Al2O3-Water Nanofluids for Heat Transfer Application

Abstract

AbstractThis manuscript aims at synthesizing Al2O3-de-ionized water nanofluid and constructing a practical design of self-cooling device that does not require any external power input. Crystalline phase of powder was confirmed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) showed the various functional groups and absorption bands and average particle size was calculated to be 58.608 nm by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) annealed at 900K. Experimental investigations were carried out to determine the effect of volume fraction of Al2O3 nanoparticles in the nanofluid on the rate of heat transfer from heat load to heat sink. Temperature of heat load was taken as 80° C. According to our results, cooling by 15°C, 13°C and 12°C was attained when volume fraction of nanoparticles was 1.5%, 1% and 0.5% respectively. The thermal conductivity was also measured and found to be increasing with the concentration of nanoparticles in nanofluid. Hence, indicating the use of nanofluids with suitable concentration in various cooling applications.