Hybrid Nanofluid Thermal Conductivity and Optimization: Original Approach and Background

Abstract

The focus of this paper was to develop a comprehensive nanofluid thermal conductivity model that can be applied to nanofluids with any number of distinct nanoparticles for a given base fluid, concentration, temperature, particle material, and particle diameter. For the first time, this model permits a direct analytical comparison between nanofluids with a different number of distinct nanoparticles. It was observed that the model’s average error was ~5.289% when compared with independent experimental data for hybrid nanofluids, which is lower than the average error of the best preexisting hybrid nanofluid model. Additionally, the effects of the operating temperature and nanoparticle concentration on the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids were investigated theoretically and experimentally. It was found that optimization of the operating conditions and characteristics of nanofluids is crucial to maximize the heat transfer coefficient in nanofluidics and microfluidics. Furthermore, the existing theoretical models to predict nanofluid thermal conductivity were discussed based on the main mechanisms of energy transfer, including Effective Medium Theory, Brownian motion, the nanolayer, aggregation, Molecular Dynamics simulations, and enhancement in hybrid nanofluids. The advantage and disadvantage of each model, as well as the level of accuracy of each model, were examined using independent experimental data.