Numerical study of nanoparticle concentration effect on heat transfer enhancement in mini-channel flow

Abstract

The study conducted in this research focuses primarily on the discussion and statistical analysis of thermophysical physical properties in published literature, development of a mathematical correlation for estimating thermophysical and rheological properties, numerical study of heat transfer enhancement, and comparison of results between experimental and theoretical studies of nanofluids. Specifically suspensions of nanoparticles of Al2O3, CuO and TiO2 in a base fluid of water up to a concentration of 5% by volume are studied. Due to their properties of creating a well diluted solution with a base fluid, good thermal conductivity enhancement, ease of synthesis, abundance, low cost, and extensive possible applications, these three metal oxide nanoparticles are currently the preferred nanofluids in industries. Adequate experimental observations of thermophysical properties are gathered from literature to develop a comprehensive model of thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids. This study will offer baseline information for further research and study in the fields of microelectronics, aerospace and automotive industries that implement micron and millimeter size cooling circuits in their thermal management system. In this study, a rectangular channel with 1.651mm hydraulic diameter is used to test and compare the heat transfer performance of the subject nanofluids in a high flux density of heat dissipation. A steady state of 150 watt heat load is used to observe the heat transfer enhancement relative to the conventional cooling processes. Accordingly, conditions that are selected and imposed on the study environment make this research result in a virtuous benchmark, especially perhaps to mini embedded cooling circuits potentially used in microelectronics and related fields.