EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF PARAMETERS AFFECTING NANOFLUID EFFECTIVE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

The present research reports nanofluid effective thermal conductivity enhancements (ETCE) using an accurate transient short hot wire method system. Preparation of nanofluids was carried out through a two-step method with highly powered pulses similar to that for nanoparticle dispersion in base fluids. Parameters affecting nanofluid heat conductivity such as concentration, sizes, and material of nanoparticle? type of base fluid, temperature, ultrasonic mixing time, and elapsed time after preparation were studied. In the present study, nanoparticles of Al, Al₂O₃, CuO, SnO₂, TiO₂, and SiO₂ with base fluids of water and ethylene glycol were used. Parameters like concentration, size, temperature, and the type of base fluid showed more noticeable effect on the effective thermal conductivity than the others, and mixing time had the least effect. The results showed that any increase in concentration and temperature, and also any decrease in size of nanoparticles and time elapsed after nanofluid preparation, leads to the ETCE of the nanofluid. However, the effects of nanoparticle material, base fluid, and mixing time on thermal conductivity of the nanofluid showed varying trends. Last, a number of mathematical models for prediction of thermal conductivity of nanofluids were applied.