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Effect of time dependent nanoclusters morphology on the thermal conductivity and heat transport mechanism of TiO2 based nanofluid

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Abstract

The effect of time dependent nanoclusters morphology on heat conduction mechanism of a nanofluid has been presented over here. The time dependent growth of nanoclusters of TiO2 nanoparticles (size 25–30 nm, volume fraction of 0.05%) along with surfactant (SDBS) in water (DI), has been investigated. A detailed report on the size distribution of nanoparticles while in suspension for an actual volume fraction of the nanoparticles at a particular instant of time is presented. The different pH values (2.92–11.62) along with surfactant (SDBS, 1:1 by wt.) have been used to investigate the suspension stabilities of different smaples of the nanofluid. The suspension stabilities have been evaluated by measuring the zeta potential and stability ratios of TiO2–H2O nanofluid. A quantitative analysis on the role of nanoparticles presented in the form of dead-ends and backbone chains, has been carried out. The effect of liquid layering of the water present inside the characteristic dimension of a nanocluster is taken into account to determine the effective thermal conductivity of a nanofluid. The so, obtained experimental and theoretical results of thermal conductivities have been correlated and found to be predicted well with a new developed model and with an accuracy level of +2.82 to −1.5%. Whereas, the predictions from other fundamental models and empirical correlations are found to be vary with an error from +3 to +8.1% on one side and from −4.87 to −12.62% on other side, in the volume fraction from 0.01 to 0.12%, when analysed.

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Abbreviations

a :

Average hydrodynamic size (diameter) of the particle (nm)

A 132 :

Hamaker’s constant (J)

B (x):

Parameter represents the hydration interaction among the nanoparticles and the basefluid

C :

Aggregate density of the nanoparticles per unit cluster

d l :

Chemical dimension of a cluster

d f :

Fractal dimension of a cluster

E R :

Electrostatic repulsion (J)

E A :

Vander Waals attraction (J)

E tot :

Total interaction energy (J)

I :

Concentration of ions in aqueous medium

K eff /K nf :

Thermal conductivity of nanofluid (W/mK)

K exp :

Experimental thermal conductivity (W/mK)

K l :

Thermal conductivity of bulk base fluid (W/mK)

K p :

Thermal conductivity of nanopowder (W/mK)

K f :

Thermal conductivity of the fluid present inside the nanocluster (W/mK)

K f1 :

Thermal conductivity enhancement of the fluid present inside the nanocluster (W/mK)

K db :

Thermal conductivity enhancement inside the nanocluster due to deadend nanoparticles (W/mK)

K adb :

Cluster thermal conductivity due to presence of nanoparticles as dead-ends and backbone chains (W/mK)

K B :

Boltzmann constant (1.3807 × 10−23 J/K)

N :

Average number of nanoparticles per cluster

N b :

Number of nanoparticles belongs to backbone chains

p :

Aspect ratio

pH:

pH level of the nanofluid

R BL :

Resistance due to thermal boundary layer (m2 K/W)

R g :

Cluster characteristic dimension (nm)

rp :

Average radius of the nanoparticle (nm)

S:

Surfactant amount (mg)

t p :

Aggregation time constant (s)

T :

Temperature (°C)

V a :

Volume of a cluster

V na :

Volume of the nanoparticles per cluster

W :

Stability ratio

Wt.:

Weight (mg)

x :

Particle surface to surface distance (nm)

DI:

De-ionized water

DLS:

Dynamic light scattering

DLCA:

Diffusion limited colloidal aggregation

M-G:

Model Maxwell Garnet Model

SSA:

Specific surface area

XRD:

X-rays diffraction

SDBS:

Sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate

t :

Time

TEM:

Transmission electronic microscope

α :

A constant (13.58 × 1020 s/m3)

α nf :

Thermal diffusivity (m2/s)

ρ nf :

Density of nanofluid (kg/m3)

ρ f :

Density of base fluid (kg/m3)

ρ TiO2 :

Density of TiO2 nanoparticles(kg/m3)

μ :

Viscosity of basefluid (Pas)

φ p/ φ :

Volume fraction of the primary nanoparticles in the basefluid (%)

φ a :

Volume fraction of the nanoparticles in an aggregate

φ bp :

Volume fraction of backbone particles in the aggregate

φ dp :

Volume fraction of the particles belonging to deadends

φ f1 :

Volume fraction of fluid elements present in the aggregate

φ a t :

Total Volume fraction of the aggregates present in the base fluid (%)

ε r :

Relative dielectric constant of the liquid

ε 0 :

Dielectric constant of free space

ζ :

Zeta potential (mV)

Λ :

Debye parameter

Π :

Pi (3.14159)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, 147004, India

    Lal Kundan & Soumya Suddha Mallick

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, 147004, India

    Bonamali Pal

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  1. Lal Kundan
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Kundan, L., Mallick, S.S. & Pal, B. Effect of time dependent nanoclusters morphology on the thermal conductivity and heat transport mechanism of TiO2 based nanofluid. Heat Mass Transfer 53, 1873–1892 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1945-8

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