Laura Colla

Experimental stability analysis of different water-based nanofluids

In the recent years, great interest has been devoted to the unique properties of nanofluids. The dispersion process and the nanoparticle suspension stability have been found to be critical points in the development of these new fluids. For this reason, an experimental study on the stability of water-based dispersions containing different nanoparticles, i.e. single wall carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs), titanium dioxide (TiO2) and copper oxide (CuO), has been developed in this study. The aim of this study is to provide stable nanofluids for selecting suitable fluids with enhanced thermal characteristics. Different dispersion techniques were considered in this study, including sonication, ball milling and high-pressure homogenization. Both the dispersion process and the use of some dispersants were investigated as a function of the nanoparticle concentration. The high-pressure homogenization was found to be the best method, and the addition of n-dodecyl sulphate and polyethylene glycol as dispersants, respectively in SWCNHs-water and TiO2-water nanofluids, improved the nanofluid stability.

The Synthesis and Effect of Copper Nanoparticles on the Tribological Properties of Lubricant Oils

Cu nanoparticles (NPs) are widely studied to understand how they work in lubricant oils to improve its tribological properties. This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of Cu NPs of different size (φ = 60 and 130 nm) carried out in EG and the dispersion procedure used to prepare nanolubricants containing different amounts of NPs (0.005 vol% -0.01 vol% -0.02 vol%). The base oil was a commercially available lubricant oil for internal combustion engines. In order to study the influence of different parameters such as particles size and concentration on tribological properties of nanolubricants, the Stribeck curves were recorded at 25°C in the three lubrication regions (elasto-hydrodynamic, mixed lubrication, and boundary lubrication) and the results discussed. It was found that Cu NPs with a 130-nm mean diameter were more effective in reducing the coefficient of friction in all the lubrication regimes with respect to smaller ones.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Forced Convection in Circular Tubes With Nanofluids

In this paper an experimental and numerical study to investigate the convective heat transfer characteristics of fully developed turbulent flow of a water–Al2O3 nanofluid in a circular tube is presented. The numerical simulations are accomplished on the experimental test section configuration. In the analysis, the fluid flow and the thermal field are assumed axial-symmetric, two-dimensional, and steady state. The single-phase model is employed to model the nanofluid mixture and the k-ϵ model is used to describe the turbulent fluid flow. Experimental and numerical results are carried out for different volumetric flow rates and nanoparticles concentration values. Heat transfer convective coefficients as a function of flow rates and Reynolds numbers are presented. The results indicate that the heat transfer coefficients increase for all nanofluids concentrations compared to pure water at increasing volumetric flow rate. Heat transfer coefficient increases are observed at assigned volumetric flow rate for nanofluid mixture with higher concentrations, whereas Nusselt numbers present lower values than the ones for pure water.

Tuning the thermal diffusivity of silver based nanofluids by controlling nanoparticle aggregation

With the aim of preparing stable nanofluids for heat exchange applications and to study the effect of surfactant on the aggregation of nanoparticles and thermal diffusivity, stable silver colloids were synthesized in water by a green method, reducing AgNO₃ with fructose in the presence of poly-vinylpyrollidone (PVP) of various molecular weights. A silver nanopowder was precipitated from the colloids and re-dispersed at 4 vol% in deionized water. The Ag colloids were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, combined dynamic light scattering and ζ-potential measurements, and laser flash thermal diffusivity. The Ag nanopowders were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis. It was found that the molecular weight of PVP strongly affects the ζ-potential and the aggregation of nanoparticles, thereby affecting the thermal diffusivity of the obtained colloids. In particular, it was observed that on increasing the molecular weight of PVP the absolute value of the ζ-potential is reduced, leading to increased aggregation of nanoparticles. A clear relation was identified between thermal diffusivity and aggregation, showing higher thermal diffusivity for nanofluids having higher aggregation. A maximum improvement of thermal diffusivity by about 12% was found for nanofluids prepared with PVP having higher molecular weight.

A comparison of nanofluid thermal conductivity measurements by flash and hot disk techniques

The conversion into nanofluids is considered a suitable solution to increase the heat transfer efficiency of such fluids. Several theories with an emphasis on different thermal nanofluid mechanisms have appeared to predict enhanced conductivity measurements. There are many ways to measure the thermal conductivity of fluids. Some researchers argued that the anomalous k enhancement data are caused by inaccuracies of thermal measurement methods. In this paper, measurements on thermal conductivities of nanofluid mixtures (alumina/water) by means of two different methods are accomplished, i.e. the flash and the hot disk technique. In the first method, a NETZSCH model LFA 447 NanoFlash is employed, while in the second one a Hot Disk model TPS 2500 S is used. A comparison between the results obtained from the different measurement techniques is done. Two-step method is used to prepare nanofluids with a nanoparticles volumetric concentration from 0.1% to 4%. Each mixture, at assigned volumetric concentration, is treated with a sonicator for different times and thermal conductivity is measured in the range of temperature from 20°C to 50°C. Moreover, for assigned volumetric concentration and sonication, the stability analysis is performed and thermal conductivity measurements are carried out to determine the effect of sonication time. Results show the thermal conductivity dependence on sonication time, and an asymptotic value is evaluated for each volumetric concentration.

Nanofluids characterization and application as nanolubricants in heat pump systems

In the last years, various applications have been proposed for nanofluids in the HVAC&R field; their use as primary and secondary fluids, also as lubricants, has been kept into account to improve systems performance. The present work was developed to test the applicability of nanofluids as lubricants in the compressors of heat pump systems, with the purpose to experimentally detect the possible positive effects of nanolubricants. Several nanolubricants, formed by polyolester or mineral oil as a base fluid, and titanium oxide (TiO2) or single-wall carbon nano-horns as nanoparticles, were studied in a dedicated test rig. In contrast with some published data, no improvement was detected with 0.05 to 0.5 wt% of TiO2 or 0.1 wt% of single-wall carbon nano-horns in tested commercial oils. All results will be discussed in depth in the article.

Nano-PCMs for electronics cooling applications

The present work aims at investigating a new challenging use of Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles to enhance the thermal properties (thermal conductivity, specific heat, and latent heat) of pure paraffin waxes to obtain a new class of Phase Change Materials (PCMs), the so-called nano-PCMs. The nano-PCMs were obtained by seeding 0.5 and 1.0 wt% of Al2O3 nanoparticles in two paraffin waxes having melting temperatures of 45 and 55 °C, respectively. The thermophysical properties such as specific heat, latent heat, and thermal conductivity were then measured to understand the effects of the nanoparticles on the thermal properties of both the solid and liquid PCMs. Furthermore, a numerical comparison between the use of the pure paraffin waxes and the nano-PCMs obtained in a typical electronics passive cooling device was developed and implemented. A numerical model is accomplished to simulate the heat transfer inside the cavity either with PCM or nano-PCM. Numerical simulations were carried out using the ANSYS-Fluent 15.0 code. Results in terms of solid and liquid phase temperatures and melting time were reported and discussed.Copyright