A novel experimental and statistical study on ethylene glycol-based nanofluid enriched by MWCNT and CuO nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, the viscosity (μnf) of enriched ethylene–glycol (EG) by MWCNT and CuO (30 % −70 %) hybrid nanoparticles is experimentally and statistically investigated. For this purpose, MWCNTs are synthesized via the wet chemical synthesis method. Then, targeted NF is prepared in solid volume fractions (SVFs) 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.25 %, and T = 25–50 °C, as well as their rheological behavior, is studied. According to the results, investigated NF has dual behavior in different SVFs. It has non-Newtonian behavior at SVF of 0.25 % and Newtonian behavior at other SVFs. Also, sensitivity analysis proved that the μnf of MWCNT-CuO (30 % −70 %) / EG is so sensitive to the changes in SVFs but it shows very little sensitivity to the temperature. Furthermore, a new correlation is proposed according to the data of experiments for the prediction of μnf that can make optimal use of time and reduce experimental costs. The convergence factor (R2 = 0.96709) of mathematical-based correlation to experimental results is acceptable and satisfactory. Reduction of μnf in all SVFs from 0.01 % −0.1 % in comparison to pure EG is another interesting experimental finding in the present study.