Enhancement of thermal conductivity with carbon nanotube for nanofluids

Thermal conductivity enhancements in ethylene glycol and synthetic engine oil in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are investigated. CNT nanofluids are prepared using a two-step method. The volume concentration of CNT–ethylene glycol suspensions is below 1.0 vol.% and that of CNT–synthetic engine oil suspensions is below 2.0 vol.%. The thermal conductivities of the CNT suspensions are measured with a modified transient hot wire method. The results show that CNT–ethylene glycol suspensions have noticeably higher thermal conductivities than the ethylene glycol base fluid without CNT. The results for CNT–synthetic engine oil suspensions also exhibit the same trend. For CNT–ethylene glycol suspensions at a volume fraction of 0.01 (1 vol.%), thermal conductivity is enhanced by 12.4%. On the other hand, for CNT–synthetic engine oil suspension, thermal conductivity is enhanced by 30% at a volume fraction of 0.02 (2 vol.%). The rates of increase are, however, different for different base fluids. The CNT–synthetic engine oil suspension has a much higher enhanced thermal conductivity ratio than the CNT–ethylene glycol suspension.     

碳纳米管纤维导热性能的实验研究

利用瞬态电热技术对碳纳米管纤维（CNTF）的导热性能进行测量，研究了不同加热电流下CNTF导热性能的变化规律。在测量过程中，发现热扩散系数存在“突变”现象，CNTF的高热扩散系数比低热扩散系数大约提高1.65-3.85倍，随着电流的增加，热扩散系数呈下降趋势。对电流加热过程中的声子散射机制进行了分析总结，并探究了CNTF中微观结构演变。研究表明，热扩散系数下降主要是由于高温加热过程中，倒逆声子散射增强和组成CNTF中的多壁碳纳米管结构变化造成。     

Effect of interface on the thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube composites

This paper presents the effect of interface on the equivalent thermal conductivity of the carbon nanotube composites. The element free Galerkin method has been utilized as a numerical tool to evaluate the thermal conductivity of the composites. The numerical results have been obtained using continuum mechanics approach for a model composite problem, and it was found that the interface has a major effect on the thermal conductivity of the composites. The effect of interface on the effective conductivity of the composite is small for short nanotubes as compared to long nanotubes. Interface thickness also plays an important role on the effective thermal conductivity of the composite. Nanotube anisotropy has got a small effect on effective thermal conductivity of the composites. Transverse thermal conductivity of the composite has got nearly linear variation with nanotube length.     

Prediction of thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol–water solutions by using artificial neural networks

The objective of this study is to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) model to predict the thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol–water solutions based on experimentally measured variables. The thermal conductivity of solutions at different concentrations and various temperatures was measured using the cylindrical cell method that physical properties of the solution are being determined fills the annular space between two concentric cylinders. During the experiment, heat flows in the radial direction outwards through the test liquid filled in the annual gap to cooling water. In the steady state, conduction inside the cell was described by the Fourier equation in cylindrical coordinates, with boundary conditions corresponding to heat transfer between the solution and cooling water. The performance of ANN was evaluated by a regression analysis between the predicted and the experimental values. The ANN predictions yield R² in the range of 0.9999 and MAPE in the range of 0.7984% for the test data set. The regression analysis indicated that the ANN model can successfully be used for the prediction of the thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol–water solutions with a high degree of accuracy.     

A numerical study on the effective thermal conductivity of biological fluids containing single-walled carbon nanotubes

Thermal death of cancerous cells may be induced by radiating single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) selectively attached via functionalization to the targeted cells. A distribution of SWNTs inside cancerous cells, on their surface, or in the inter-cellular fluid may occur during this treatment process. This work applies a random walk algorithm to calculate the effective thermal conductivity of an idealized biological fluid containing SWNTs. The thermal resistance at the interface between the SWNTs and their surroundings is incorporated to make predictions that are required for developing an overall approach to cancerous cell targeting.     

Enhanced thermal conductivity of copper-doped polyethylene glycol/urchin-like porous titanium dioxide phase change materials for thermal energy storage

A composite phase change material (PCM) of copper-doped polyethylene glycol (PEG) 2000 impregnated urchin-like porous titanium dioxide (TiO₂) microspheres (PEG/TiO₂) was successfully synthesised. The urchin-like porous TiO₂ structures contain hollow cavities that can provide a high PEG loading capacity of up to 80 wt%. Copper nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the outer and inner surfaces of the 0.8PEG/TiO₂ as additives to enhance the thermal conductivity of the composite PCM. The latent heat of the Cu/PEG/TiO₂ porous composite PCM reached 133.8 J/g, and the thermal conductivity was 0.58 W/(mK), which was 152.2% higher than that of TiO₂ and 38.1% higher than 0.8PEG/TiO₂. Moreover, the Cu/PEG/TiO₂ porous composite PCM has excellent thermal stability and reliability.     

Enhancement of thermal interface materials with carbon nanotube arrays

This paper describes an experimental study of thermal contact conductance enhancement enabled by carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays synthesized directly on silicon wafers using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Testing based on the one-dimensional reference bar method occurred in a high-vacuum environment with radiation shielding, and temperature measurements were made with an infrared camera. Results from other thermal interface materials are presented, as well as combinations of these materials with CNT arrays. Dry CNT arrays produce a minimum thermal interface resistance of 19.8 mm² K/W, while the combination of a CNT array and a phase change material produces a minimum resistance of 5.2 mm² K/W.     

Graphene/single-walled carbon nanotube hybrids and applications in supercapacitors

双电层超级电容器作为新型清洁能源储能器件,具有安全、高功率密度和长寿命的优点。目前发展新电极材料与提高工作电压窗口是提高电容器能量密度的重要方向。本工作利用化学气相沉积法制备了石墨烯-碳纳米管杂化物,具有导电性优良、孔径可调、化学稳定性高、比表面积大（1200～1800 m2/g）的优点,同时避免了单独石墨烯或者碳纳米管电极制备过程中堆叠的缺点。并且系统研究了石墨烯-碳纳米管杂化物在水系、有机电解液和离子液体中的电容性质,考察了以活性炭为主体电极材料,石墨烯-碳纳米管为添加剂的软包电容器的性质,为开发高能量密度和高功率密度的超级电容器提供了基础。     

Enhanced specific heat and thermal conductivity of ternary carbonate nanofluids with carbon nanotubes for solar power applications

Specific heat and thermal conductivity are important thermal properties of high-temperature heat transfer fluids and thermal storage materials for supercritical solar power plants. In the present work, nanofluids composed of ternary carbonate Li₂CO₃-K₂CO₃-Na₂CO₃ (4:4:2, mass ratio) and 1.0 wt.% carbon nanotubes (CNT) were prepared to obtain high-temperature heat transfer and storage media with enhanced specific heat and thermal conductivity. The dispersion of CNTs in the nanofluids was tuned by changing the evaporation temperature (100, 140, 180 and 220 °C) and adding surfactants such as sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), or gum Arabic (GA). The results showed that GA and SDS facilitate good dispersion of CNT in nanofluids at the evaporation temperatures of 140 °C and 180 °C, resulting in the formation of more needle-like nanostructures. The higher increase in the specific heat and thermal conductivity of the nanofluids with SDS at 500 °C was 78.3% and 149.2%, respectively. Additionally, the specific heat of as-prepared ternary carbonate nanofluids exhibits a good thermal stability after 30 cycles of thermal shock experiments.     

Aluminum hydride coated single-walled carbon nanotube as a hydrogen storage medium

We report a first principle study on the hydrogen storage in Aluminum hydride (AlH₃) coated (5, 5) single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT). Our study indicates that a SWCNT coated with Aluminum hydride (Alane – AlH₃) can bind up to four hydrogen molecules. At half coverage of AlH₃, the hydrogen storage capacity of the SWCNT is 8.3 wt%. The system with full coverage is also studied and it is found that, even though the hydrogen storage capacity increases, the binding of H₂ is weak. All the H₂ adsorption is molecular with H–H bond length of 0.756 Å. Our result on a full molecular adsorption of hydrogen via light metal hydride is new and it leads to a practically viable storage process.     

The role of different parameters on the stability and thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube/water nanofluids

It is obvious that the applicability and efficiency of nanofluids (suspensions contained nanoparticles) are related to their high heat transfer coefficients, especially thermal conductivity. Many parameters affect this property including size, shape and source of nanoparticles, surfactants, power of ultrasonic, time of ultrasonication, elapsed time after ultrasonication, pH, temperature, particle concentration and surfactant concentration. Some of these parameters may have interaction effects. An accepted way for obtaining the optimized condition is based on the design of experiments and statistical analysis. In this paper we investigate the stability and thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube (CNT)/water nanofluids and propose the optimum condition for the production and application of nanofluids. It has been shown that the significant factors on the thermal conductivity and stability are not precisely similar to one another.     

An experimental study on thermal conductivity of MgO nanoparticles suspended in a binary mixture of water and ethylene glycol

In the present study, the effects of solid volume fraction and temperature on the thermal conductivity of MgO/water–EG (60:40) nanofluid are discussed. Samples of nanofluid are provided by two step method at different solid concentrations, including 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 3%. The experiments are performed for different temperatures ranging from 20 to 50 °C, using KD2 pro thermal analyzer which employed transient hot wire to measure thermal conductivity. The finding shows that thermal conductivity of nanofluid increases with increasing solid volume fraction or temperature. Based on the experimental data, new correlation for modeling the thermal conductivity of MgO/water–EG (60:40) for different solid volume fractions and temperatures was proposed.     

Rheology and thermal conductivity of non-porous silica (SiO2) in viscous glycerol and ethylene glycol based nanofluids

Nanofluids are advanced fluids with novel properties useful for diverse applications in heat transfer. This article reports the experimental determination of thermal conductivity and viscosity for silica (SiO₂) nanofluids in ethylene glycol (EG) and glycerol (G) as base fluids. A two-step method was applied to disperse the nanoparticles in the base fluids for the particle volume concentration of 0.5–2.0%. The dispersion stability of the nanofluids was evaluated by zeta potential analysis. All the measurements were performed in the temperature interval from 30 °C to 80 °C. It was found that the thermal conductivity increases with temperature. The SiO₂-EG showed higher conductivity enhancement than SiO₂-G nanofluids. Rheological analyses confirm Newtonian behavior for silica nanofluids within shear rate range of 20–100 s^− 1. Viscosity decreases with an increase in operating temperature. The SiO₂-EG demonstrated very weak temperature dependence compared to the SiO₂-G nanofluids. Based on these measured properties, the criterion for heat transfer performance was determined. Furthermore, equations have been proposed with accuracy within ± 10% deviations to predict the thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity of EG and G-based SiO₂ nanofluids.     

Modeling thermal resistance in carbon nanotube contacts

Carbon nanotube (CNT) contacts play a promising role in thermal management devices due to their high thermal conductivity. However, at the CNT–substrate contacts, interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) may significantly reduce the heat transfer ability of carbon nanotube interconnects. An in depth understanding of the thermal transport in CNT–substrate contacts is therefore essential, considering the fact that very few experimental results for these contacts are available. In this computational study, the heat transport in 3-D hollow CNT/SiO₂ and CNT/Si contacts at room temperature are modeled using the Boltzmann transport equation for phonons. An isotropic assumption for the dispersion relations of graphite has been used to calculate the material properties of CNT. The present simulation for the CNT/SiO₂ contact predict the ITR to be of the same order as that of the theory. However, the computed ITR is two orders of magnitude smaller than that of the experimental value. The discrepancy between the measured and predicted values of thermal contact resistances may be attributed to the imperfect contact and the presence of catalyst particles in between the CNT and SiO₂ substrate in the experiment, the assumption of isotropic phonon dispersion and the use of Debye model to calculate the material properties. For the CNT/Si contact, the value of ITR obtained using the phonon sine function dispersion model is an order of magnitude higher than that of the Debye Model. It is determined that the length of the CNT and substrate do not have a significant effect on the thermal contact resistance. The thermal contact resistances are found to decrease with increasing values of the CNT diameter and thickness and are relatively independent of substrate diameter.     

Drastic enhancement of effective thermal conductivity of a metal hydride packed bed by direct synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Low heat conductivity restricts the rate of hydrogen absorption into a metal hydride, and this leads to a mismatch of the required absorption rate. The use of fin systems is standard in such cases, and the use of several different materials has been attempted. This includes high thermal conductivity carbon brushes and carbon nanotube. Unfortunately, such efforts have not been effective because the boundary thermal resistance has not been addressed. In this study, we focused on the direct synthesis of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), which has high thermal conductivity, on particles in a packed bed, for reducing boundary thermal resistance and estimated effective thermal conductivity. Referring to Raman spectra, we succeeded in growing SWCNT on a metal hydride and effective thermal conductivity was estimated as a function of the filling ratios of the metal hydride and the SWCNT. Consequently, the effective thermal conductivity can satisfy the required value.     

Experimental thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based low volume concentration of Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids

Thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based Al₂O₃ and CuO nanofluids has been estimated experimentally at different volume concentrations and temperatures. The base fluid is a mixture of 50:50% (by weight) of ethylene glycol and water (EG/W). The particle concentration up to 0.8% and temperature range from 15 °C–50 °C were considered. Both the nanofluids are exhibiting higher thermal conductivity compared to base fluid. Under same volume concentration and temperature, CuO nanofluid thermal conductivity is more compared to Al₂O₃ nanofluid. A new correlation was developed based on the experimental data for the estimation of thermal conductivity of both the nanofluids.     

The effect of functionalized group concentration on the stability and thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube fluid as heat transfer media

In this research, the pristine CNTs sample synthesized by the CCVD method contains catalytic particles and the carbonaceous impurities, and then the special purification procedure was done. By different methods CNT functionalized with various concentration of COOH was prepared. The carboxylated CNTs were analyzed by back titration method for determining the COOH concentrations on the surface of the oxidized CNTs. Thermal conductivity of difference carbon nanotube fluid has been measured under the stable condition by KD₂ prob. For the first time, we have compared the effect of difference COOH concentration as important parameter in stability and heat transfer behavior of nanofluid. The results show that increasing the functionalized group causes better stability and higher thermal conductivity if the surface of MWNT does not damage in functionalize process.     

A mass spectrometric investigation of the thermal oxidative reactivity of ethylene glycol

The thermal oxidative stability of ethylene glycol was investigated over the temperature range of 100–126°C. Aqueous ethylene glycol were heated in sealed tubes in the presence of metallic copper and without metal. Mass spectrometric analysis was used to determine the rates of O₂ consumption and CO₂ evolution during heating. Copper had a catalytic effect of the glycol degradation. It was found that the rate limiting step in the thermal oxidative process was not related to oxygen consumption, suggesting that the rate limiting step involved the formation of a free radical which subsequently reacts with O₂. The evolution of CO₂ continued to occur after total consumption of the O₂. This suggested that the CO₂ is evolved from one of the thermal oxidation products of ethylene glycol.     

Thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based Fe3O4 nanofluid

Thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based Fe₃O₄ nanofluid has been investigated experimentally. Magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method and the nanofluids were prepared by dispersing nanoparticles into different base fluids like 20:80%, 40:60% and 60:40% by weight of the ethylene glycol and water mixture. Experiments were conducted in the temperature range from 20 °C to 60 °C and in the volume concentration range from 0.2% to 2.0%. Results indicate that the thermal conductivity increases with the increase of particle concentration and temperature. The thermal conductivity is enhanced by 46% at 2.0 vol.% of nanoparticles dispersed in 20:80% ethylene glycol and water mixture compared to other base fluids. The theoretical Hamilton–Crosser model failed to predict the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid with the effect of temperature. A new correlation is developed for the estimation of thermal conductivity of nanofluids based on the experimental data.