Optimum fluid layer thickness for heat transfer effectiveness using water‐based nanofluids—A numerical estimation

Nanofluids are considered to be the novel method for heat transfer in heat pipes and heat exchangers. But its application in microlevel cooling systems is still limited because of the paradox that once convection onsets in the base fluid, the effectiveness of nanofluid as a heat transfer medium will be reduced. The onset of convection in the nanofluid occurs only after its onset in the base fluid which is mostly water. Hence, it is vital to estimate the fluid layer thickness of the base fluid at which convection will just onset. The problem is analyzed using the concept of the critical Rayleigh number. The study of velocity and temperature profiles in the fluid gap also gives an indication of convection in the fluid gap.     

Modeling the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids using full factorial design analysis

In this paper, a full factorial design analysis is proposed for predicting nanofluid thermal conductivity ratio (TCR) as well as determining the effects of critical factors and their interactions. A statistical design of experiment approach with three variables (volume fraction, temperature, and nanoparticle diameter) at two levels is carried out. Three types of oxide‐water nanofluids (Al₂O₃‐water, CuO‐water, and TiO₂‐water) are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed mathematical model. The significance and adequacy of the regression model were evaluated by the analysis of variance. The predicted model has a root mean square error equals to 0.0074, R² = 0.99, and P < .0013, thus showing good results compared to a set of experimental data as well as other mathematical model results. The results illustrate that the TCR of metallic oxide nano?uids increases with temperature and nanoparticles volume fraction but decreases when nanoparticle size intensi?es. Furthermore, it is found that the nanoparticles volume fraction has a great impact on the nano?uids thermophysical properties. Finally, the obtained results confirm that the proposed model is considerably accurate and capable of predicting nano?uids thermal conductivity and that it can be used with ease as an alternative to many other models.     

Semianalytical solution of axisymmetric flows of Cu‐ and Ag‐water nanofluids between two rotating disks

Present study analyses the axisymmetric flows of copper‐ and silver‐water nanofluids between two rotating disks in the presence of Hartmann number, porous medium, and drag coefficient. Effect of thermal radiation enriches the study as well. In addition to that, the coupling parameter and the Eckert number appear because of the inclusion of viscous dissipation in energy equation. The well‐posed transformations are used to transform the governing equation into ordinary and semianalytical procedure, that is, Adomain Decomposition method is used to solved these coupled ODEs. The surface and contour plots for the velocity profiles of both Cu‐ and Ag‐water nanofluids for the effect of physical parameters such as solid volume fraction, drag coefficient, and Reynolds number are obtained and presented in graphs. Also, the behavior of other pertinent parameters characterizes the flow phenomena on the nanofluid velocity and temperature are presented through graphs. The numerical computation of skin friction and Nusselt number are obtained and presented through tables. For the validity, the present results show a good agreement with earlier studies. The major findings of this study are as follows: an increase in solid volume fraction, a resistive force like drag opposes the velocity of the nanofluid, whereas Eckert number enhances the fluid temperature significantly.     

A simple single-step approach towards synthesis of nanofluids containing cuboctahedral cuprous oxide particles using glucose reduction

Enhancement of thermal properties of conventional heat transfer fluids has become one of the important technical challenges. Since nanofluids offer a promising help in this regard, development of simpler and hassle free routes for their synthesis is of utmost importance. Synthesis of nanofluids using a hassle free route with greener chemicals has been reported. The single-step chemical approach reported here overcomes the drawbacks of the two-step procedures in the synthesis of nanofluids. The resulting Newtonian nanofluids prepared contained cuboctahedral particles of cuprous oxide and exhibited a thermal conductivity of 2.852 W·m^-1·K^-1. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) used during the synthesis acted as a stabilizing agent rendering the nanofluid a stability of 9 weeks.     

纳米铜粉在太阳能集热器循环工质中的分散

以阿拉伯树胶和六偏磷酸钠为分散剂,以乙二醇水溶液为分散介质,采用球磨分散法制备用作太阳能集热器循环工质的铜纳米流体.通过分光光度法和沉降法研究分散剂含量和球磨时间等因素对铜纳米流体稳定性的影响.结果表明,阿拉伯树胶和六偏磷酸钠均能有效的分散铜纳米颗粒,得到均匀、稳定的铜纳米流体.当用阿拉伯树胶作分散剂时,质量分数为0.25%、球磨时间为6h时,分散效果最佳.用六偏磷酸钠作分散剂,质量分数为0.1%、球磨时间为2h时,分散效果最佳.阿拉伯树胶对铜纳米颗粒的稳定分散作用主要是通过空间位阻机制来实现的,而六偏磷酸钠对铜纳米颗粒的稳定分散作用则主要是通过静电稳定机制来实现的.     

Experimental Investigation of Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient of Al2O3/Water–Mono Ethylene Glycol Nanofluids in an Automotive Radiator

In this research, the overall heat transfer coefficient of Al₂O₃/water–mono ethylene glycol (MEG) nanofluids is investigated experimentally in a car radiator under laminar flow conditions. The experimental rig developed is similar to the automotive cooling system. The stable nanofluid used is prepared by a two‐step method. Ultrasonication is done for proper dispersion of 20 nm Al₂O₃ nanoparticle in carrier fluid water and MEG mixture with 50:50 proportions by volume. The experimental study showed that use of a nanofluid enhances the overall heat transfer coefficient as compared to the base fluid. In this study as the nanoparticle volume fraction increases from 0% to 0.8%, the overall heat transfer coefficient also increases. It was observed that as the nanofluid inlet temperature increased from 65 °C to 85 °C, the overall heat transfer coefficient decreased. It was found that using a 0.2% volume fraction Al₂O₃/water–MEG nanofluid can enable a 36.69 % reduction in surface area of the radiator.     

Numerical Investigations on the Advantage of Nanofluids under DDMC in a Lid‐Driven Cavity

Double diffusive mixed convection in a lid‐driven cavity filled with Cu–water nanofluid is studied in detail. Various numerical experiments are conducted under horizontal thermal and concentration gradients. Flow equations were solved in velocity vorticity form using Galerkin's weighted residual finite element method. The Maxwell‐Garnett model and Brinkman models are applied to predict the thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity of the nanofluid, respectively. The effectiveness of a nanofluid on heat transfer enhancement with respect to change in Richardson number has been studied at different Reynolds numbers for variation in particle volume fraction from 0 to 0.05. Similarly, the effect of buoyancy ratio on heat and mass transfer is presented for buoyancy ratio in the range of ?25 to 25. Detailed contour plots comparing the streamlines, temperature, concentration with and without nanoparticles were presented for all the range of parameters considered. The role of particle concentration and change in type of nanofluid has been reported. The average Nusselt number has increased in all the cases where as the Sherwood number slightly decreased with an increase in particle volume fraction. The Ag–water nanofluid showed better improvement in heat transfer characteristics compared to other nanofluids for all Reynolds numbers and particle volume fractions.     

Effect of Serpentine Grooves on Heat Transfer Characteristics of Microchannel Heat Sink with Different Nanofluids

An experimental and numerical investigation of the thermal performance of three different nanofluids ethylene glycol‐based CuO, water‐based CuO, and Al₂O₃ is done in a serpentine‐shaped micorchannel heat sink. The microchannels considered ranged from 810 μm to 890 μm in hydraulic diameter and were made of copper material. The experiments were conducted with the Reynolds number ranging from approximately 100 to 1300. The forced convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids shows that there is an improved heat transfer rate compared to base fluids water and ethylene glycol. The experimental results also confirm that there is an earlier transition from laminar to turbulent flow in microchannels. The results prove that as the hydraulic diameter decreases there is increased pressure drop and the heat transfer coefficient increases for both the base fluids and nanofluids. The flow characteristics are discussed based on the pressure drop. While investigating the heat transfer coefficient of the three different nanofluids the nanofluid CuO/EG has the highest heat transfer coefficient as a result of the material's property. This research also will encourage young researchers to work on nanofluids of varying nanoparticle size and concentration to discover new results.     

Three‐dimensional computational comparison of mini‐pinned heat sinks using different nanofluids: Part two—energy and exergy characteristics

The energy and exergy characteristics of 3D‐pinned heat sink (HS) designs have been computationally compared as the second part of a three‐part investigation. Different pin profiles, such as circular, square, triangular, strip and elliptic pins, and without pin HS are conducted with three different types of nanofluids—Al₂O₃‐water, SiO₂‐water, and CuO‐water for laminar forced convection. The concentrations of nanofluids vary from 0 to 5 vol% with different Reynolds numbers ranging between 100 and 1000. The finite volume method employing the SIMPLE algorithm for a computational solution is applied to solve the Navier–Stokes and energy equations. Four criterions studies are explained—energy efficiency, exergy loss, and exergy efficiency of HSs with pressure drop. The results showed that the highest energy and exergy efficiencies are nearly 76% and 57%, respectively, for elliptic‐pinned HSs using pure water, while about 82% and 62% using 5 vol% of SiO₂‐water nanofluids. Besides, the elliptic‐pinned HSs have a favorable reduction in the exergy loss, nearly 17% using 5 vol% of SiO₂‐water nanofluids. Subsequently, the elliptic‐pinned HS is recommended to apply with pure water considering the development in pressure drop required. However, the elliptic‐pinned HSs could be employed with 5 vol% of SiO₂‐water nanofluids regardless of the development in pressure drop required for thermal energy dissipation applications with more exergy efficiency and reduction of exergy loss.     

石墨烯量子点GQDs纳米流体导热系数模型

综合考虑布朗运动、纳米液膜层、粒子簇、微尺寸效应等多种因素的影响,建立了石墨烯量子点(graphene quantum dot, GQDs)强化基液导热系数计算模型,使用Hot Disk热常数分析仪测量去离子水质量分数分别为0.002%、0.004%、0.006%、0.008%、0.010%的GQDs纳米流体的热导率进行验证,并且用预测模型对更高温度和更高质量分数GQDs纳米流体的导热系数进行了预测。研究表明：模型预测误差不超过2.5%,准确度较高,可以很好地预测不同质量分数GQDs纳米流体在不同温度下的导热系数;GQDs纳米流体由于布朗运动引起的类似对流换热的作用提升了导热系数;而GQDs的添加比例并非越大越好,添加比例过高反而会产生沉降效果,抑制导热系数的提升。