The mixed convection flow with thermal characteristics of a water-based Cu-Al2O3 hybrid nanofluid towards a vertical and permeable wedge was numerically and statistically analyzed in this study. The governing model was constructed using physical and theoretical assumptions, which were then reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) using similarity transformation. The steady flow solutions were computed using the Matlab software bvp4c. All possible solutions were presented in the graphs of skin friction coefficient and thermal rate. The numerical results show that the flow and thermal progresses are developed by enhancing the controlling parameters (wedge parameter, volumetric concentration of nanoparticles, and suction parameter). Moreover, the response surface methodology (RSM) with analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed for the statistical evaluation and conducted using the fit general linear model in the Minitab software. From the standpoint of statistical analysis, the wedge parameter and volumetric nanoparticle concentration have a considerable impact on all responses; however, the suction parameter effect is only substantial for a single response.
Keywords: dual solutions; experimental design; heat transfer; hybrid nanofluid; mixed convection; suction.