W.H. Azmi

Correlations for thermal conductivity and viscosity of water based nanofluids

The thermo-physical properties of nanofluids such as thermal conductivity, viscosity, density and specific heat of nanofluids are required for the analysis of convection heat transfer coefficients. The density and specific heat of nanofluids can be estimated with the mixture relations in literature. Information regarding the properties at different volume concentration and temperature is required for the estimation of heat transfer coefficient. The two most fundamental properties which are, experimentally, determined, are viscosity and thermal conductivity. Investigators have been determining the properties of nanofluids at different temperatures and base liquids. The present work is an attempt to analyze the available data to develop a non-linear regression equation for the estimation of thermal conductivity and viscosity of water based nanofluids. In the present study, nanofluids are considered as a homogenous medium and the parameters influencing the thermo physical properties identified. Equations are developed for the analysis of thermo-physical properties of nanofluids as a function of parameters viz., material, concentration, temperature and particle size useful for designer. The opposing nature of thermal conductivity rise and viscosity decrease with temperature; dependence of nanofluid thermal conductivity on material properties alters the range of applicability of nanofluids for heat transfer applications. The thermal conductivity and viscosity of Al2O3, ZnO and TiO2 dispersed in water are measured to validate the proposed equations. The result shows that the equations are able to predict the thermal conductivity and viscosity of different types of nanofluids of different particle diameters closely.

Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Aluminium Oxide Nanofluid in Ethylene Glycol

Nanofluids are the new coolant fluid that has been widely investigates due to its ability to improved heat transfer better than conventional heat transfer fluid. The need to study the nanofluid properties has been increased to provide better understanding on nanofluid thermal properties and behavior. This study presents the measurement analysis on thermal conductivity enhancement of Al2O3 nanoparticles dispersed in ethylene glycol. The nanofluids are prepared using two step method for volume concentration range from 1.0 % to 4.0 %. The thermal conductivity measurement of the nanofluid is performed by KD2 Pro Thermal Properties Analyzer at working temperature range from 30 °C to 80 °C. The maximum enhancement in thermal conductivity is 21.1 % at volume concentration of 2.0 % and temperature of 70 °C. The results show that the thermal conductivity increases with the increase of nanofluid concentration and temperature. Also, the nanofluid shows enhancement in thermal conductivity compare to the base fluid.

Heat Transfer Performance of Titanium Oxide in Ethylene Glycol Based Nanofluids under Transition Flow

The needs to improve the efficiency of coolants undeniably become one of the concerns in cooling systems technologies nowadays. Nanofluid as coolant is invented and studied where it can provide better option for users due to augmentation in properties. This study provides experimental investigation on Titanium Oxide dispersed in water and ethylene glycol mixture under transition region with Reynolds number range of 2000 < Re <10000. Three volume concentrations are used which are 0.5 %, 1.0 % and 1.5 % for heat transfer experimental investigation under working temperature of 30 °C at constant heat flux of 600 W. The Nusselt number of the nanofluid increase with the increasing of Reynolds number at 1.5 % concentration, slightly higher than based fluid. The finding on the heat transfer coefficient shows enhancement of 2.1 % achieved by Titanium Oxide nanofluid at 1.5 % volume concentration. For 0.5 % and 1.0 % concentration, no enhancement of heat transfer achieved for the fluid flow under transition region at temperature of 30 °C.

Viscosity of Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) Nanoparticle Dispersed in Ethylene Glycol

Researchers in applied thermal engineering found that nanofluid have potential as a heat transfer fluid with high level of enhancement in heat transfer process compared to conventional coolants. This study present investigation on viscosity for nanoparticles Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) dispersed in ethylene glycol prepared using two step method. Viscosity measurement is conducted using Brookfield LVDV-III Viscometer at temperature ranging from 30 °C to 80 °C. Nanofluid is prepared using Al2O3 in 13 nm size at volume concentration ranging from 0.5 % to 2.0 %. The result indicates that viscosity for Al2O3 nanofluid is 75.2 % higher than based fluid at 1.5 % volume concentration and temperature of 30 °C. It was observed that viscosity is inversely proportional with the increment of nanofluid volume concentration and temperature.

Improved Thermal Conductivity of Tio2-Sio2 Hybrid Nanofluid in Ethylene Glycol and Water Mixture

The need to study hybrid nanofluid properties such as thermal conductivity has increased recently in order to provide better understanding on nanofluid thermal properties and behaviour. Due to its ability to improve heat transfer compared to conventional heat transfer fluids, nanofluids as a new coolant fluid are widely investigated. This paper presents the thermal conductivity of TiO2-SiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in ethylene glycol (EG)-water. The TiO2-SiO2 hybrid nanofluids is measured for its thermal conductivity using KD2 Pro Thermal Properties Analyzer for concentration ranging from 0.5% to 3.0% and temperature of 30, 50 and 70°C. The results show that the increasing in concentration and temperature lead to enhancement in thermal conductivity at range of concentration studied. The maximum enhancement is found to be 22.1% at concentration 3.0% and temperature 70°C. A new equation is proposed based on the experiment data and found to be in good agreement where the average deviation (AD), standard deviation (SD) and maximum deviation (MD) are 1.67%, 1.66% and 5.13%, respectively.

Heat transfer and friction factor of composite TiO2–SiO2 nanofluids in water-ethylene glycol (60:40) mixture

The need for high performance of heat transfer has been evaluated by finding different ways to enhance heat transfer rate in fluid. One of the methods is the combination of two or more nanoparticles and it is known as hybrid/composite nanofluids which can give better performance of heat transfer. Thus, the present study focused on combination of Titanium oxide (TiO2) and Silicon oxide (SiO2) nanoparticles dispersed in 60:40 volume ratio of water and ethylene glycol mixture as the base fluid. The TiO2-SiO2 hybrid nanofluids are prepared using two-step method for different concentration of 2.0%, 2.5% and 3.0%. The experimental determination of heat transfer coefficients are conducted in the Reynolds numbers range from 2000 to 10000 at a bulk temperature of 30°C. The experiments are undertaken for constant heat flux in a circular tube. The Nusselt number of composite TiO2- SiO2 nanofluids is observed to be higher than the base fluid. The finding on heat transfer coefficient shows that 3.0% volume concentration is the highest enhancement with 45.9% compared with base fluid. While at concentration 2.0% and 2.5%, the enhancement recorded were 29.4% and 33.2%, respectively. The friction factor of nanofluids shows a decreased with the increasing of Reynolds numbers. However, the friction factor slightly increased with the increased of concentration.

Performance improvement in mobile air conditioning system using Al2O3/PAG nanolubricant

This paper presents the investigation of Al2O3/PAG nanolubricant performance for a compact vehicle mobile air conditioning (MAC) system. The Al2O3/PAG nanolubricant in this study is prepared by using two-step preparation method and stabilized using 4-Step UV–Vis Spectral Absorbency Analysis. An enhancement in the coefficient of performance (COP), reduction in compressor work, and enhancement in the cooling capacity of MAC employing Al2O3/PAG nanolubricant are recorded up to 31%, 26% and 32%, respectively, for 0.010% volume concentration. The current MAC performance is compared with MAC employing SiO2/PAG nanolubricant from previous study. The comparison shows that the Al2O3/PAG nanolubricant has better performance in term of cooling capacity, compressor work, and COP at an average of 6%, 8%, and 33%, respectively. Therefore, the finding from this study suggests Al2O3/PAG nanolubricant with a volume concentration of 0.010% as an optimum and best performance nanolubricant for MAC systems.

Energy saving in automotive air conditioning system performance using SiO2/PAG nanolubricants

The use of automotive air conditioning (AAC) nowadays is essential because of the hot climate and global warming. The AAC increases the overall fuel consumption in order to cool down the car cabin, hence releases more CO2 into the atmosphere. Nanotechnology can be implemented into the lubricant of the AAC compressor which can aid in reducing the power consumption. Therefore, this paper investigates the effect of SiO2/PAG nanolubricants on the AAC performance and energy saving. The SiO2/PAG nanolubricants were prepared using the two-step method. The sedimentation observation and UV–Vis spectrophotometer evaluation confirmed the stability of the nanolubricants. The tribology analysis revealed the coefficient of friction of SiO2/PAG nanolubricants better than the original PAG lubricants. The performance parameters and power consumption (energy saving) of AAC system using SiO2/PAG nanolubricants were compared with PAG lubricants. The condenser pressure and the pressure ratio of the AAC system decreased by an average of 10.8% and 5.6%, respectively. The volumetric heat absorb increased up to 3% and the coefficient of performance increased by an average of 21%. The compressor work and power consumption of the AAC system reduced by 16.5% and 4%, respectively. As a conclusion, it was recommended to use 0.05% volume concentration of SiO2/PAG nanolubricants in AAC compressor for optimum system performance and energy saving.

Numerical Analysis of Experimental Turbulent Forced Convection Heat Transfer for Nanofluid Flow in a Tube

A numerical model for determining the characteristics of flow and heat has been presented by modifying the eddy diffusivity equation of Sarma et al. The experimental data of thermo-physical properties determined using spherical particles in a wide range of concentration, particle size, materials and operating temperatures are available in the literature. The numerical analysis employed equations, which were developed using the experimental data of thermo-physical properties, friction factor and Nusselt number. Based on the agreement of the numerical results with the experimental data, the influence of concentration and temperature on the turbulent characteristics is presented. It is observed that SiO2 nanofluid attained higher velocity and lower eddy diffusivity compared to Cu nanofluid at a concentration. The temperature gradient increases with concentration and decreases with temperature.