B. Raja

Experimental Investigation on the Thermal Conductivity and Viscosity of Silver-Deionized Water Nanofluid

Abstract This article presents an experimental investigation where the thermal conductivity and viscosity of silver-deionized water nanofluid is measured and studied. The mixture consists of silver nanoparticles of 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9% of volume concentrations and studied for temperatures between 50°C and 90°C. The transient hot-wire apparatus and Cannon-Fenske viscometer are used to measure the thermal conductivity and kinematic viscosity of nanofluid, respectively. The thermal conductivity increases with the increase in temperature and particle concentrations. A minimum and maximum enhancement of 27% at 0.3 vol% and 80% at 0.9 vol% are observed at an average temperature of 70°C. The viscosity decreases with the increase in temperature and increases with the increase in particle concentrations. The effect of Brownian motion and thermophoresis on the thermo-physical properties is discussed. Thus, an experimental correlation for thermal conductivity and viscosity, which relates the volume concentration and temperature, is developed, and the proposed correlation is found to be in good agreement with the experimental results.

A numerical model for thermal mapping in a hermetically sealed reciprocating refrigerant compressor

In a refrigerant compressor, improvement in performance such as reduction of various electrical and mechanical losses, reduction of gas leakage, better lubrication, reduction of suction gas heating etc. can be achieved by maintaining a low temperature rise inside the compressor. Proper selection and location of an internal over load protector relay, estimation of heat transfer coefficient and winding insulation coefficient are also vital in enhancing the performance. In this context it is necessary to understand the temperature distribution inside a compressor for an optimal design. In this paper, a numerical model has been created and a heat transfer analysis for a hermetically sealed reciprocating refrigerant compressor is presented. The temperature distribution inside the compressor has been obtained taking into consideration the various heat sources and sinks and compared with experimental results. The maximum temperature was observed at the rotor which was 427.5 K. The deviation of the predicted rotor temperature from that of experimental value is 5.5% only. A good agreement was found between experimental results and that predicted in the numerical analysis.

A Study on Nucleate Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics of Acetone on Smooth and Indented Surfaces

This article presents the nucleate boiling heat transfer characteristics of acetone at one bar on smooth and enhanced circular stainless steel surfaces (SS 316) of 20 mm diameter for heat flux between 1 and 4 W cm− 2, which mimic the operating condition of a typical immersion electronic cooling system. The experimental heat transfer coefficient from the smooth surface is validated against Borishanski correlation [1] within acceptable limits of ± 5%. The steel smooth surface is enhanced by providing 100 equally spaced indents of 0.5 mm diameter and 0.05 mm depth. The experimental results indicate that the enhanced surface shows a good shift in the boiling curve and thus, enhancing the nucleate boiling heat transfer at a lesser wall super heat when compared to the smooth surface by around 35% for tested condition. The effect of subcooling on nucleate boiling in enhanced surface reveal that the heat transfer coefficient degrade by 40 to 55% for a sub cooling of 5 to 10 K. The influence of material is studied by a similar enhanced surface made of brass and compared for the same working condition. The brass enhanced surface showed an improved of around 50% against the steel-enhanced surface. Also, the influence of fluid is studied by comparing acetone and n-pentane, which showed that the latter an enhancement in heat transfer coefficient of 50% over the former.

Experimental investigation on thermal conductivity enhancement of copper (II) oxide-DI water nanofluids

The thermal conductivity enhancement of CuO-deionized water nanofluids over the deionized water is measured using a tailor-made measurement device that uses the 3-ω technique. The measurement and prediction are carried out for temperatures between 15 and 35°C and volume fractions of 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1%. The enhancement in thermal conductivity over the base fluid for the tested conditions is observed to be 13 to 25%. A comparison between the measured data and the predicted ones using established correlations reveals that the deviation in prediction is within ±10%.

Evaporative Heat Transfer Characteristics of R404a and R134a under Varied Heat Flux Conditions

The two-phase heat transfer coefficients of R404A and R134a in a smooth tube of 7.49-mm inner diameter were experimentally investigated at low heat and mass flux conditions. The test section is a 10-m-long counter-flow horizontal double-tube heat exchanger with refrigerant flow inside the tube and hot fluid in the annulus. The heat transfer coefficients along the length of the test section were measured experimentally under varied heat flux conditions between 4 and 18 kW m−2 and mass flux ranging between 57 and 102 kg m−2 s−1 (2.5 to 4.5 g s−1) for saturation temperatures of −10°C, −5°C, and 0°C. The saturation temperatures correspond to pressures of 4.4, 5.2, and 6.1 bar for R404A and 2.0, 2.4, and 3.0 bar for R134a, respectively. The results showed that under the tested conditions, the contribution of the nucleate boiling mechanism is predominant in the heat transfer coefficient throughout the flow boiling process. The Kattan–Thome–Favrat flow pattern maps confirm the occurrence of stratified and stratified-wavy flow patterns for all of the tested conditions. The average heat transfer coefficient of R404A is estimated to be 26 to 30% higher than that of R134a for the same saturation temperature.

Investigation on Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics of R404A in a 7.49-mm Smooth Horizontal Tube

Abstract Experimental investigation on flow boiling heat transfer characteristics of R404A (R125/R143a/R134a) was carried in a smooth horizontal tube of 7.49-mm inner diameter. The tested conditions were similar to those present in the evaporator of supermarket display cases, refrigerated cabinets, laboratory freezers, etc. The heat transfer coefficients along the length of the test section were experimentally measured under varied heat flux conditions between 4 and 19 kW m−2, mass flow rate between 2.5 and 4.5 g s−1 (57 to 102 kg m−2 s−1), and working pressure between 4.4 and 6.1 bar. The flow patterns for the tested conditions were stratified, stratified-wavy, and near-annular flows, which were confirmed using the Kattan–Thome–Favrat flow pattern maps. The experiments revealed that under the aforementioned operating condition, the nucleate boiling mechanism was predominant in the heat transfer coefficient. Further, unlike high mass flow rate conditions, the presence of nucleation was witnessed even at higher vapor qualities.

Influence of nucleation on the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient of a refrigerant mixture under varied heat flux conditions

The influence of nucleation on the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient of R-134a/R-290/R-600a refrigerant mixture is experimentally studied in a smooth horizontal tube of 12.7 mm diameter. The heat transfer coefficients are experimentally measured for stratified flow patterns under a varied heat flux condition; a condition found in the evaporator of refrigerators and deep freezers. The experiments are conducted in a counter-current heat exchanger test section. By regulating the flow rate and inlet temperature of acetone, which is the heating fluid flowing in the outer tube, a varied heat flux is provided to the refrigerant flowing in the inner tube. The refrigerant mass flow rate is fixed between 3 and 5 g s−1 and its inlet temperature between −8.59 and 5.33°C, which corresponds to a pressure of 3.2 to 5 bar. The significance of nucleate boiling prevailing in the above-mentioned evaporators is highlighted. The experimental heat transfer coefficients are also compared with well known heat transfer correlations.

Thermal—fluid modelling of an air—cooled condenser for refrigerants

A steady state thermodynamic model for an air—cooled finned—tube condenser, used in a typical deep freezer vapour compression system, operating with pure and refrigerant mixtures has been developed using finite difference method. The heat transfer aspects in the condenser are treated uniquely for superheated, two—phase and subcooled regimes and studied for various heat load, pressure, temperature, and mass flow rate. The condensation heat transfer coefficient, the tube length required for condensation, the degree of subcooling, and the temperature glide for different ambient temperatures are estimated. The simulation and the experimental results are in good agreement.

Single-Phase Convective Heat Transfer of Water and Aqua Ethylene Glycol Mixture in a Small-Diameter Tube

A tailor-made convective heat transfer test facility is constructed to study the single-phase convective heat transfer of deionized water and 30 vol% and 60 vol% aqua–ethylene glycol in a stainless steel tube of 4 mm in inner diameter and 1 m in length. The heat flux is varied between 1 and 4 kW·m−2 and for mass flux ranging from 160 to 475 kg·m−2 s−1. The experiments were predominantly conducted only for laminar flow regime. Finally, the heat transfer coefficient is recorded and compared with the conventional theories. It is observed that the presence of ethylene glycol in water decreases the heat transfer coefficient by more than 50%, due to the decreased Reynolds number and thermal conductivity of the mixture.