Thermal evaluation of nanofluids in heat exchangers Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Nanofluids, suspensions of nanoparticles (less than 100nm) in a basefluid, have shown enhanced heat transfer characteristics. In this study, thermal performances of nanofluids in industrial type heat exchangers are investigated. Three mass particle concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 6% of silicon dioxide-water (SiO2-water) nanofluids are formulated by dispersing 20nm diameter nanoparticles in distilled water. Experiments are conducted to compare the overall heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of water vs. nanofluids in laboratory-scale plate and shell-and-tube heat exchangers. Experimental results show both augmentation and deterioration of heat transfer coefficient for nanofluids depending on the flow rate and nanofluid concentration through the heat exchangers. This trend could be explained by the counter effect of the changes in thermo-physical properties of fluids together with the fouling on the contact surfaces in the heat exchangers. The measured pressure drop while using nanofluids show an increase when compared to that of basefluid which could limit the use of nanofluids in industrial applications. 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

published proceedings

  • INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS IN HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER

author list (cited authors)

  • Anoop, K., Cox, J., & Sadr, R.

citation count

  • 64

complete list of authors

  • Anoop, Kanjirakat||Cox, Jonathan||Sadr, Reza

publication date

  • January 2013