CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Heat transfer is one of the most important processes in many industrial and
consumer products. For more than a century, scientists and engineers have made
great efforts to enhance the inherently poor thermal conductivity of conventional
fluids. In 1873, Maxwell proposed an idea of using metallic particles to enhance
the electrical or thermal conductivity of matrix materials. He presented a theory
for effective conductivity of slurries, by dispersing millimeter- or micrometer-
sized particles (typically have size between 0.1 and 100 μm) in liquids. However,
major problems such as sedimentation, erosion, and high pressure drop prevented
the usual micro particle slurries to be used as heat transfer fluids. Nanofluids,
which is a dilute suspension of nanometer sized particles or fibers (typically less
than 100 nm)dispersed in a fluid such as water, oil, and ethylene glycol (EG),have
emerged as a potential candidate for the design of heat transfer fluids. According
to their potential applications in the heat transfer field, nanofluids have been a
subject of intensive investigation. According to the definition of micro- and nano
particles size, nano particles have surface/volume ratio 1000 times larger than that
of micro particles. This in turn, allows improving thermal properties of nanofluids
rather than microparticles-colloidal suspensions, since heat transfer occurs on the
surface of the particle. Compared with micro-particles, nano particles stay
suspended much longer in base fluids, with very little settling under static
conditions, unlike micron sized suspensions.
The discovery brought about a wave of studies in this area, predominantly
experimental confirmation of the huge potential of nanofluids as well as efforts to
theorize the phenomenon. The various techniques used to measure thermal
conductivity are covered. Then, experimental work carried on studying the
thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids against their base fluids is

1
reviewed. This review aims to define parameters investigated experimentally
through the literature in order to find out points of agreement and conflict in the
obtained results to understand the thermal behavior of nanofluids. Moreover,
different applications using nanofluid is also reviewed.

Figure 1.1: Comparison of the thermal conductivity of common liquids, polymers

and solids [2]

2
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 NANOFLUIDS [1]

Nanofluids are engineered colloidal suspensions of nano particles in a base

fluid, typically water. The term nano particle comes from the Latin prefix ‘nano’.
It prefix is used to denote the 10-9 part of a unit. In general the size of these nano
particles varies from 1-100nm. The type of nano particle used is directly
dependent on the enhancement of a required property of the base fluid. All
physical mechanisms have a critical length scale, below which the physical
properties of materials are changed. Therefore particles less than 100 nm exhibit
properties that are considerably different from those of conventional solids. The
noble properties of nano phase materials come from the relatively high surface
area to volume ratio that is due to the high proportion of constituent atoms
residing at the grain boundaries.

The thermal, mechanical, optical, magnetic, and electrical properties of

nano phase materials are superior to those of conventional materials with coarse
grain structures.

Figure 2.1: Structure of nanofluid

3
2.2 BASE FLUIDS [1]

Base fluids are the conventional fluids that are used nowadays, which have
a low thermal conductivity than the nano fluids. Base fluid is a fluid in which the
nano particles are suspended to form the nano fluids. Liquid lubricants may be
characterized in many different ways. One of the most common ways is by the
type of base oil used. Following are the most common types:

 Water
 Mineral and synthetic oils
 Vegetable oil (Natural oil)

Water, oil and ethylene glycol are the most common base fluids being used in
producing nanofluids.

2.3 NANO PARTICLES [1]

Nano-particles are particles between 1 and 100 nanometers in size. In nano

technology, a particle is defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit
with respect to its transport and properties. Particles are further classified
according to diameter. Ultrafine particles are the same as nano-particles and
between 1 and 100 nanometers in size, fine particles are sized between 100 and
2,500 nanometers, and coarse particles cover a range between 2,500 and 10,000
nanometers. Scientific research on nano particles is intense as they have many
potential applications in medicine, physics. The most popular nano-particles that
use to produce nanofluids are: aluminum oxide (Al2O3), copper (II) oxide (CuO),
copper (Cu).

Figure 2.2: Structure of nano particles

4
2.4 THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY [1]

Thermal conductivity (often denoted k, λ, or κ) is the property of a material

to conduct heat. It is evaluated primarily in terms of Fourier's Law for heat
conduction.

Q = -kA (dT/dx)

Where,
‘Q’ is the heat flow rate by conduction (W)
‘k’ is the thermal conductivity of body material (W·m−1·K−1)
‘A’ is the cross-sectional area normal to direction of heat flow (m2)
‘dT/dx’ is the temperature gradient (K·m−1).

Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate across materials of low thermal

conductivity than across materials of high thermal conductivity. Correspondingly,
materials of high thermal conductivity are widely used in heat sink applications
and materials of low thermal conductivity are used as thermal insulation. The
thermal conductivity of a material may depend on temperature. The reciprocal of
thermal conductivity is called thermal resistivity.

2.5 SYNTHESIS [2]

In general, there are two methodologies used to produce nanofluids,

2.5.1 Two step method

Two-step method is the most widely used method for preparing nanofluids. Nano
particles, Nanofibers, nanotubes or other nano materials used in this method are
first produced as dry powders by chemical or physical methods. Then the nano
sized powder will be dispersed into a fluid in the second processing step with the
help of intensive magnetic force agitation, Ultrasonic agitation, high-shear mixing,
homogenizing and ball milling. Two-step method is the most economic method to
produce nanofluids in large scale, because nano powder synthesis techniques have
already been scaled up to industrial production levels. Due to the high surface area
and surface activity, nano particles have the tendency

5
 to aggregate. The important technique to enhance the stability of nano
particles in fluids is the use of surfactants. However the functionality of the
surfactants under high temperature is also a big concern, especially for high
temperature applications.

2.5.2 Single step method

In the single step method the nano particles are produced and dispersed
simultaneously into the base fluid.
A single-step method is usually employed for metal nanofluid preparation, while a
two step method applies better for nanofluids containing oxide nano particles. The
main advantage of the single-step technique is the minimization of nano particles
agglomeration.
The most well-known single-step methods are the direct evaporation
approach

2.3: Direct evaporation and Two step method [5]

6
 CHAPTER 3

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

3.1 THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

Measuring the thermal conductivity of nanofluids can be carried out with

different methods. The most common techniques for this purpose are the transient
ones including: transient hot-wire method, temperature oscillation method, and 3-
ω method.

3.1.1 Transient hot wire method

The transient hot-wire (THW) method is the most widely used

experimental technique for measuring fluids thermal conductivity, as it is an easy
and low cost method to be implemented. It is a standard transient dynamic
technique based on the measurement of the temperature rise in a defined distance
from a linear heat source (hotwire) embedded in the test material. A hot wire is
placed in the fluid, which functions as both a heat source and a thermometer. A
constant current is supplied to the wire to raise its temperature. The heat dissipated
in the wire increases the temperature of the wire as well as that of the nanofluid.
This temperature rise depends on the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid sample
in which the hot-wire is inserted. Figure shows the schematic diagram of the
arrangement which can be used for the measurement. Several researchers across
the world have used transient hot-wire technique for the measurement of thermal
conductivity of nanofluids. The ideal mathematical model of the method is based
on Fourier’s law, assuming the hot wire as an ideal, infinite thin and long heat
source in an infinite surrounding from homogeneous and isotropic material with

7
constant initial temperature. According to Fourier’s law, when the wire is heated,
fluid of higher thermal conductivity corresponds to a lower temperature rise.

Figure 3.2: Schematic diagram of transient hot wire method [5]

3.1.2 Temperature oscillation method

This method is based on the oscillation method proposed by Roetzel and

further developed by Czarnetzki and Roetzel. Applying this method requires
measuring the temperature response of the nanofluid sample when a temperature
oscillation or heat flux is imposed. The measured temperature response of the
sample is an indication of averaged or localized thermal conductivity in the
direction of sample chamber height.

8
 Figure 3.3: Schematic diagram of temperature oscillation method [5]

The experimental setup shown in the above figure requires a specially

fabricated test cell (1) which is cooled by cooling water (2) on both the ends,
coming from a thermostatic bath (3). Electrical connection provides power to the
Peltier element (4). The temperatures are measured in the test section (shown in
figure 3.3) through a number of thermocouples and these responses are amplified
with amplifier (5) followed by a filter which is finally fed to the data acquisition
system (6) comprising of a card for logging the measured data. The data logger is
in turn connected to a computer with proper software (7) for online display which
is required to assess the steady oscillation and for recording data.

3.1.3 3ω method

Similar to hot-wire technique, the 3v method uses a radial flow of heat

from a single element which acts both as the heater and the thermometer. The use
of the temperature oscillation instead of the time dependent response is the major
difference. A sinusoidal current at frequency ω passes through the metal wire and

9
generates a heat wave at frequency 2ω, which is deduced by the voltage
component at frequency 3ω.

3.2 PARAMETERS EFFECTING THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 3.4: Parameters [6]

3.2.1 Particle concentration

Particle volume fraction is a parameter that is investigated in almost all of

the experimental studies and the results are usually in agreement qualitatively.
Most of the researchers report increasing thermal conductivity with increasing
particle volume fraction and the relation found is usually linear. However, there
are also some studies which indicate nonlinear behavior. According to the some
authors, such a nonlinear relation is an indication of interactions between
particles. It was concluded that despite the fact that particle volume fraction is
very small, nanotubes interact with each other due to the very high particle
concentration (1011 particles/cm3).

However, this relation is associated with a limited nano particle loading.

This fact was observed by Ceylan et al., who tested suspended Ag-Cu alloy nano
particles (10 nm) in PO. They found that the thermal conductivity enhancement

10
increases with increasing volumetric loading until a certain peak point. Beyond
this point the thermal conductivity decreases until it reaches its value for the base
fluid.

Figure 3.5: Thermal conductivity v/s volume fraction [4]

3.2.2 Particle size

Particle size is another important parameter of thermal conductivity of

nanofluids. It is possible to produce nano particles of various sizes, generally
ranging between 5 and 100 nm. Mushed concluded that the size of the nano
particles is an important factor that affects the thermal conductivity enhancement,
which is contrary to the predictions of conventional models such as Hamilton and
Crosser model, which does not take the effect of particle size on thermal
conductivity into account. The general trend in the experimental data is that the
thermal conductivity of nanofluids increases with decreasing particle size. This
trend is theoretically supported by two mechanisms of thermal conductivity
enhancement; Brownian motion of nano particles and liquid layering around nano

11
particles. However, there is also a significant amount of contradictory data in the
literature that indicate decreasing thermal conductivity with decreasing particle
size. In fact, for the case of nanofluids with Al2O3nanoparticles, such results are
more common than the results showing increasing thermal conductivity with
decreasing particle size. [4]

3.2.3 Particle shape

There are mainly two particle shapes used in nanofluid research; spherical
particles and cylindrical particles. Cylindrical particles usually have a large
length-to-diameter ratio. Two types of nano particles were used for the preparation
of nanofluids; spherical particles with 26 nm average diameter and cylindrical
particles with 600 nm average diameter. It was found that 4.2 vol. % water-based
nanofluids with spherical particles had a thermal conductivity enhancement of
15.8%, whereas 4 vol. % nanofluids with cylindrical particles had a thermal
conductivity enhancement of 22.9%. In addition to these experimental results, the
fact that nanofluids with carbon nanotubes (which are cylindrical in shape)
generally show greater thermal conductivity enhancement than nanofluids with
spherical particles should also be considered. As a result, one can conclude that
cylindrical nano particles provide higher thermal conductivity enhancement than
spherical particles. One of the possible reasons of this is the rapid heat transport
along relatively larger distances in cylindrical particles since cylindrical particles
usually have lengths on the order of micrometers. However, it should be noted
that nanofluids with cylindrical particles usually have much larger viscosities than
those with spherical nano particles. [6] [4]

3.2.4 Nano particle thermal conductivity

Select nano particles having higher thermal conductivity to enhance heat

transfer performance. From an experiments, it is clear to find that for the same
base fluid, MgO showed significant higher thermal conductivity enhancement
compared to the A12O3 system, despite the larger MgO particle size (40 nm)
compared to (13 nm) forA12O3 nano particles. This comparison indicates that the

12
particle thermal conductivity has a stronger effect than particle size. According to
Eastman, nanofluids containing metallic particles can achieve a large
improvement in effective conductivity compared to either base fluids or
nanofluids containing oxide particles.

3.2.5 Base fluid

Many different particle materials are used for nanofluid preparation.

Al2O3, CuO, TiO2, SiC, TiC, Ag, Au, Cu and Fe nano particles are frequently
used in nanofluid research. Carbon nanotubes are also utilized due to their
extremely high thermal conductivity in the longitudinal (axial) direction. Base
fluids mostly used in the preparation of nanofluids are the common working fluids
of heat transfer applications; such as, water, ethylene glycol and engine oil.
According to the conventional thermal conductivity models such as the Maxwell
model, as the base fluid thermal conductivity of a mixture decreases, the thermal
conductivity ratio (thermal conductivity of nanofluid (knf) divided by the thermal
conductivity of base fluid (kf)) increases. It is seen that poor conductive fluid
serve best then highly conductive ones. Hence water is generally is avoided. When
it comes to nanofluids, the situation is more complicated due to the fact that the
viscosity of the base fluid affects the Brownian motion of nano particles and that
in turn affects the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid. [6]

3.2.6Nanofluid temperature

In conventional suspensions of solid particles (with sizes on the order of

millimeters or micrometers) in liquids, thermal conductivity of the mixture
depends on temperature only due to the dependence of thermal conductivity of
base liquid and solid particles on temperature. However, in case of nanofluids,
change of temperature affects the Brownian motion of nano particles and
clustering of nano particles, which results in dramatic changes of thermal
conductivity of nanofluids with temperature.

13
 Figure 3.6: Thermal conductivity v/s temperatures [4]

3.2.7 Preparation technique

The number of studies regarding the pH value on the effect of fluid acidity
on the thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids is limited when compared
to the studies regarding the other parameters. A significant decrease in thermal
conductivity ratio with increasing pH values as reported in literature. It was also
observed that the rate of change of thermal conductivity with particle volume
fraction was dependent on pH value. Thermal conductivity enhancement of 5 vol.
% Al2O3/water nanofluid was 23% when pH is equal to 2.0 and it became 19%
when pH is equal to 11.5. It is obtained optimum values of pH (approximately 8.0
for Al2O3/water and 9.5 for Cu/water nanofluids) for maximum thermal
conductivity enhancement. At the optimum value of pH, surface charge of nano
particles increases, which creates repulsive forces between nano particles. As a
result of this effect, severe clustering of nano particles is prevented (excessive
clustering may result in sedimentation, which decreases thermal conductivity
enhancement). [6]

14
3.3 APPLICATIONS

3.3.1 Solar Thermal Applications

Nanofluids can be used in order to improve the performance of solar

thermal devices ranging from the solar water heaters to Concentrated Solar Power
(CSP) plants. This is as a result of many advantages of nanofluids over
conventional HTFs. These include: small particles size allow them to be fluidized
to pass through pumps, micro channels and piping without any adverse effects. In
addition, nano particles represent an absorption medium allowing the fluid to
absorb solar energy directly. Moreover, by studying photo thermal characteristics
of the nanofluids, they showed improved optical properties compared to that of
their base fluids, such a slow emittance in the infrared region. Recent CSP
systems require high operating temperature and high heat storage capacity. Since
nanofluids have improved heat transfer and thermal storage properties, they can be
used as a HTF in CSP plants rather than conventional HTFs. This, in turn, can
improve efficiencies and reduce the costs of CSP plants.

3.3.2 Automobile Applications

In recent years, the energy crisis and fuel economy created a competition
between automobiles manufacturers. According to this, designers have to improve
the aerodynamic designs of vehicles in order to reduce the amount of energy
required to overcome the drag force. Unfortunately, they face the fact that more
than 50% of the total vehicle energy output is lost in overcoming the aerodynamic
drag. The large radiator position in the vehicle front is partly responsible for this
fact. Therefore, it is required to replace poor cooling medium, such as EG-water
mixture, with nanofluids to remove heat from relatively smaller size. They are
used as engine coolants, the excellent enhancements in the thermal properties of
nanofluids, such as EG-based nanofluids, compared to conventional coolants, e.g.
50/50 mixture of EG and water. In addition, some authors indicated that the
frontal area of the radiator can be reduced up to 10% due to the use of nanofluid
coolants. This in turn can lead to reduce aerodynamic drag and save fuel up to 5%.

15
Engine cooling is not only the application of using nanofluids in automobiles, but
also they can be used to cool other moving parts in an automobile.

3.3.3 Electronic Cooling Applications

Heat transfer at medium and low temperatures is also affected by the

improvements raised by nanofluids. Nanofluids are used as the working fluid in
heat pipes and thermosyphons, which can be utilized for compact device cooling,
e.g. electronic devices. The enhancement of thermosyphons performance, as a
result in decreases the thermosyphons resistance due to use of nanofluids. The use
of nanofluids in electronic devices of cooling systems produces a high cooling
performance in the coolers.

3.3.4 Medical Applications

Recently, nanofluids contributed in a wide range of applications in medical

applications and biomedical industry. Nanofluids have been used in nano-
medicine applications as iron based nano particles can be used as nano drug
delivery vehicles. Nanofluids can be also used in cancer therapeutics. They can be
utilized in cancer imaging and drug delivery, by using magnetic nanofluids which
guide the particles up the bloodstream to a tumor with magnets. In addition, they
can be used to kill cancerous cells without affecting the nearby healthy cells by
producing higher temperatures around tumors. On the other hand, nanofluids can
also be used in Cryosurgery, which is a procedure that uses freezing to destroy
undesired tissues. This procedure can be regarded as a novel method of cancer
treatment. In addition, nanofluids can be used to avoid risk of organ damage by
cooling around the surgical region in surgery operations.

16
 CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION

The present work reviewed recent research progress achieved in enhancing

thermal conductivity using nanofluids. In addition, some practical applications
that used the improvements resulting from the use of nanofluids were presented
including solar thermal applications, automotives, electronic cooling, medical,
detergency and military applications. According to this contribution, it can be
found that the main parameters affecting heat transfer properties of the base fluid
are nano particles concentration, size, shape, thermal conductivity, base fluid type,
nanofluid temperature and preparation technique. The key parameter which had
the most significant effect was nano particle concentration. It was found in most
literature that it has a direct proportional relationship with thermal conductivity
enhancement. However, this relation was found to be limited and extra particle
loadings dramatically affect such enhancement. For particles size, it was quite
agreed that is the relation was inversely proportional with thermal conductivity
improvement for spherical particles, while large size cylindrical-shaped particles
can enhance effective conductivity than small spherical ones. The particle shape
was also found to be a critical parameter. Nanotubes were found to increase
thermal conductivity compared to spherical particles, while fullerenes showed
lower enhancement. Selecting particles with higher thermal conductivity,
including using metallic particles, was recommended by many authors to increase
the nanofluid thermal conductivity. In addition, it was found by some researchers
that the thermal conductivity improvement was found to be inversely proportional
to the base fluid thermal conductivity, while other authors reported an opposite
finding. Moreover, using mixed base fluids has been emerged as a new research
trend. However, mixing fluids was found to be investigated intensively, as small
difference in mixing ratio affects thermal conductivity significantly. Nanofluid

17
temperature effect was found to be much weaker than volumetric concentration,
but it also found to increase thermal conductivity by raising the fluid temperature.

18
 REFERENCES

[1] B.N.Kharad G.P.Bhagat, R.M.Ghodke, and A.P.Avhad R. “Heat Transfer

Enhancement Using Nano Fluids- An Overview ”. Volume 3, Special Issue
4, April 2014.
[2] Saidura, K.Y. Leong, H.A. Mohammad. “A review on applications and
challenge of nanofluids.”
[3] Puliti G, Paolucci S, Sen M. “Nanofluids and their properties.” Appl Mech
Rev2012; 64:030803. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/1.4005492
[4] S.Ravi Babu, P.Ramesh Babu, Dr.V.Rambabu. “Effects of Some
Parameters on Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids and Mechanisms of
Heat Transfer Improvement.”
[5] G. Paul, M. Chopkar, I. Manna, P.K. Das. “Techniques for measuring the
thermal conductivity of nanofluids: A review.”
[6] Mohamed M. Tawfik “ Experimental studies of nanofluid thermal
conductivity enhancement and applications: A review”

19