Comparative Study on Heat Transfer Enhancement of Low Volume Concentration of Al2o3–Water and Carbon Nano-Tube–Water Nano-Fluids in Transition Regime Using Helical Screw Tape Inserts

This study reports the comparison of heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of helical screw inserts in Al₂O₃–water and carbon nano-tube–water nano-fluids through a straight pipe in transition regime with constant heat flux boundary condition. Experiments were carried out by using 0.15% volume concentration of Al₂O₃–water and carbon nano-tube–water nano-fluid with helical tape inserts of twist ratio, TR = 1.5, 2.5, and 3. The thermal performance of helical screw tape inserts with the carbon nano-tube–water nano-fluid is found -to be higher when compared to the Al₂O₃–water nano-fluid. In addition, the maximum enhancement in heat transfer was obtained for the carbon nano-tube–water nano-fluid with helical tape inserts of twist ratio 1.5. The increase in pressure drop of the Al₂O₃–water nano-fluid with helical screw tape inserts is found to be higher compared to the carbon nano-tube–water nano-fluid helical screw tape inserts at lower value of twist ratio.     

Heat transfer behaviour of nanofluids in a uniformly heated circular tube fitted with helical inserts in laminar flow

The CFD simulation of heat transfer characteristics of a nanofluid in a circular tube fitted with helical twist inserts under constant heat flux has been explained using Fluent version 6.3.26 in laminar flow. Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in water of 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% concentrations and helical twist inserts of twist ratios 2.93, 3.91 and 4.89 has been used for the simulation. All thermophysical properties of nanofluids are temperature dependent. The heat transfer enhancement increases with Reynolds number and decreases with twist ratio with maximum for the twist ratio 2.93. By comparing the heat transfer rates of water and nanofluids, the increase in Nusselt number is 5%–31% for different helical inserts and different volume concentrations. The maximum heat transfer enhancement is 31.29% for helical insert of twist ratio 2.93 and for the volume concentration of 1.5% corresponding to the Reynolds number of 2039. The data obtained by simulation match with the literature value of water with the discrepancy of less than ±10% for plain tube and tube fitted with helical tape inserts for Nusselt number.     

Enhancing the thermal performance of AL2O3/DI water nanofluids in micro-fin tube equipped with straight and left-right twisted tapes in turbulent flow regime

This article communicates the thermal performance, heat transfer rate, and friction factor of Al₂O₃/DI water nanofluids at different concentrations in a micro-finned tube with tube helical inserts for different twist ratios. The thermal performance, heat transfer coefficient, and friction of the present study is also compared with a plain tube for validation. From the study, it is identified that the micro-finned tube with tube insert performance is higher as compared with a plain tube. Similarly, an empirical relation for Nusselt number (Nu) and friction factor (f) is estimated for straight twisted tube and left-right combination. The deviation between experimental and theoretical values for left-right twist and straight twist is found as 3 and 7% for Nusselt number and 7 and 9% for friction factor, respectively. Similarly, while analyzing the thermal performance, it was found that the maximum performance achieved was with a micro-fin tube with left-right twist with nanofluid concentration of 0.2%.     

Experiments to Explore the Mechanisms of Heat Transfer in Nanocrystalline Alumina/Water Nanofluid under Laminar and Turbulent Flow Conditions

Abstract

Heat transfer characteristics of water-based nanocrystalline alumina (Al₂O₃) nanofluids flowing through a uniformly heated tube under a fully developed laminar and turbulent flow regime is investigated experimentally in the present work to explore the heat transfer mechanism in nanofluids. In a laminar flow, the increase in Nusselt number was attributed to the thermophysical properties of the nanofluid. The movement of nanoparticles, along with the turbulent eddies in the turbulent core region and diffusion mechanism, such as thermophoresis, in the laminar sublayer are believed to be the reasons for enhanced heat transfer in turbulent region. The compatibility of Al₂O₃/water nanofluids was also examined by monitoring its color.     

Heat transfer enhancement by application of nano-powder

In this investigation, laminar flow heat transfer enhancement in circular tube utilizing different nanofluids including Al₂O₃ (20 nm), CuO (50 nm), and Cu (25 nm) nanoparticles in water was studied. Constant wall temperature was used as thermal boundary condition. The results indicate enhancement of heat transfer with increasing nanoparticle concentrations, but an optimum concentration for each nanofluid suspension can be found. Based on the experimental results, metallic nanoparticles show better enhancement of heat transfer coefficient in comparison with oxide particles. The promotions of heat transfer due to utilizing nanoparticles are higher than the theoretical correlation prediction.     

Studies on Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>, CuO,and TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> water-based nanofluids: A comparative approach in laminar and turbulent flow

The Prandtl number, Reynolds number and Nusselt number are functions of thermophysical properties of nanofluids, and these numbers strongly influence the convective heat transfer coefficient. The thermophysical properties vary with volumetric concentration of nanofluids. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis was performed to evaluate the effects on the performance of nanofluids due to variations of density, specific heat, thermal conductivity and viscosity, which are functions of nanoparticle volume concentration. Three metallic oxides, aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), copper oxide (CuO), and titanium dioxide (TiO₂), dispersed in water as the base fluid were studied. A convenient figure of merit, known as the Mouromtseff number, is used as a base of comparisonfor laminar and turbulent flows. The results indicated that the considered nanofluids can successfully replace water in specific applications for a single-phase forced convection flow in a tube.     

Utilization of Fly Ash Nanofluids in Two-phase Closed Thermosyphon for Enhancing Heat Transfer

This study investigates how fly ash nanofluids affect the thermal performance of a two-phase closed thermosyphon at various states of operation. The utilization of nanofluids obtained from X₂O₃-type oxides, such as Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, or CuO, on the improvement of two-phase closed thermosyphon performance was reported in a number of studies in the literature. The present study experimentally demonstrated the effect of using a nanofluid obtained from fly ash comprised of various types of metal oxides in varying ratios on improving the performance of a two-phase closed thermosyphon. The fly ash was obtained from the flue gas that was captured in the cyclones of the Yatagan thermal power plant (Turkey). Triton X-100 (Dow Chemical Company) dispersant was used in the study to produce the 0.2% (wt) fly ash/water nanofluid via direct synthesis. A straight copper tube with an inner diameter of 13 mm, outer diameter of 15 mm, and length of 1 m was used as the two-phase closed thermosyphon. The nanofluid filled 33.3% (44.2 ml) of the volume ofthe two-phase closed thermosyphon. Three heating power levels (200, 300, and 400 W) were used in the experiments with three different flow rates of cooling water (5, 7.5, and 10 g/s) used in the condenser for cooling the system. A increase of 26.39% was achieved in the efficiency of the two-phase closed thermosyphon when 4% (wt) fly ash containing nanofluid was used to replace deionized water at a heat load of 200 W and with a cooling water flow rate of 5 g/s.     

Fabrication, characterization and measurement of thermal conductivity of Fe3O4 nanofluids

Magnetite Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by a co-precipitation method at different pH values. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electronic microscopy. Their magnetic properties were evaluated on a vibrating sample magnetometer. The results show that the shape of the particles is cubic and they are superparamagnetic at room temperature. Magnetic nanofluids were prepared by dispersing the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in water as a base fluid in the presence of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide as a dispersant. The thermal conductivity of the nanofluids was measured as a function of volume fraction and temperature. The results show that the thermal conductivity ratio of the nanofluids increases with increase in temperature and volume fraction. The highest enhancement of thermal conductivity was 11.5% in the nanofluid of 3 vol% of nanoparticles at 40 °C. The experimental results were also compared with the theoretical models.     

Heat transfer enhancement of laminar nanofluids flow in a triangular duct using vortex generator

In this work, two dimensional laminar flow of different nanofluids flow inside a triangular duct with the existence of vortex generator is numerically investigated. The governing equations of mass, momentum and energy were solved using the finite volume method (FVM). The effects of type of the nanoparticles, particle concentrations, and Reynolds number on the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of nanofluids are examined. Reynolds number is ranged from 100 to 800. A constant surface temperature is assumed to be the thermal condition for the upper and lower heated walls. In the present work, three nanofluids are examined which are Al₂O₃, CuO and SiO₂ suspended in the base fluid of ethylene glycol with nanoparticles concentrations ranged from 1 to 6%. The results show that for the case of SiO₂–EG, at ? = 6% and Re = 800, it is found that the average Nusselt number is about 50.0% higher than the case of Re = 100.     

Impacts of ultrasonication time and surfactants on stability and optical properties of CuO,Fe3O4, and CNTs/water nanofluids for spectrum selective applications

The prime objective of the present experimental work is to evaluate the impact of ultrasonication time and surfactants on the optical characteristics (transmittance and absorbance) and stability of CuO/water, CNTs/water, and Fe₃O₄/water nanofluids to be used in spectrum selective applications. Two-step method with various ultrasonication times (30 min, 60 min, and 90 min) was employed to prepare nanofluids (having volume fractions of 0.004 % and 0.0004 %). Furthermore, various surfactants (anionic, cationic, and polymer) were added to the base fluid. The study results revealed that surfactants have a significant effect on the stability of nanofluids over ultrasonication time. The nanofluids prepared using sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) have the highest zeta potential values than other surfactants used in the experimentation. The increase in transmittance of nanofluid was more prominent for lower concentration (0.0004 %) after one week of preparation. The concentration of nanoparticles, ultrasonication time, temperature, and surfactants influenced the optical characteristics of nanofluids. The most stabled CNTs nanofluid with 0.004 % concentration and 90 min of ultrasonication obtained an average of 67.6 % and 74.6 % higher absorbance than stabled CuO and Fe₃O₄ nanofluids, respectively. The irradiance transmitted through nanofluid was strongly dependent on the concentration and type of nanoparticles.     

Intriguingly high convective heat transfer enhancement of nanofluid coolants in laminar flows

We reported on investigation of the convective heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids as coolants in laminar flows inside a circular copper tube with constant wall temperature. Nanofluids containing Al₂O₃, ZnO, TiO₂, and MgO nanoparticles were prepared with a mixture of 55 vol.% distilled water and 45 vol.% ethylene glycol as base fluid. It was found that the heat transfer behaviors of the nanofluids were highly depended on the volume fraction, average size, species of the suspended nanoparticles and the flow conditions. MgO, Al₂O₃, and ZnO nanofluids exhibited superior enhancements of heat transfer coefficient, with the highest enhancement up to 252% at a Reynolds number of 1000 for MgO nanofluid. Our results demonstrated that these oxide nanofluids might be promising alternatives for conventional coolants.     

Numerical study of heat transfer enhancement of counter nanofluids flow in rectangular microchannel heat exchanger

This paper reports a numerical analysis of the performance of a counter-flow rectangular shaped microchannel heat exchanger (MCHE) using nanofluids as the working fluids. Finite volume method was used to solve the three-dimensional steady, laminar developing flow and conjugate heat transfer in aluminum MCHE. The nanofluids used were Ag, Al₂O₃, CuO, SiO₂, and TiO₂ and the performance was compared with water. The thermal, flow fields and performance of the MCHE were analyzed using different nanofluids, different Reynolds numbers and different nanoparticle concentrations. Temperature profile, heat transfer coefficient, pressure profile, and wall shear stress were obtained from the simulations and the performance was discussed in terms of heat transfer rate, pumping power, effectiveness, and performance index. Results indicated enhanced performance with the usage of nanofluids, and slight penalty in pressure drop. The increase in Reynolds number caused an increase in the heat transfer rate and a decrease in the overall bulk temperature of the cold fluid. The increase in nanoparticle concentration also yielded better performance at the expense of increased pressure drop.     

Experiment and Lattice Boltzmann numerical study on nanofluids flow in a micromodel as porous medium

Al₂O₃ nanofluids flow has been studied in etched glass micromodel which is idealization of porous media by using a pseudo 2D Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM). The predictions were compared with experimental results. Pressure drop / flow rate relations have been measured for pure water and Al₂O₃ nanofluids. Because the size of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles is tiny enough to permit through the pore throats of the micromodel, blockage does not occur and the permeability is independent of the nanofluid volume fraction. Therefore, the nanofluid behaves as a single phase fluid, and a single phase LBM is able to simulate the results of this experiment. Although the flow in micromodels is 3D, we showed that 2D LBM can be used provided an effective viscous drag force, representing the effect of the third dimension, is considered. Good qualitative and quantitative agreement is seen between the numerical and experimental results.     

Heat Transfer and Hydrodynamic Performance Analysis of a Miniature Tangential Heat Sink Using Al2O3–H2O and TiO2–H2O Nanofluids

In this article, thermal and hydrodynamic performances of a miniature tangential heat sink are investigated experimentally by using Al₂O₃–H₂O and TiO₂–H₂O nanofluids. The effects of flow rate and volume concentration on the thermal performance have been investigated for the Reynolds number range of 210 to 1,100. Experimental results show that the average convective heat transfer coefficient increases 14 and 11% and the bottom temperature of the heat sink decreases 2.2°C and 1.6°C by using Al₂O₃–H₂O and TiO₂–H₂O nanofluid instead of pure distilled water, respectively.     

Investigation on characteristics of thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids

It has been shown that a nanofluid consisting of nanoparticles dispersed in base fluid has much higher effective thermal conductivity than pure fluid. In this study, four kinds of nanofluids such as multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) in water, CuO in water, SiO₂ in water, and CuO in ethylene glycol, are produced. Their thermal conductivities are measured by a transient hot-wire method. The thermal conductivity enhancement of water-based MWCNT nanofluid is increased up to 11.3% at a volume fraction of 0.01. The measured thermal conductivities of MWCNT nanofluids are higher than those calculated with Hamilton–Crosser model due to neglecting solid–liquid interaction at the interface. The results show that the thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids depends on the thermal conductivities of both particles and the base fluid.     

Experimental evaluation of friction factor and heat transfer enhancement of twisted tape inserts using TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–water nanofluids

This paper studies the experimental evaluation of TiO₂ nanofluids in enhancing the heat transfer rate and friction factor on a micro-finned tube fitted with twisted tape inserts. Results show that the enhancement in heat transfer and pumping power completely depends on the concentration ratio of nanoparticles, pitch ratio and the type of pitch. Comparisons were made with the previous study with different operating parameters such as twist ratio and twist type. Viscosity of nanofluid increases with an increase in the concentration, which leads to increased pressure drop and pumping power. For the Reynolds number (Re = 4000), the maximum performance ratio was found as 2.1, 2, for concentration of 0.1 and 0.05, respectively. The addition of microfin arrangement inside the circular tube enhanced the performance ratio with minimum concentration of TiO₂ nanofluid.     

Natural convective heat transfer of Ag-water nanofluid flow inside enclosure with center heater and bottom heat source

A numerical study on natural convective heat transfer inside an enclosure with center heater using nanofluid has been carried out. The effect of different length of center heater on the flow and temperature fields is analysed for different Rayleigh numbers. Results are displayed in terms of streamlines, isotherms, mid height velocity profile and average Nusselt number. The numerical results reveal heat transfer increases with increasing heater length at both vertical and horizontal positions for increasing values of Rayleigh numbers. In particular, a higher increase in heat transfer is obtained with heater situated with vertical position of maximum length. Also it is obtained that enhancement of heat transfer is high for Ag - water nanofluid than CuO -water and Al₂O₃ -water nanofluids.     

Effect of Brownian motion on flow and heat transfer of nanofluids over a backward-facing step with and without adiabatic square cylinder

A mathematical model to predict large enhancement of thermal conductivity of nanofluids by considering the Brownian motion is proposed. The effect of the Brownian motion on the flow and heat transfer characteristics is examined. The computations were done for various types of nanoparticles such as CuO, Al₂O₃, and ZnO dispersed in a base fluid (water), volume fraction of nanoparticles ? in the range of 1 % to 6 % at a fixed Reynolds number Re = 450 and nanoparticle diameter d_np = 30 nm. Our results demonstrate that Brownian motion could be an important factor that enhances the thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Nanofluid of Al₂O₃ is observed to have the highest Nusselt number Nu among other nanofluids types, while nanofluid of ZnO nanoparticles has the lowest Nu. Effects of the square cylinder on heat transfer characteristics are significant with considering Brownian motion. Enhancement in the maximum value of Nu of 29 % and 26 % are obtained at the lower and the upper walls of the channel, respectively, by considering the Brownian effects, with square cylinder, compared with that in the case without considering the Brownian motion. On the other hand, results show a marked improvement in heat transfer compared to the base fluid, this improvement is more pronounced on the upper wall for higher ?.     

Enhanced water vapor barrier properties for biopolymer films by polyelectrolyte multilayer and atomic layer deposited Al2O3 double-coating

Commercial polylactide (PLA) films are coated with a thin (20 nm) non-toxic polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) film made from sodium alginate and chitosan and additionally with a 25-nm thick atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al₂O₃ layer. The double-coating of PEM + Al₂O₃ is found to significantly enhance the water vapor barrier properties of the PLA film. The improvement is essentially larger compared with the case the PLA film being just coated with an ALD-grown Al₂O₃ layer. The enhanced water vapor barrier characteristics of the PEM + Al₂O₃ double-coated PLA films are attributed to the increased hydrophobicity of the surface of these films.     

Physical studies on composites Ag7I4VO4-Al2O3

The electrical properties of the solid electrolytes Ag₇I₄VO₄-Al₂O₃ (0-40 mol% Al₂O₃) are investigated. The electrical conductivity, dielectric constant and dielectric loss are increased by increasing the concentration of Al₂O₃; showing a maximum at 30 mol% Al₂O₃. The conductivity is found to be increased by decreasing the particle size of Al₂O₃. The results are explained using the random resistor network model (RRN). This is due to the formation of a highly conducting interface layer along the matrix-particle interface. This layer is destroyed at concentrations higher than 30 mol% Al₂O₃.