Photothermal Study of Two Different Nanofluids Containing SiO2 and TiO2 Semiconductor Nanoparticles

Thermal and optical properties of two different nanofluids containing SiO₂ and TiO₂ semiconductor nanoparticles were studied by thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) and spectrophotometry. In the case of SiO₂ nanofluids the transmission electron microscopy technique was used to obtain the SiO₂ nanoparticle sizes to investigate the size effect of these nanoparticles on the sample thermal diffusivity which is important in some medical applications such as photothermal-modulated drug delivery systems. On the other hand for the case of TiO₂ nanofluids, the photopyroelectric technique, TLS, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction were employed to investigate the concentration effect on the thermal properties of these nanofluids. Thermal diffusivities and effusivities as functions of the TiO₂ nanoparticle concentrations were obtained. From the experimental results, an incremental increase in the thermal diffusivities and effusivities was observed when the nanoparticle concentration was increased, indicating that the nanoparticle concentration is an important factor to be considered to obtain nanofluids with more thermal efficiency which are required for some applications, such as degradation of residual water.     

Heat and mass transfer enhancement of binary nanofluids for H2O/LiBr falling film absorption process

The objectives of this study are to measure the vapor absorption rate and heat transfer rate for falling film flow of binary nanofluids, and to compare the enhancement of heat transfer and mass transfer under the same conditions of nanofluids. The key parameters are the base fluid concentration of LiBr, the concentration of nanoparticles in weight %, and nanoparticle constituents. The binary nanofluids are H₂O/LiBr solution with nanoparticles of Fe and Carbon nanotubes (CNT) with the concentrations of 0.0, 0.01 and 0.1 wt %. The vapor absorption rate increases with increasing the solution mass flow rate and the concentration of Fe and CNT nanoparticles. It is found that the mass transfer enhancement is much more significant than the heat transfer enhancement in the binary nanofluids with Fe and CNT. It is also found that the mass transfer enhancement from the CNT nanoparticles becomes higher than that from the Fe nanoparticles. Therefore, the CNT is a better candidate than Fe nanoparticles for absorption performance enhancement in H₂O/LiBr absorption system.     

纳米流体强化相变蓄冷特性的实验研究

在水基液中添加少量的纳米Cu颗粒(平均粒径为25nm),经超声波振荡和添加分散剂后,制备成分散稳定的Cu-H2O纳米流体.实验研究了纳米颗粒添加剂对水过冷度的影响,并采用红外热摄仪在线观察了纳米流体结晶过程的温度分布.结果表明.在水基液中加入纳米Cu粒子后,其过冷度明显降低,且随着纳米Cu质量分数的增加,流体的结冰时间缩短.Cu-H2O纳米流体的相变温度比水的提高了1℃,因此,纳米流体蓄冰时可以降低压缩机的输入功率,从而节约成本、减少能耗.     

MgO nanofluids: higher thermal conductivity and lower viscosity among ethylene glycol-based nanofluids containing oxide nanoparticles

Five kinds of oxides, including MgO, TiO₂, ZnO, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ nanoparticles were selected as additives and ethylene glycol (EG) was used as base fluid to prepare stable nanofluids. Thermal transport property investigation demonstrated substantial increments in the thermal conductivity and viscosity of all these nanofluids with oxide nanoparticle addition in EG. Among all the studied nanofluids, MgO–EG nanofluid was found to have superior features, with the highest thermal conductivity and lowest viscosity. The thermal conductivity enhancement ratio of MgO–EG nanofluid increases nonlinearly with the volume fraction of nanoparticles. In the experimental temperature range of 10–60°C, thermal conductivity enhancement ratio of MgO–EG nanofluids appears to have a weak dependence on the temperature. Viscosity measurements showed that MgO–EG nanofluids demonstrated Newtonian rheological behaviour, and the viscosity significantly decreases with the temperature. The thermal conductivity and viscosity increments of the nanofluids are much higher than the corresponding values predicted by the existing classical models for the solid–liquid mixture.     

Particle shape effect on the viscosity and thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids

The viscosity and thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids with nanoparticle shapes of nearly rectangular and of sphere, were experimentally investigated under various volume concentrations of the nanoparticles, ranging from 0.05 to 5.0 vol.%. The viscosity of the nanofluids increased with increases in the volume concentration by up to 69%. In addition, the enhancement of the viscosity of the nearly rectangular shape nanoparticles was found to be greater by 7.7%, than that of the spherical nanoparticles. The thermal conductivity of the ZnO nanofluids increased by up to 12% and 18% at 5.0 vol.% for the spherical and the nearly rectangular shape nanoparticles, respectively, compared to that of the base fluid (water). The shape of the particles is found to have a significant effect on the viscosity and thermal conductivity enhancements.     

Cu-水纳米流体的分散行为及导热性能研究

通过测定Cu-水纳米悬浮液的Zeta电位和吸光度,采用Hotdisk热物性分析仪测量了其导热系数,探讨了不同pH值和分散剂浓度对Cu-水纳米悬浮液分散稳定性和导热性能的影响.结果表明,pH值和分散剂加入量是影响Cu-水纳米悬浮液分散稳定和导热系数的重要因素.最优化的pH值和分散剂加入量能显著提高水溶液中Cu表面Zeta电位绝对值,增大了颗粒间静电排斥力,悬浮液分散稳定性较好,导热系数较高.从分散稳定和导热系数提高两个方面来考虑,pH=9.5左右被选为最优化值,在0.1%Cu-H2O纳米流体中,0.07%SDBS被选为最优化浓度.另外,Cu-水纳米流体的导热系数随纳米粒子质量分数的增大而增大,呈非线性关系,且比现有理论(Hamilton-Crosser模型)预测值大.     

A Simple Investigation of the Thermal Effusivity of Silver Nanofluid Using Photopyroelectric Technique

We investigated the thermal effusivity of silver nanofluids using a microwave technique. During microwave irradiation, silver nanoparticles with a narrow particle size distribution were formed in water and in ethylene glycol, with a polyvinylpyrrolidone stabilizer. We designed and used a front-photopyroelectric technique that employed a metalized polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) pyroelectric sensor, with a thermally thick sensor and sample. Using this technique, we calculated the thermal effusivity of the silver nanofluids at a given frequency using the combination of the signal’s normalized amplitude–phase. The thermal effusivity of the nanofluids increased with the number of microwave irradiation cycles, which increased the nanoparticle concentration in the base fluids. A comparison with reported values illustrates the high accuracy obtained from the results of thermal diffusivity, the thermal effusivity of the PVDF sensor, and the thermal effusivity of ethylene glycol as a base fluid (differing by only 1.7 %, 0.5 %, and 2.3 %, respectively). Our method can therefore be used to study nanofluids with varying nanoparticle properties, such as concentration, size, and shape.     

Enhancement of heat transfer by water–Al2O3 and water–TiO2 nanofluids jet impingement in cooling hot steel surface

Two different nanofluids, namely water–Al₂O₃ and water–TiO₂, were impinged in the form of jet on hot steel surface to remove high heat flux, and their performance was compared. The dimension of the test steel sample was 120 mm × 120 mm and 4 mm thickness. Four K-type thermocouples were embedded on the bottom surface of the plate to measure the transient temperature distribution. The time-temperature data were recorded by the help of a data acquisition system (make: CHINO, model: KR2000), and the results were analysed by ZAILA application software. Effect of impinging nanofluids with weight concentrations of 0.01%, 0.03%, 0.05% and 0.07% Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ nanoparticles on heat transfer from the hot surface was tested. The surface heat transfer coefficient (HTC) was computed from the time-temperature history recorded during experimentation. Experimental results revealed that addition of nanoparticles to the base fluid (water) surprisingly enhanced the heat transfer rate and HTC as expected. The heat transfer rate increased up to certain limit of nanoparticle concentrations, and then declined. Application of nanofluids for the steel strip cooling was found very effective in terms of heat transfer phenomena as compared to the conventional fluid cooling methods.     

Investigation of Al2O3-MWCNTs hybrid dispersion in water and their thermal characterization

Synthesis of water based Al2O3-MWCNTs hybrid nanofluids have been investigated and characterized. Al2O3-MWCNTs nanoparticles in weight proportion of 97.5:2.5 to 90:10 have been studied over 1% to 6% weight concentration. Dispersion quality of nanofluids is assured by additional synthesis process like acids treatment and grinding of MWCNTs by planetary ball mill. The effects of ground and non-ground MWCNTs over dispersion quality and thermal conductivity have been investigated. Sedimentation effect of hybrid nanofluids with time length has been studied by sample visualization and TEM micrographs. The augmentative absorbance and thermal conductivity of hybrid nanofluids have been compared with pure Al2O3/water nanofluids. The overall result shows that the enhancement in normalized thermal conductivity of hybrid nanofluids is still not so sharp though the absorbance and other qualities show much better comparing mono type nanofluids. Hybrid nanofluids with spherical particles show a smaller increase in thermal conductivity comparing cylindrical shape particles.     

纳米流体中CO_2水合物生成特性实验研究

在自行设计的小型气体水合物反应装置上进行了纳米流体中CO2水合物生成特性的实验研究,探讨了纳米粒子的种类、粒径和质量分数对CO2水合物生成特性的影响。研究发现,与纯水相比,纳米粒子Cu O和Si O2增加了CO2耗气量,但延长了气体水合物生成的诱导时间。金属纳米粒子Cu和金属氧化物纳米粒子Al2O3对CO2水合物生成的诱导时间和耗气量有明显改善。对不同粒径的Al2O3纳米粒子对气体水合物生成特性的研究发现,30 nm的Al2O3纳米流体对水合物生成特性影响最大。与纯水相比,0.1%-30 nm-Al2O3纳米流体中水合物生成的诱导时间缩短了76.9%,耗气量增加了23.2%。CO2水合物耗气量随着Cu粒子质量分数的增加先增加后减少。最后进行了纳米粒子对CO2水合物生成特性的影响的理论分析。     

On the thermal conductivity of nanofluids

The dependence of the effective thermal conductivity λ of nanofluids on the properties of dispersed nanoparticles has been studied by the molecular dynamics method. It is established that the thermal conductivity of a nanofluid always exceeds that of the carrier medium, the excess depending on the volume fraction of nanoparticles, their masses, and sizes. An increase in the nanoparticle mass at a constant size leads to a more pronounced increase in λ than does the growth in size at a constant mass, which implies that the density of dispersed nanoparticles is an important factor that determines the thermal conductivity of nanofluids.     

Investigation on tribological performance of CuO vegetable-oil based nanofluids for grinding operations

With ball-bearing and tribofilm lubrication effects, CuO vegetable oil-based nanofluids have exhibited excellent anti-wear and friction reduction properties. In this study, CuO nanofluids were synthesized by a one-step electro discharge process in distilled water containing polysorbate-20 and vegetable oil as a nanoparticle stabilizer and source of fatty-acid molecules in the base fluid, respectively. Pin-on-disk tribotests were conducted to evaluate the lubrication performance of synthesized CuO nanofluids between brass/steel contact pairs under various loadings. Surface grinding experiments under minimum lubrication conditions were also performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the synthesized nanofluids in improving the machining characteristics and surface quality of machined parts. The results of pin-on-disk tests revealed that adding nanofluids containing 0.5% and 1% (mass fraction) CuO nanoparticles to the base fluid reduced the wear rate by 66.7% and 71.2%, respectively, compared with pure lubricant. The lubricating action of 1% (mass fraction) CuO nanofluid reduced the ground surface roughness by up to 30% compared with grinding using lubricant without nano-additives. These effects were attributed to the formation of a lubrication film between the contact pairs, providing the rolling and healing functions of CuO nanoparticles to the sliding surfaces. The micrography of ground surfaces using a scanning electron microscope confirmed the tribological observations.The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00314-1     

MHD convective heat transfer of nanofluids through a flexible tube with buoyancy: A study of nano-particle shape effects

This paper presents an analytical study of magnetohydrodynamics and convective heat transfer of nanofluids synthesized by three different shaped (brick, platelet and cylinder) silver (Ag) nanoparticles in water. A two-phase nanoscale formulation is adopted which is more appropriate for biophysical systems. The flow is induced by metachronal beating of cilia and the flow geometry is considered as a cylindrical tube. The analysis is carried out under the low Reynolds number and long wavelength approximations and the fluid and cilia dynamics is of the creeping type. A Lorentzian magnetic body force model is employed and magnetic induction effects are neglected. Solutions to the transformed boundary value problem are obtained via numerical integration. The influence of cilia length parameter, Hartmann (magnetic) number, heat absorption parameter, Grashof number (free convection), solid nanoparticle volume fraction, and cilia eccentricity parameter on the flow and heat transfer characteristics (including effective thermal conductivity of the nanofluid) are examined in detail. Furthermore a comparative study for different nanoparticle geometries (i.e. bricks, platelets and cylinders) is conducted. The computations show that pressure increases with enhancing the heat absorption, buoyancy force (i.e. Grashof number) and nanoparticle fraction however it reduces with increasing the magnetic field. The computations also reveal that pressure enhancement is a maximum for the platelet nano-particle case compared with the brick and cylinder nanoparticle cases. Furthermore the quantity of trapped streamlines for cylinder type nanoparticles exceeds substantially that computed for brick and platelet nanoparticles, whereas the bolus magnitude (trapped zone) for brick nanoparticles is demonstrably greater than that obtained for cylinder and platelet nanoparticles. The present model is applicable in biological and biomimetic transport phenomena exploiting magnetic nanofluids and ciliated inner tube surfaces.     

Mechanism of heat transport in nanofluids

We have calculated thermal conductivity of alumina nanofluids (with water and ethylene glycol as base fluids) using temperature as well as concentration-dependent viscosity, η. The temperature profile of η is obtained using Gaussian fit to the available experimental data. In the model, the interfacial resistance effects are incorporated through a phenomenological parameter α. The micro-convection of the alumina nanoparticle (diameter less than 100 nm) is included through Reynolds and Prandtl numbers. The model is further improved by explicitly incorporating the thermal conductivity of the nanolayer surrounding the nanoparticles. Using this improved model, thermal conductivity of copper nanofluid is calculated. These calculations capture the particle concentration-dependent thermal conductivity and predict the dependence of the thermal conductivity on the size of the nanoparticle. These studies are significant to understand the underlying processes of heat transport in nanofluids and are crucial to design superior coolants of next generation.     

Rheological behavior of carbon nanotube and graphite nanoparticle dispersions

Dispersions containing nanoparticles (nanofluids) are mixtures with unique properties, and their transport properties depend on the three-dimensional network or microstructure of the nanoparticles, which can be affected by various factors including shear stress, particle loading, and temperature. In this research, we studied the rheological behaviors of dispersions containing two different carbon morphologies: multiwalled carbon nanotubes (rodlike nanoparticles with L/D = 30), and graphite particles (disklike nanoparticles with L/D = 0.025). All nanofluids showed shear thinning behavior in steady shear measurements and those containing nanotubes had lower power law indices than graphite dispersions. Shear stress broke down the microstructure network and oriented both rodlike and disklike nanoparticles in the dispersions. The presence of a modest amount of nanotubes in the graphite nanofluid affected the microstructure of the dispersion and caused a remarkable decrease in its power law index. Microstructures of nanofluids strongly depended on the dispersant chemistry used to stabilize the particles, and high temperature may cause dispersant failure. Mechanical methods for dispersing the particles affected the geometry of the nanoparticles and therefore the rheological properties of the nanofluids. In the creep recovery tests, the compliance of graphite nanofluids quickly returned to zero when the stress was removed, while nanotube dispersion with high nanotube loading showed an elastic response during recovery. These results suggest that the microstructure in the dispersions is affected by nanoparticle morphology, dispersant chemistry, and shear stress.     

Experimental study on heat transfer enhancement of nanofluid flow through helical tubes

Fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids flowing through helically coiled tubes under uniform heat flux condition are studied experimentally. The turbulent flow of two different kinds of nanofluids, i.e. Ag-water and SiO₂-water, are examined. Three different helically coiled tubes along with straight ones are constructed to investigate the effects of geometrical parameters such as pitch circle diameter and helical pitch as well as nanoparticle volume concentration. The viscosity and thermal conductivity of nanofluids are determined experimentally in different volume fractions and temperatures. The range of Reynolds number is from 8900 to 11970. The experimental outcomes show that using nanoparticles in coiled tubes can be more effective in improving the heat transfer rate than the straight tube. Empirical correlations are extracted based on experimental data to predict the Nusselt number and friction factor of turbulent nanofluids flow through helically coiled tubes.     

Influence of different parameters and their coupled effects on the stability of alumina nanofluids by a fractional factorial design approach

Nanofluids have been introduced as new-generation fluids able to improve energy efficiency in heat exchangers. However, stability problems related to both agglomeration and sedimentation of nanoparticles have limited industrial-level scaling. A fractional factorial experimental 2^k?1 design was applied in order to evaluate the effects of nanoparticle concentration, surfactant type and concentration, ultrasonic amplitude as well as ultrasonic time on the stability of alumina (Al₂O₃) nanofluids. Commercial alumina nanoparticles (particle diameter <50 nm) were dispersed in deionized water using ultrasonic probe dispersion equipment. Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) were used as surfactants. The stability of the nanofluids in static mode was monitored by visual inspection and UV visible spectroscopy. The results of the experimental design showed that the coupled effects between surfactant type and surfactant concentration and between ultrasonication tip amplitude and ultrasonication time had the most pronounced effects on nanofluid stability. The experimental conditions providing the best stability were 0.5 wt% of Al₂O₃, CTAB, critical micelle surfactant concentration, 30% ultrasonic amplitude and 30 min of ultrasonication.     

Characterization of Thermal Radiative Properties of Nanofluids for Selective Absorption of Solar Radiation

Nanofluids are used in device cooling, heat pipes, and other applications. Researchers in thermal engineering have extensively investigated the thermal conductivity and enhanced heat transfer of nanofluids. This study investigates the thermal radiative properties of nanofluids and discusses the characteristics of the selective absorption of solar radiation of nanofluids. Several kinds of nanoparticles are prepared using the two-step method, and the effects of dispersants, mass fractions, and nanoparticle materials on the radiative properties of nanofluids within the wavelength range of 300 nm to 2500 nm are analyzed. Dispersants can reduce the transmittance of water by <5 % within the visible spectrum. ZnO- and AlN-water nanofluids selectively absorb solar radiation, whereas ZrC- and TiN-water nanofluids absorb most of the solar radiation applied to them. The findings of this study are beneficial to research on the application of nanofluids in solar energy utilization.     

Microscale bone grinding temperature by dynamic heat flux in nanoparticle jet mist cooling with different particle sizes

Nanoparticle jet mist cooling (NJMC) is an effective solution to prevent heat injuries in clinical neurosurgery bone grinding. A simulation study on temperature field of microscale bone grinding was performed to discuss the effect of nanoparticle size on heat convection during this cooling method by the dynamic heat flux density model. Such dynamic heat flux density model was established through real-time acquisition of grinding force signals. Results showed that given the real-time dynamic heat flux, workpiece surface temperature changes with time. Nanofluids using 30?nm nanoparticles show the largest heat convection coefficient (1.8723?W/mm²?·?K) and the lowest average surface temperature followed by nanofluids of 50, 70, and 90?nm nanoparticles successively. An experimental verification using fresh bovine femur was conducted with 2% (volume fraction) of different sizes of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles. The simulated temperature under dynamic heat flux comes close to the actual measured temperature. Under testing conditions, temperature under mist cooling is 33.6°C, temperatures under NJMC using nanofluids (30, 50, 70, and 90?nm) are 21.4, 17.6, 16.1, and 8.3% lower, respectively. This result confirmed the positive correlation between the average workpiece surface temperature and nanoparticle size. Experimental results agreed with theoretical analysis, verifying the validity of theoretical modeling.     

Preparation,characterization, viscosity,and thermal conductivity of nitrogen-doped graphene aqueous nanofluids

Nanofluids perform a crucial role in the development of newer technologies ideal for industrial purposes. In this study, Nitrogen-doped graphene (NDG) nanofluids, with varying concentrations of nanoparticles (0.01, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06 wt%) were prepared using the two-step method in a 0.025 wt% Triton X-100 (as a surfactant) aqueous solution as a base. Stability, zeta potential, thermal conductivity, viscosity, specific heat, and electrical conductivity of nanofluids containing NDG particles were studied. The stability of the nanofluids was investigated by UV–vis over a time span of 6 months and concentrations remain relatively constant while the maximum relative concentration reduction was 20 %. The thermal conductivity of nanofluids was increased with the particle concentration and temperature, while the maximum enhancement was about 36.78 % for a nanoparticle loading of 0.06 wt%. These experimental results compared with some theoretical models including Maxwell and Nan’s models and observed a good agreement between Nan’s model and the experimental results. Study of the rheological properties of NDG nanofluids reveals that it followed the Newtonian behaviors, where viscosity decreased linearly with the rise of temperature. It has been observed that the specific heat of NDG nanofluid reduced gradually with the increase of concentration of nanoparticles and temperature. The electrical conductivity of the NDG nanofluids enhanced significantly due to the dispersion of NDG in the base fluid. This novel type of fluids demonstrates an outstanding potential for use as innovative heat transfer fluids in medium-temperature systems such as solar collectors.