ABSTRACT
Thermal conductivity (k) is an important property of the fluid which contributes to the heat transfer. Presence of nanomaterial enhances the k of the base fluid and can be used as potential heat transfer medium in many industrial, domestic applications. Experimentation to study the effect on k due to nanomaterial addition to the base fluid is carried out. Alumina Oxide (Al2O3) of different concentrations was selected as nanomaterial with water as the base fluid. Results showed that nanofluid with 7.5% Al2O3 gives 22% increase in k as compared to base fluid. Also, it was observed that as nanomaterial % concentration increases, the % decrease in k increases. For test period, water shows a negligible reduction in k; compared to 5.5% decrease in k for 7.5% Al2O3 nanofluid. This study leads to the conclusion that nanofluids are having good k for certain time period; after that replacement of fluid is necessary.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.