Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Particle Concentration and Temperature on Thermophysical Properties of Water-Based Metal-Oxide Nanofluids

摘要

The dimensionless heat transfer parameters such as Nusselt number, Reynolds number and Prandtl number are function of thermophysical properties of the nanofluids and these numbers strongly influence the convective heat transfer coefficient. In thermal systems, the heat transfer coefficient quantifies the rate of heat transfer. The thermophysical properties of the nanofluid varywith particle concentration and temperature. In the present study, experimental analysis has been performed to evaluate the influences of particle concentration and temperature on thermophysical properties of various metal oxide nanofluids. For this study, aluminium oxide (Al_2O_3), copper oxide (CuO), titanium dioxide (TiO_2) and silicon dioxide (SiO_2) nanoparticles with de-ionized water are chosen and all the experimental results are compared with pure water. The experimentally measured thermophysical properties of the various nanofluids with the empirical correlations are compared. A considerable deviation is observed between the measured results and the empirical solutions. Finally, from the results it can be concluded that, nanofluids have enhanced thermophysical properties, and they may be considered as a suitable fluid for various heat transfer applications.