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Intensified convective heat transfer using ZnO nanofluids in heat exchanger with
helical coiled geometry at constant wall temperature
PII: S2589-2991(18)30167-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mset.2019.01.007
Reference: MSET 59
Please cite this article as: R.N. Radkar, B.A. Bhanvase, D.P. Barai, S.H. Sonawane, Intensified convective heat
transfer using ZnO nanofluids in heat exchanger with helical coiled geometry at constant wall temperature, Materials
Science for Energy Technologies (2019), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mset.2019.01.007
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Intensified convective heat transfer using ZnO nanofluids in heat exchanger with
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Rashtrasant Tukadoji
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, 506004 Telangna
State, India
Corresponding author
*
B. A. Bhanvase:
1
Abstract
The present work deals with the experimental determination of enhancement in the heat transfer using
ZnO nanofluid in helical copper tube heat exchanger at constant wall temperature. ZnO nanoparticles
were prepared with aid of ultrasonic irradiations using zinc nitrate and KOH as raw materials. The
effect of Reynolds number and ZnO nanoparticle addition to the base fluid on heat transfer coefficient
and Nusselt number was examined. Around 62.80 % and 136% enhancement in thermal conductivity
ratio at 40oC and 50oC, respectively, was observed for 0.5 volume % loading of ZnO nanoparticles in
nanofluids. 18.6% enhancement in the Nusselt number was observed for 0.25 volume% of ZnO
nanoparticles in nanofluid at the exit of the test section. This is attributed to the combination of helical
coil with ZnO nanofluid which gives significant effect on heat transfer enhancement.
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KEYWORDS: ZnO Nanofluid; Ultrasound; Thermal conductivity; Heat transfer coefficient; Nusselt
number
2
1. Introduction
Intensification of heat transfer has always been very essential in process industries due to the ever
increasing need of energy conservation. Different types of heat exchangers are being used in industries
for diverse kinds of processes and purposes. These heat exchangers utilize conventional type of heat
transfer fluids such as water, ethylene glycol (EG) etc. so as to carry the heat and these fluids have less
capability of heat transfer. The time changed when it was realized that solids dispersed in liquids show
high thermal conductivity than the liquids alone [1]. Since then, many researchers tried to make use of
fluids containing solid particles as heat transfer fluids. But, due to large size of these solid particles,
many drawbacks like clogging, settling and erosion were observed [2]. That is when Choi [3] came up
with fluids containing solids particles that are nano-sized, called as nanofluids which have fully
changed the situation. Thus, nanofluids were prepared by many researchers to study the thermal
conductivity enhancement that they provide [4-6]. Metal oxides based nanofluids like those of TiO2
[7], CuO [8], Fe3O4 [9], Al2O3 and SiO2 [10] have also been widely studied and found to be
The wide range of applications of such nanofluids includes uses in automobiles [11-13], solar energy
systems [14,15], electronics [16] etc. ZnO based nanofluids have also found to be having role as car
radiator coolant [17], antibacterial agent [18,19], coolant in electronics [20] etc. Similarly, ZnO based
nanofluids also find applications in thermal conductivity enhancement [21]. Yu et al. [22] synthesized
concentration of 5 vol.%. The reported thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids remained independent
of the setting time in the range 20 min to 360 min at temperature of 30℃. Pool boiling tests were
conducted by Mourgues et al. [23] using 0.01 vol.% concentration of ZnO nanofluid. Further, 54%
increase in critical heat flux caused by the wettability, porosity or capillary wicking of the heating
3
surface occurring has been reported which is because of the deposition of the nanoparticles either
coming from the nanofluid or present initially as a deposition on the surface. Jeong et al. [24] noticed
the significant impact of shape of ZnO nanoparticles on the resultant thermal conductivity of
nanofluid. The reported thermal conductivity enhancement was 12% for spherical-shaped ZnO
nanoaparticles and 18% for rectangular shaped ZnO nanoparticles for 5 vol.% ZnO/water nanofluid
concentration. Suganthi et al. [25] prepared EG/ZnO and water-EG/ZnO nanofluids to study their heat
transfer performance. The report shows 33.4% boost in the thermal conductivity for 4 vol.% ZnO
nanofluid prepared using EG and 17.26% was reported for 2 vol.% ZnO nanofluid using water-EG
mixture as base fluid. Also, it has been reported that both the nanofluids have heat transfer
characteristics of higher quality than their respective base fluids showing proportionate enhancement
in heat transfer with thermal conductivity. Suganthi and Rajan [26] have studied the heat transfer
characteristics under the condition of constant heat flux using ZnO-propylene glycol nanofluids. It has
been reported that the nanofluids show linearly increasing relationship of heat removal with loading of
ZnO nanoparticles in the base fluid for given condition of constant heat flux. Also, increase in the heat
transfer rate was reported to be 4.24% for 2 vol.% of ZnO-propylene glycol nanofluid.
In a heat exchanger, there are many factors that affect the efficiency of the heat transport. Numerous
efforts are devoted by the researchers to intensify the rate of heat transfer in the heat exchangers which
include suction or injection of fluids, vibration of the heating surfaces and electrical and magnetic field
application [27]. Also, different geometries may affect the performance of the heat exchanger.
Helically coiled heat exchanger geometry has been used by some researchers for heat transfer study
using nanofluids [28-31]. Heat exchangers with helical coil geometry are found to be in limelight in
the field of heat transfer due to their capability of letting secondary flow inside the tubes thus
intensifying the heat transfer [32]. Khairul et al. [33] has presented a thermodynamic second law
4
analysis using ZnO/water nanofluids and other two metal oxide based nanofluids in a heat exchanger
Acoustic cavitation during the synthesis of nanoparticles may have positive effects on the size of the
nanoparticles. This is due to the hotspots generated which assists in formation of particles having size
in the nano-range. Lee et al. [21] used the pulsed wire evaporation technique for synthesizing ZnO
nanoparticles which produced nanoparticles of sizes between 90-100 nm. It means that a little increase
in the size of ZnO nanoparticles produced by pulsed wire evaporation method shall disapprove their
existence as nanoparticles. And their behavior may shift towards that of the micro-sized particles.
Jeong et al. [24] studied the thermal conductivity of nanofluid containing spherical shaped ZnO
nanoparticles of size between 87-150 nm and found that 3 vol.% of the ZnO nanofluid concentration
possesses a thermal conductivity ratio of 1.075 which is comparable to thermal conductivity ratio of
1.094 found by Suganthi et al. [25] for 1 vol.% ZnO nanofluid containing spherical ZnO nanoparticles
synthesized by chemical precipitation method having size between 25-40 nm at nearly same
temperature. So, it can be claimed that there is nearly 3 times lesser requirement of the ZnO
nanoparticles if size reduces from 80-150 nm to 25-40 nm. Thus, smaller-sized ZnO nanoparticles
possess superior thermal properties and thus there is a lesser requirement of the nanoparticle
concentration in the nanofluid. This shows that the size of ZnO nanoparticles have a big impact on its
In literature, very few studies have been reported on enrichment in the heat transfer performance in
helical coiled heat exchangers utilizing metal oxide based nanofluids. Also, there is no past record of
studies on heat exchanger having helical coiled geometry employing ZnO nanofluids prepared by
present study reports the investigation of convective heat transfer performance with the use of ZnO
5
nanofluid in heat exchanger having helical coiled geometry. For this purpose, the ZnO nanoparticles
were prepared using ultrasonication assistance. During ultrasonication, cavities gets formed and
collapsed which causes diffusional currents promoting efficient contact of the reactants leading to
synthesis of particles. Ultrasonication involves generation of hotspots having very high temperature
and pressure conditions which favors the reaction and leads to formation of very tiny particles.
Further, the investigation of the thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids at various concentration of
ZnO nanoparticles in basefluid was studied as a function of temperature. For the purpose of convective
heat transfer studies, trends in heat transfer coefficient and also in Nusselt number were investigated
along axial length of helical coil for various volume % of ZnO nanoparticles and Reynolds number of
2. Experimental
2.1 Materials
Zinc nitrate hexahydrate (99%) of analytical reagent grade (AR) and glacial acetic acid (100%) were
obtained from Meru Chem Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai. Analytical grade potassium hydroxide (99%) was
obtained from S. D. Fine-chem Ltd, Mumbai, India. Distilled water was used for the preparation of
In this work, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized as per the method given by Ghorbani et al. [34] but
in the presence of horn type sonicator (Make: Dakshin Ultrasonics, India) having a fixed frequency of
22 KHz and power set at 240 W. In a typical experiment for the preparation of zinc oxide
nanoparticles, 30 mL KOH solution (0.4 M) was gradually added to 30 mL zinc nitrate aqueous
solution (0.2 M) at room temperature. This was carried out in 5 min under ultrasonic irradiations,
6
which give rise to formation of a white suspension. This reaction was continued for 1 h in the presence
of ultrasonication. The obtained white product was separated with the use of centrifugation operated at
5000 rpm for 20 min. Further, the obtained product was washed three times with distilled water and
once with absolute alcohol. The obtained product after washing stage was calcined at 500°C for 3 h
which led to the formation of ZnO nanoparticles. Fig. 1 depicts the flow diagram for the ZnO
nanoparticles synthesis. The reaction mechanism for the formation of ZnO nanoparticles is reported in
equation (1).
Zn NO3 2 2KOH
Zn(OH)2 + 2KNO3 ZnO H2O (1)
In the present work, the structural analysis of ZnO nanoparticles was done with X-ray powder
Spectrophotometer (LABINDIA UV3200 model). The morphology of ZnO nanoparticles was studied
using EVO 18 SEM Research scanning microscope (CARL ZESSI, Germany) at magnification of
10000X and 23000X. The TEM image of ZnO nanoparticles was captured using Transmission
Electron Microscopy (Make: Hitachi, Japan, Model: H-7500, 40 - 120 kV, magnification 300000X).
The estimation of thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids was performed with the use of KD2 Pro
In this work, for the preparation of stable ZnO nanofluid hydrodynamic cavitation was used. For the
preparation of various volume % of ZnO nanofluid, different loading of ZnO nanoparticles was
accomplished in distilled water. The amount of ZnO nanoparticles required for the various volume %
The line diagram of hydrodynamic cavitation setup used for the preparation of ZnO nanofluid is
depicted in Fig. 2. In this process, cavities were generated by passing the liquid through constriction
i.e. orifice plate. A centrifugal pump having power of 1 HP was used for circulating the liquid through
the hydrodynamic cavitation system. The kinetic energy of the circulating liquid increased as it is
passed through an orifice at the cost of local pressure. The generation of cavities takes place at throat
or vena contracta when pressure of liquid decreases below vapour pressure and its collapse takes place
when the pressure at downstream recovers which generates remarkable energy (temperature 10000 K
and pressure 1000 atm) that leads to high turbulence and shearing action in the liquid medium [35-37].
Turbulence and shearing action generated due to cavity collapse is responsible for the desired
properties of ZnO nanofluid and the obtained nanofluid was with uniformly dispersed ZnO
nanoparticles in water generating stable and long lasting suspension with minimum agglomeration of
ZnO nanoparticles in obtained nanofluid. In the present work, ZnO nanofluids (5 liter) were prepared
by changing concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluids without addition of any surfactant
in hydrodynamic cavitation. The mixture was passed through the hydrodynamic cavitation system for
10 minutes in order to prepare the stable ZnO nanofluid. This time was sufficient to achieve the
desired degree of stability of the ZnO nanofluid. The flowrate through the hydrodynamic cavitation
system was maintained by adjusting using the valve located on bypass line. In the present study, 0.05,
0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25 volume percentage ZnO nanofluids were prepared at different concentration
8
of ZnO nanoparticles in order to examine the influence of volume % on thermal conductivity and
Thermal Properties Analyzer (KD2 Pro, Decagon Devices Inc., USA) instrument was used to
investigate the thermal conductivity of ZnO nanofluids. This instrument works on the fundamentals of
the transient hot-wire source approach for measurement of thermal conductivity. The estimation of the
thermal conductivity was accomplished with the use of thermal probe (1.27-mm diameter, 60-mm
length) which was inserted in ZnO nanofluid vertically. This instrument takes 2 min for displaying
results and thus the thermal conductivity readings were recorded. The thermal conductivity of ZnO
nanofluid for various volume percentages of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluids was obtained and
The investigation on the convective heat transfer was accomplished in copper tube heat exchanger
having helical coiled geometry with the use of ZnO nanoparticle based nanofluids and the schematics
of the experimental setup is depicted Fig. 3. A similar experimental method reported in our previous
study [30,31] was used for this study with some modifications. As depicted in Fig. 3, this experimental
setup comprised of nanofluid tank, pump, rotameter, test section which is a helical coil with internal
and outside diameter of 13 mm and 15 mm respectively, a temperature indicator and cooler. The
length of the tube used in the test section was 10 m with helical coil diameter 290 mm and pitch 35
mm. The J-type thermocouples were located on the helical coil at different locations in order to
measure the metal tube inner surface temperature and fluid temperature at same location. In order to
investigate the convective heat transfer, the Reynolds numbers were selected in the range of 1083 to
2167 which were in laminar region. Also, the range of volume % of ZnO nanoparticles in ZnO
9
nanofluid selected was 0.05 to 0.25. Details of the parameters varied are depicted in Table 1. The test
section consisting of helical coil and thermocouples was maintained at constant wall temperature. The
physical properties of ZnO nanoparticles based nanofluids such as density, heat capacity, viscosity,
thermal conductivity etc. were estimated using correlations depicted by Bhanvase et al. [30] and Fule
et al. [31]. Following were the correlations used for measurement of heat flux, heat transfer
coefficient, and Nusselt number at distance ‘x’ from inlet in a straight tube, helical coil:
mCPnf (Tb,o Tb,i )
qS ( x) (3)
Ax
qS ( x)
h( x ) (4)
TS ( x) Tb ( x)
D
hi ( coil ) hi ( straight ) 1 3.5 (5)
Dc
hi ( coil ) D
Nu ( coil ) (6)
k
3.1 XRD, UV-Visible, SEM and TEM analysis of ultrasonically prepared ZnO nanoparticles
Fig. 4 shows the XRD pattern of sonochemically prepared ZnO nanoparticle. A highly crystalline
structure of the prepared ZnO nanoparticles was observed as evident from the XRD pattern in which
sharp peaks of high intensity extend over the 2θ scale. The characteristic peaks observed at 2θ equal to
31.60, 34.20, 36.04, 47.40, 56.40, 62.70 and 67.80° correspond to the lattice planes (1 0 0), (0 0 2), (1
0 1), (1 0 2), (1 1 0), (1 0 3) and (1 1 2), respectively, indicative of wurtzite hexagonal structure of
ZnO nanoparticles [38]. All the peaks were as per the standard JCPDS card no. 36-1451. Further, the
10
crystallite size corresponding to the (1 0 1) plane (36.04o) estimated using Scherer’s formula (equation
k
d (7)
cos
where d is crystallite size, β is full-width at half-maximum height (FWHM), k = 0.9, and θ = glancing
•
angle, λ = 1.5405 A .
depicted in Fig. 5. The characteristic peak at 375 nm reveals the successful formation of ZnO
nanoparticles by ultrasound assisted method and this can be allocated to the transition of electrons
from valence band to the conduction band (O2p → Zn3d) which leads to the intrinsic band-gap
Fig. 6 shows the SEM images of sonochemically prepared ZnO nanoparticles at diverse magnification.
A uniform size and shape of finely dispersed ZnO nanoparticles has been observed without any
agglomeration of the similar sized nanoparticles. This is attributed to the physical effects of
ultrasound. Further substantial decrease in the particles size and agglomeration of ultrasonically
synthesized ZnO nanoparticles is witnessed. One of the possible reasons is the cavitational effects
caused due to ultrasound. The reduced particle size of ZnO nanoparticles is due to rapid nucleation i.e.
lesser induction period and more nucleation events which has better control on the ZnO crystal growth
Fig. 7 depicts the morphological analysis i.e. TEM image of sonochemically prepared ZnO
nanoparticles. The particle size of sonochemically prepared ZnO nanoparticles observed from TEM
image is around 15 nm which is substantially smaller in the presence of ultrasound. Also TEM of ZnO
11
nanoparticle shows monodispersed morphology which is again attributed to cavitational events due to
ultrasound. The possible reasons are reported earlier. In the SEM images, the material appears as
nanotubes, but the TEM image clearly shows nanoparticles of ZnO attached to each other. The reason
for the appearance of the ZnO particles as nanotubes in SEM is because of the formation of chain-like
Fig. 8 depicts the thermal conductivity ratio of ZnO nanoparticle based nanofluid at different
temperature for various volume % of the nanofluid. The thermal conductivity ratio of different
concentration of ZnO nanofluid was found to be increasing with increase in temperature and loading
of ZnO nanoparticles. The thermal conductivity ratio was found to be 0.87 at 36oC for 0.5 volume %
concentration and it increased to 1.5 at 50oC. Further, Fig. 8 depicts linear nature of the thermal
conductivity with respect to temperature for different volume % of ZnO nanoparticles in base fluid i.e.
water which shows well dispersed nature of ZnO nanoparticles in water which is attributed to
cavitation effect [25,26]. The % enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio was around 62.80 % at
40oC for 0.5 volume % loading of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluids. Further, % enhancement in
thermal conductivity ratio increased to 136% at 50oC for 0.5 volume % loading of ZnO nanoparticles
in nanofluids. This is accomplished due to the enhanced Brownian motion of sonochemically prepared
ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluid at high temperature thereby increasing its thermal conductivity
ratio. Further, enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio with respect to increase in loading of
ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid is due to the presence of larger amount of ZnO nanoparticles in
nanofluid exhibiting larger effect of heat conduction in the nanofluid. The various reasons behind the
enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio are explained as follows. (a) The increased
concentration of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluids can bring ZnO nanoparticles closer to each other
12
allowing the exchange of electrons and protons which enhances the lattice vibration frequency which
in turn leads to the enhancement in the heat conduction in ZnO nanofluids known to be as the
percolation effect [41-43]. (b) Also, the enhanced dispersion of the ZnO nanoparticles in water with
the use of hydrodynamic cavitation increases the Brownian motion of nanoparticles which increases
with temperature of ZnO nanofluids and leads to enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio of
nanofluids [44]. (c) The third reason is the formation of liquid molecules’ nano-layered structure on
the surface of ZnO nanoparticles which helps in the transporting heat from ZnO nanoparticles to the
liquid present near to particles leading to formation of homogeneous suspension and this phenomenon
plays a very essential role in the enhancement in the thermal conductivity ratio [45].
The accuracy and consistency of the experimental setup used in this study was verified. For the same
experimental setup, determination of Nusselt number using distilled water as the working fluid was
done and this setup was used to examine the heat transfer characteristics using ZnO nanoparticles
based nanofluids. The experiments were carried out at Reynolds Numbers equal to 1354 and 1625.
The comparison between experimentally measured Nusselt number values obtained using the
theoretical solution given by Shah [46] under constant wall temperature was done. These equations are
reported in Fule et al. [31]. The experimental results show considerable agreement with the Shah’s
The reported literature depicts the addition of various nanoparticles in the basefluid shows
intensification in heat transfer coefficient and in turn in the Nusselt number [30,31,47-49]. Fig. 10
demonstrates the impact of volume % of ZnO nanoparticles (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25 volume
%) on local heat transfer coefficients for ZnO nanofluids at Reynolds number of 1896. At the entry of
13
the test section, the heat transfer coefficient was found to be increasing from 587.5 to 965.20 W/m2 oC
for increase in the concentration of ZnO nanoparticles from 0 to 0.25 volume %. This significant
augmentation in heat transfer coefficient at the entry of the test section is due to entrance effect. The
entrance effect refers to the fact that at the entry of the test section, the flow does not experience any
kind of boundary layer formation as it is suddenly exposed to the flow boundaries. This causes
maximum transfer of heat leading to a higher values of heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number.
The obtained value of heat transfer coefficient is 310.95 W/m2 oC for distilled water at the exit of test
section (at x/Di = 769.2) and it increased to 368.3 W/m2oC for 0.25 volume % ZnO nanofluids. Hence,
heat transfer coefficient gets increased with increased loading (volume %) of ZnO nanoparticles in
nanofluids. This enhancement can be explained by following mechanisms which are in line with the
explanation depicted in previous section [47]: (1) an early shift to turbulent flow from laminar flow
takes place which is caused by the addition of ZnO nanoparticles and this is responsible for higher heat
transfer coefficient in presence of ZnO nanoparticles, (2) the addition of ZnO nanoparticles in the fluid
causes shear thinning phenomenon in nanofluids and has higher shear rate at the wall showing better
fluid flow performance resulting in intensification in heat transfer coefficient, (3) reduction in the drag
force and thereby the pressure drop in presence of ZnO nanoparticles shows improvement in the flow
behavior leading in intensification in heat transfer coefficient, (4) dispersion of ZnO nanoparticles
significantly influences the thermal conductivity and also changes the flow and thermal fields which
are responsible for enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient and hence, higher convective heat
transfer coefficient was observed for higher loading (volume %) of ZnO nanoparticles and (5) the
higher heat transfer coefficient for higher loading of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid is due to the
enhanced thermal conductivity of the ZnO nanoparticle based nanofluids. The heat transfer coefficient
is represented as k/ (k = thermal conductivity of the ZnO nanofluid and = thickness of the thermal
boundary layer). Due to the presence of ZnO nanosized particles in the prepared nanofluid, there is an
14
intensification in thermal conductivity (k) and the decrement in the thickness of boundary layer ()
which ultimately results in the enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient of ZnO nanofluid. In the
presence of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluid lead to thinning effect of boundary layer which also
plays an important role in augmentation in the heat transfer coefficient. Further, the increased
concentration of ZnO nanosized particles in nanofluid improves the interaction of the added ZnO
nanoparticles due to higher collision in the base fluid and likewise the diffusion and higher relative
movement of ZnO nanosized particles close the surface lead to quicker heat transfer from the surface
to the ZnO nanofluid [47]. This increased concentration of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid has
noteworthy influence on resulting physical properties of ZnO nanofluid like pressure drop, thermal
conductivity, viscosity etc. which consequently affects the heat transfer coefficient.
Further, the Nusselt number estimated with the use of local heat transfer coefficient is reported in Fig.
10 at different volume % of ZnO nanoparticles for Reynolds number equal to 1896. The estimated
Nusselt number for different volume % of ZnO nanosized particles are depicted in Fig. 11. The
Nusselt number estimated for distilled water at the entry of the test section was 12.7 and increased to
20.91 for 0.25 volume % of the ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid. This drastic enhancement in the
Nusselt number at the entry of the test section is due to entrance effect. This is similar to what has
been explained earlier. Further, at the exit of the test section, Nusselt number was found to be
increasing from 6.73 to 7.98 as volume % of the ZnO nanoparticles increased from 0 to 0.25 vol.%.
The % improvement in the Nusselt number observed was 18.6% for 0.25 volume% of ZnO
nanoparticles in nanofluid at the exit of the test section. The possible reasons for this enhancement in
3.5 Effect of Reynolds number on heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number
15
Fig. 12 shows different trends in local convective heat transfer coefficient with the axial position at
various values of Reynolds number and various loading of ZnO nanoparticles. The clear trend of
decrease in the heat transfer coefficient with axial distance is observed which is justified by the
entrance effect in the test section. For every selected value of volume % of the ZnO nanofluid, the heat
transfer coefficient intensifies with the rise in the Reynolds number of the nanofluid. The heat transfer
coefficient measured at the exit of the test section was observed to be increasing from 208.88 to
379.35 W/m2.OC with increase in Reynolds number from 1083 to 2167 for 0.05 volume % of ZnO
nanoparticles in the nanofluid. In the case of 0.25 volume %, heat transfer coefficient measured at the
exit of the test section was found to be increasing from 228.44 to 420.90 W/m2.OC for increase in the
Reynolds number from 1083 to 2167. Further, similar trends were observed for various other volume
% of ZnO nanosized particles in the nanofluid. This is caused by an increase in the turbulence at
higher Reynolds number that ultimately intensifies heat transfer coefficient. This is also caused by
decrement in the thickness of boundary layer due to formation of eddies at higher Reynolds number
which enhances the heat transfer coefficient. Higher Reynolds number intensifies the chaotic
movements of the ZnO nanosized particles throughout the nanofluid and this also contribute in
enhancing the heat transfer coefficient and at lesser value of Reynolds number, there may be
agglomeration of the ZnO nanosized particles which may lead to lowering of the heat transfer
enhancement of the nanofluid. Conversely, at higher value of Reynolds number, this agglomeration
effect of ZnO nanoparticles in nanofluid drastically decreases leading to intensification of mixing and
dispersion of the ZnO nanoparticles, which results in substantial increase in the heat transfer
coefficient. Also, another possible reason for convective heat transfer coefficient enhancement is the
enhanced particle movement caused by the substantial increase in velocity due to increased Reynolds
number. This higher velocity is responsible for speedy movement and collision between the ZnO
various volume % of ZnO nanosized particles. It has been observed that the Nusselt number for a
constant diameter flow region increases as the Reynolds number in increased for each volume % of
ZnO nanosized particles in the nanofluid. At 0.05 volume %, the Nusselt number was observed to be
enhanced from 4.52 to 8.22 for an increased Reynolds number from 1083 to 2167. Also it increases
from 4.95 to 9.12 in the case of 0.25 volume % of ZnO nanoparticles for an increased Reynolds
number from 1083 to 2167. It is again attributed to the possible agglomeration effect of ZnO
nanoparticles at lower Reynolds number which decreases the local Nusselt number of the ZnO
nanofluid. At higher value of Reynolds number, the agglomeration effect of ZnO nanoparticles in
nanofluid considerably decreases which intensifies the dispersion of the nanoparticles due to proper
4. Conclusions
In the present work, experimental investigation of the convective heat transfer provided by the ZnO
nanofluid in helical copper tube heat exchanger at constant wall temperature was carried out.
Successful sonochemical preparation of ZnO nanoparticles was accomplished that leads to the
formation of particles of size 9 to 15 nm which is analysed from TEM analysis. XRD and UV/Vis
analysis confirms the formation of ZnO nanoparticles by ultrasound assisted process. The selected
volume % range of ZnO nanoparticles was from 0.05 to 0.25 with Reynolds number in the range of
1083 to 2167. Estimation of the thermal conductivity ratio was accomplished for various volume % of
ZnO nanosized particles and temperature of the nanofluid. The trends shows significant enhancement
in the thermal conductivity ratio values with the volume % of ZnO nanoparticle and temperature. The
significant enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient and then in Nusselt number values was
observed with increasing volume % of ZnO nanoparticles in the nanofluids and also Reynolds number.
17
18.6 % increase in the Nusselt number was found at 0.5 volume % of ZnO nanosized particles in
nanofluid. Intensified values of heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number at higher Reynolds
number is caused due to the reduction in agglomeration of the ZnO nanoparticles and intensified
mixing which is due to the superior dispersion of the ZnO nanoparticles at higher flow velocities.
Thus, enhancement in the heat transfer characteristics and compatibility of ZnO nanofluid accredits it
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India
[Start Up Research Grant (Young Scientists), Sanction order no. YSS/2014/000889, 2015].
18
Nomenclature
Dc = Diameter of helix
m = Mass flow rate of ZnO nanofluid (kg/s)
19
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List of Figures and Tables:
Fig. 2. Hydrodynamic Cavitation setup line diagram using for the preparation of ZnO/water
nanofluids
Fig. 3. Schematic of experimental setup for study of convective heat transfer enhancement using
ZnO nanofluid
Fig. 4. XRD analysis for ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process
Fig. 6. SEM image of ZnO nanoparticles at 10000X and 23000X prepared by ultrasound
assisted process
Fig. 7. TEM image of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process at 300000X .
Fig. 8. Thermal conductivity ratio of ZnO based nanofluids with water as the base fluid with
Fig. 10. Trends of heat transfer coefficient (h) vs. the axial position at different Volume % of ZnO
in nanofluid (Re=1896)
Fig. 11. Trends of heat transfer coefficient (h) vs. the axial position at different values of
Fig. 12. Trends of Nusselt Number (Nu) vs. the axial position at different Volume % of ZnO in
nanofluid (Re=1896)
Fig. 13. Trends of Nusselt Number (Nu) vs. the axial position at different values of Reynolds
27
Table 1. Details of parameters varied during convective heat transfer study in the helical coiled heat
exchanger
28
Fig. 1. Process flow sheet of ultrasound assisted preparation of ZnO nanoparticles.
29
Fig. 2. Hydrodynamic Cavitation setup line diagram using for the preparation of ZnO/water nanofluids
30
Fig. 3. Schematic of experimental setup for study of convective heat transfer enhancement using ZnO
nanofluid
31
Fig. 4. XRD analysis for ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process
32
Fig. 5. UV/Vis. Spectrum of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process.
33
Fig. 6. SEM image of ZnO nanoparticles at 10000X and 23000X prepared by ultrasound assisted
process
34
Fig. 7. TEM image of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound assisted process at 300000X .
35
Fig. 8. Thermal conductivity ratio of ZnO based nanofluids with water as the base fluid with respect to
36
Fig. 9. Validity of experimental heat transfer setup using distilled water
37
Fig. 10. Trends of heat transfer coefficient (h) vs. the axial position at different Volume % of ZnO in
nanofluid (Re=1896)
38
Fig. 11. Trends of Nusselt Number (Nu) vs. the axial position at different Volume % of ZnO in
nanofluid (Re=1896)
39
Fig. 12. Trends of heat transfer coefficient (h) vs. the axial position at different values of Reynolds
40
Fig. 13. Trends of Nusselt Number (Nu) vs. the axial position at different values of Reynolds Number
41
Table 1. Details of parameters varied during convective heat transfer study in the helical coiled heat
exchanger
Sr. No. Concentration of nanofluid (vol. %) Flow rate (m3/s) Reynolds number
42
43