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Effect of dispersion behavior on the heat transfer characteristics of alumina nanofluid: an experimental investigation and development of a new correlation function

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Abstract

Present work aims to study the dispersion characteristics of Al2O3 nano-dispersoid in water following different periods of ultrasonication and its impact on the thermal conductivity and viscosity of the nanofluid. Nanofluids with 0.5–2 vol% of Al2O3 nanoparticles have been prepared by ultrasonication for varying period. Al2O3 nanofluids reported a maximum thermal conductivity enhancement of 16.1% for 2 vol% of nanoparticle concentration, after an optimum ultrasonication of 2 h beyond which the thermal conductivity decreases with further ultrasonication. The optimum ultrasonication time required for uniform dispersion of nanoparticles increases with the increase in the Al2O3 volume fraction. For 1.5 vol% Al2O3 nanoparticle loading, the viscosity of nanofluid decreased by 33% with an increase in the sonication time from 30 to 90 min. Further increase in sonication time by 30 min resulted in 13% increase in the viscosity of Al2O3 nanofluid. This decrease in the thermal conductivity enhancement and increase in the viscosity beyond the optimum ultrasonication period have been attributed to the re-agglomeration of nanoparticles which are confirmed by TEM, and DLS results carried out after different instants of ultrasonication. The occurrence of re-agglomeration is explained in terms of the convective flow associated with the ultrasonication process. Various theoretical models like Maxwell or Hamilton–Crosser models which when used to predict the thermal conductivity of nanofluid, underestimate the thermal conductivity. A new correlation is, therefore, developed on the basis of experimental results. With an R2 value of 0.9924, the correlation showed a good agreement with the present thermal conductivity data.

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Abbreviations

a :

Thermal diffusivity, m2/s

C :

Euler’s constant

c :

Slope of the linear section of the plot ∆T (r, t) vs ln (t)

k :

Thermal conductivity, W/m K

n :

No. of readings

q :

Constant heat produced per unit time and per unit length, J/m s

r :

Diameter of platinum wire, m

s :

Standard deviation

t :

Time, s

u :

Uncertainty

W :

Mass, kg

∆T:

Temperature rise over the platinum wire, K

ρ :

Density, kg/m3

ϕ :

Volume fraction, %

λ :

Wavelength, Å

bf:

Base fluid

nf:

Nanofluid

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India

    Monisha Michael & Sudipto Ghosh

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, India

    Aparna Zagabathuni

  3. R&D Division, Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, India

    Sudipta Sikdar

  4. School of Engineering and Technology, Adamas University, Barasat, India

    Shyamal Kumar Pabi

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  1. Monisha Michael
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Michael, M., Zagabathuni, A., Sikdar, S. et al. Effect of dispersion behavior on the heat transfer characteristics of alumina nanofluid: an experimental investigation and development of a new correlation function. Int Nano Lett 10, 207–217 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40089-020-00306-w

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