Evaluation of Silica Nanofluids in Static and Dynamic Conditions by an Optical Fiber Sensor

Abstract

This work presents an optical fiber dynamic light scattering sensor capable of simultaneously assessing concentration and flow speed of nanofluids. Silica nanoparticles (189 nm) in water were tested, yielding a sensitivity of 0.78288 × 10³ s−1 for static conditions. Then, the sensor was submitted to situations that simulate spatial concentration changes, offering better results than those obtained by traditional mathematical models. Finally, in flow tests, the light backscattered by the nanoparticles were collected by a fiber probe placed parallel to the streamline, whereas intensity values were processed by artificial neural networks. The sensor provides average errors of 0.09 wt% and 0.26 cm/s for concentration and speed measurements, respectively, and can be further applied to assess different types of nanofluids and inline processes.