering. In addition, the boundary layer controlled by the electromagnetic field provided by the rigid surface is used extensively in the production process of extruding polymers, spinning of metals, and fiberglass production. Advancement in thermal capability of the Riga surface by inducing ternary nanoparticles is necessary to fulfill the demand. So, the primary focus is to investigate the upsurge in thermal capability of the Riga surface by adding ternary nanoparticles, considering activation energy and convective heating. Water‐based tri‐HNF is used because of its improved thermal characteristics, which are anticipated using the Gharesim model viscosity and Hamilton‐Crosser thermal conductivity models. The assumptions of the normal heat and mass fluxes are considered for practical purposes. Computational simulations are executed to handle the developed non‐linear mathematical model by using the Runge–Kutta procedure in combination with the shooting approach. The wall friction factor, heat, and mass fluxes are optimized by applying the statistical Response Surface Methodology (RSM) technique. The ideal conditions to improve heat and mass transmission are found using sensitivity analysis, and they are subsequently validated by analysis of variance testing. Sensitivity analysis showed that in a thinner boundary layer, the skin friction increases with an augmentation in nanoparticle concentration. A higher Nusselt number indicates improved heat transfer with increased nanoparticle load. The activation energy uplifts the mass transfer rates, but decreases with nanoparticle concentration.