Numerical Investigation on Pool Boiling Heat Transfer of Silica and Alumina Nanofluids

Abstract

Surface modification through pool boiling of nanofluid is an efficient technique in delaying critical heat flux and attaining high heat flux at lower wall superheat temperature. The method of involving phase interaction, bubble evolving and dynamics phenomenon, and distribution of vapor void fraction altogether is the motivation behind current topic. The present work will contribute to the recovery and reuse of the wastewater and incinerator heat, cooling of high heat flux generating micro-electronics chips, and cooling of fast breeder test reactors. In the present study, the nucleate pool boiling of SiO₂/water and Al₂O₃/water nanofluid are studied numerically and the effect of wall superheat temperature and heat flux on active nucleation site density, bubble departure diameter, and bubble waiting time are studied. The effect of various heater surface material and nanofluid concentration on wall superheat temperature and heat transfer coefficient are also investigated. A two-phase Eulerian approach, heat flux wall-partitioning model, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute boiling model are considered to simulate the current model. The pool boiling of nanofluids resulted in the formation of nano-porous layer on heater surface because of microlayer evaporation process that enhanced the heat transfer coefficient and reduced the wall superheat temperature.

Additional information

Funding

This Research was supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), India under Grant No. CRG/2021/001457.

Notes on contributors

Sudhir Kumar Singh

Sudhir Kumar Singh is a Ph.D. research scholar in the Mechanical Engineering Department at National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, H.P., India. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from RTU Kota, Rajasthan, India in 2011 and M. Tech in Thermal Engineering from Thapar University Patiala, India in 2018. He is currently working on pool boiling heat transfer enhancement using surface modifications.

Deepak Sharma

Deepak Sharma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, H.P., India since 2018. He received Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Silchar, Assam, India in 2018, M. Tech degree from the same institute in the year of 2013 and bachelor’s degree from GLA University, Mathura, U.P in the year of 2010. His research interests include, boiling heat transfer, renewable energy, heat exchangers, and thermal hydraulics in nuclear reactors.

Akshay Kumar Singh

Akshay Kumar Singh is a M. Tech research scholar in the Mechanical Engineering Department at National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, H.P., India. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, U.P., India in 2016. His research interests include numerical simulations and pool boiling heat transfer.