Experimental investigation of aluminum oxide nanofluid on heat pipe thermal performance

In this research, the effect of using aluminum oxide nanofluid (pure water mixed with Al₂O₃ nanoparticle with 35 nm diameter) on the thermal efficiency enhancement of a heat pipe on the different operating state was investigated.     

纳米流体对空气与水通过水平管道迟缓两相流的减阻作用的实验研究（英文）

This study investigates the effect of injecting nanofluids containing nano-SiO2 as drag reducing agents (DRA) at different concentrations on the pressure drop of air–water flow through horizontal pipe. The test fluid used in this study was air–water with nano-SiO2 particles at 0.1%–1%mass concentration. The test sections of the experi-mental set-up were five pipes of the same length of 9 m with ID from 0.0127m–0.03175m (0.5 to 1.25 in). Air–water flow was run in slug flow regime under different volumetric flow rates. The results of drag reduction (η%) indicated that the addition of DRA could be efficient up to some dosage. Drag reduction performed much better for smal er pipe diameters than it did for larger ones. For various nanosilica concentrations, the maximum drag reduction was about 66.8%for 0.75%mass concentration of nanosilica.     

Increment of specific heat capacity of solar salt with SiO2 nanoparticles

Thermal energy storage (TES) is extremely important in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants since it represents the main difference and advantage of CSP plants with respect to other renewable energy sources such as wind, photovoltaic, etc. CSP represents a low-carbon emission renewable source of energy, and TES allows CSP plants to have energy availability and dispatchability using available industrial technologies. Molten salts are used in CSP plants as a TES material because of their high operational temperature and stability of up to 500°C. Their main drawbacks are their relative poor thermal properties and energy storage density. A simple cost-effective way to improve thermal properties of fluids is to dope them with nanoparticles, thus obtaining the so-called salt-based nanofluids. In this work, solar salt used in CSP plants (60% NaNO₃ + 40% KNO₃) was doped with silica nanoparticles at different solid mass concentrations (from 0.5% to 2%). Specific heat was measured by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A maximum increase of 25.03% was found at an optimal concentration of 1 wt.% of nanoparticles. The size distribution of nanoparticle clusters present in the salt at each concentration was evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and image processing, as well as by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS). The cluster size and the specific surface available depended on the solid content, and a relationship between the specific heat increment and the available particle surface area was obtained. It was proved that the mechanism involved in the specific heat increment is based on a surface phenomenon. Stability of samples was tested for several thermal cycles and thermogravimetric analysis at high temperature was carried out, the samples being stable.

PACS

65.: Thermal properties of condensed matter; 65.20.-w: Thermal properties of liquids; 65.20.Jk: Studies of thermodynamic properties of specific liquids     

Experimental results of nanofluids flow effects on metal surfaces

The results of an experimental study on the effects of the flow of nanofluids (water-based suspensions of nanometer-sized solid particles) on metal surfaces are presented. Either different nanofluids (containing TiO₂, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, and SiC, respectively) and different target materials (aluminum, copper, stainless steel) have been investigated, under similar operating conditions. Different behaviors were observed depending on the specific combination nanofluid-target material, which in some cases led to severe damaging of the tested target, thus highlighting the need for an adequate preliminary investigation of the possible interactions between the selected nanofluid and the apparatus materials, before its adoption as heat transfer fluid.     

Free convection boundary layer flow over a horizontal cylinder of elliptic cross section in porous media saturated by a nanofluid

This work studies the free convection boundary layer flow over a horizontal cylinder of elliptic cross section in porous media saturated by a nanofluid with constant wall temperature and constant wall nanoparticle volume fraction. The effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis are incorporated into the model for nanofluids. A coordinate transformation is performed, and the obtained nonsimilar governing equations are then solved by the cubic spline collocation method. The effects of the Brownian motion parameter and thermophoresis parameter on the profiles of the temperature, nanoparticle volume fraction and velocity profiles are presented. The local Nusselt number is presented as a function of the thermophoresis parameter, Brownian parameter, Lewis number and the aspect ratio when the major axis of the elliptical cylinder is vertical (slender orientation) and horizontal (blunt orientation). Results show that the local Nusselt number is increased as the thermophoresis parameter or the Brownian parameter is decreased. The local Nusselt number increases as the buoyancy ratio or the Lewis number is decreased. Moreover, the local Nusselt number of the elliptical cylinder with slender orientation is higher than those of the elliptical cylinder with blunt orientation over the lower half cylinder.     

Experimental investigation of turbulent heat transfer and flow characteristics of SiO2/water nanofluid within helically corrugated tubes

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of nanofluid on turbulent heat transfer and pressure drop inside concentric tubes. Water and SiO₂ with mean diameter of 30 nm were chosen as base fluid and nano-particles, respectively. Experiments were performed for plain tube and five roughened tube with various heights and pitches of corrugations. Results show that adding the nano-particles in tube with high height and small pitch of corrugations augments the heat transfer significantly with negligible pressure drop penalty. It is discussed on relative Nusselt number and thermal performance of heat exchanger.     

Investigation of turbulent heat transfer performance of aviation turbine fuel multi-wall carbon nanotube nanofluid

Nanofluid is a novel heat transfer fluid prepared by suspending high thermal conductivity nano-sized particles in conventional fluids (water, engine oil and ethylene glycol). Thermo-physical properties (Thermal conductivity, dynamic viscosity and specific heat) and turbulent heat transfer performance of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) based Multiwall Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) nanofluid are investigated experimentally for particle volume concentrations of 0–1% and at mean fluid temperatures of 30οC and 50οC for a potential regenerative heat transfer application in semi-cryogenic liquid propellant rocket engine. The experimental results show that the heat transfer coefficient of the nanofluid increases with particle volume concentration, with a maximum enhancement at 1% particle volume concentration of approximately 23% and 50% observed at 30οC and 50οC respectively. Two different numerical modelling approaches (a single phase fluid model with enhanced thermo-physical properties and an Eulerian-Lagrangian model called the “discrete phase model”) are employed to simulate the experimental conditions. The predictions from both numerical modelling approaches are found to compare reasonably well with the experimental data. The enhanced heat transfer performance is expressed on an equal power penalty basis to clearely show the advantage of the nanofluid.     

Effect of an inclined partition with constant thermal conductivity on natural convection and entropy generation of a nanofluid under magnetic field inside an inclined enclosure: Applicable for electronic cooling

Free convection heat transfer of Al₂O₃/water nanofluid in an inclined closed enclosure is investigated numerically considering radiation effects. A horizontal and constant magnetic field is applied to the chamber. The chamber also has an angle with the horizontal axis. A partition with constant thermal conductivity is positioned on the horizontal diameter of the enclosure and divides the fluid inside it into two parts. Parts of the left and lower walls of the chamber are kept at high temperature, and the right wall is kept at low temperature. The rest of the walls are also insulated. In the present work, in addition of investigation of the heat transfer rate (HTR), total entropy generation (TEG) and Bejan number (Be) are also evaluated. The results show that as the Hartmann number intensifies from 0 to 40, heat transfer and entropy generation decrease by 35% and 46%, respectively. An intensification of the Rayleigh number results in an intensification of the HTR by 39% and the entropy generation by 90%. The Bejan number decreases by augmenting the Rayleigh number and intensifies with the Hartmann number. The addition of radiation heat transfer results in an intensification of the entropy generation and a reduction in the Bejan number. The enclosure angle changes have different effects on the vortices formed at the top and bottom of the partition. As the hot wall length intensifies from 0.1 to 0.9, the Nusselt number and entropy generation become 3.77 and 2.8 times, respectively.     

Entropy generation due to natural convection of a nanofluid in a partially open triangular cavity

A numerical analysis of laminar natural convection with entropy generation in a partially heated open triangular cavity filled with a Cu-water nanofluid has been carried out. Mathematical model including partial differential equations and boundary conditions has been solved by using finite difference method. Particular efforts have been focused on the effects of Rayleigh number, nanoparticles volume fraction and position of the local heater on streamlines, isotherms, local entropy generation as well as local and average Nusselt number, average Bejan number, average entropy generation and fluid flow rate. Obtained results have demonstrated that the heat transfer enhancement and fluid flow attenuation with nanoparticles volume fraction, mainly for high values of Rayleigh number.     

Effects of curvature ratio on forced convection and entropy generation of nanofluid in helical coil using two-phase approach

Applying nanofluid and helical coils are two effective methods for thermal performance enhancement. Combination of these techniques could improve the energy efficiency of thermal equipment dramatically. In this study, a numerical analysis of nanofluid flowing in helical coil with constant wall temperature boundary condition was performed to evaluate nanofluid superiority over the base fluid. Forced convective heat transfer and entropy generation of aqueous Al₂O₃ nanofluid with temperature dependent properties were investigated. Eulerian two-phase mixture model was employed for nanofluid modeling and governing mass, momentum, energy, and volume fraction equations were solved using finite volume method. Simulations covered a range of nanoparticle volume fraction of 1–3%, Reynolds number from 200 to 2000, and curvature ratio of 0.05–0.2. In order to evaluate the heat transfer performance, a parameter referred as thermo-hydrodynamic performance index was applied. Also, entropy generation analysis was performed to examine the efficiency of the helical coil and nanofluid. The results demonstrate that performance index enhances by decreasing the Reynolds number and the increasing nanoparticle concentration. The best thermo-hydrodynamic performance can be obtained at low Reynolds number, high nanoparticle volume fraction, and large curvature ratio. Increasing curvature ratio decreases the ratio of local entropy generation by nanofluid to the base fluid. So, utilization of water based Al₂O₃ nanofluid in higher curvature ratio is more efficient from irreversibility point of view.