HEAT TRANSFER PROPERTY OF METALLIC NANOFLUIDS – A STUDY

Abstract

Prolonged use of domestic and industrial applications gives rise to high heat generation in the systems. Smart materials like nanofluids can be useful to overcome this modern-day problem. In this study we are reporting the water-based nanofluids, to challenge this problem. Due to the availability of water in Bengal, the simplest solution for cooling a machine is to flow water surrounding it. The nanofluids we have synthesized are metallic nanoparticles dispersed in water, which is considered as base fluid. The heat capacity and thermal conductivity of the nanofluids were predicted by the equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulation. It is observed that dispersed nanoparticles help an enchantment in thermal-conductivity of the fluids whereas the heat capacity decreases by a small value. The low-cost sol-gel method was used to synthesize the Cu and Ag nanoparticles and later disperses the same in distilled water in suitable wt%. Nanofluids were subjected to ultrasonic studies around room temperature. The thermal conductivity of the used fluids is the function of the velocity values of ultrasonic wave propagation through the fluid system. The experimental measured thermal-conductivity values show an enhancement of about 30% in comparison to the base fluid water in ambient temperature.