EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING ANALYSES OF STABILITY AND THERMOPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GRAPHENE OXIDE, CARBON NANOTUBE, AND SILICON CARBIDE DISPERSION IN PROPYLENE GLYCOL

Abstract

Determining nanofluids' properties by theoretical or experimental analysis has attracted significant attention. This study synthesizes and characterizes propylene glycol-graphene oxide (PG-GO), PG-carbon nanotubes (PG-CNT), and PG-silicon carbide (PG-SiC) nanofluids. All nanofluids were prepared by a two-step procedure with the nanoparticles' concentrations of 0.10, 1.05, and 2.00 wt.%. The nanofluids' stability, thermophysical (heat capacity and surface tension), and transport (thermal conductivity and viscosity) properties are measured at a temperature range of 20-80°C. Zeta potential and average nanocluster size approved that the nanofluids are stable. Increasing the temperature enhances thermal conductivity and heat capacity and reduces viscosity and surface tension. Nanoparticles addition to PG decreases surface tension and heat capacity and increases the viscosity and thermal conductivity. The PG-GO nanofluids have the best average values for viscosity, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity. Several simple models are also suggested to relate nanofluids' thermophysical properties to the temperature and nanoparticles' dose. These correlations simulate the experimental data with reasonable accuracy (correlation coefficient > 0.93).