Keywords :
Heat transfer mechanisms; Nanofluids; Particle size; Thermal conductivity; Agglomeration; Alumina; Boundary layers; Brownian movement; Ethylene; Ethylene glycol; Heat transfer; Liquids; Nanoparticles; Thermal conductivity of liquids; Thermodynamics; Coupled heat transfer; Effective thermal conductivity; Extended irreversible thermodynamics; Heat transfer mechanism; Liquid boundary layers; Nanoparticle sizes; Spherical nanoparticles; Nanofluidics
Abstract :
[en] A modelling of the thermal conductivity of nanofluids based on extended irreversible thermodynamics is proposed with emphasis on the role of several coupled heat transfer mechanisms: liquid interfacial layering between nanoparticles and base fluid, particles agglomeration and Brownian motion. The relative importance of each specific mechanism on the enhancement of the effective thermal conductivity is examined. It is shown that the size of the nanoparticles and the liquid boundary layer around the particles play a determining role. For nanoparticles close to molecular range, the Brownian effect is important. At nanoparticles of the order of 1–100 nm, both agglomeration and liquid layering are influent. Agglomeration becomes the most important mechanism at nanoparticle sizes of the order of 100 nm and higher. The theoretical considerations are illustrated by three case studies: suspensions of alumina rigid spherical nanoparticles in water, ethylene glycol and a 50/50w% water/ethylene glycol mixture, respectively, good agreement with experimental data is observed. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Disciplines :
Physical, chemical, mathematical & earth Sciences: Multidisciplinary, general & others
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