A model for the thermal conductivity of mixed fluids containing carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Recently, a number of numerical models have been proposed to theoretically analyze enhancement of the thermal conductivity of nanofluids consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersed into base fluids. However, most of these models are developed for single component base solutions. Meanwhile, several studies using a mixture as a base fluid showed promising results for the enhancement of the thermal conductivity. Therefore, developing a novel model that considers the effects of the presence of types of liquid in the mixed base fluid is necessary. In this paper, a numerical model for the thermal conductivity of mixed fluids containing CNTs is presented. The model predicts that the thermal conductivity enhancement of a mixed nanofluid increases with increasing the concentration of the carbon nanotubes and varies as a function of volume fraction, thermal conductivity of each component fluid in the base solution. To assess the reliability of this model, it is calibrated by the experimental data of previous studies. A good match between calculated results and experimental data proves that the prediction of the proposed model for the thermal conductivity of fluid containing CNTs is correct.