An experimental study on the effect of diameter on thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity of Fe/water nanofluids

Abstract

The addition of nanoparticles to a base fluid is one of the significant issues to enhance heat transfer. In this study, different nanofluids were developed by mixing a water base fluid with magnetic nanoparticles. Thermophysical properties such as thermal conductivity and viscosity of the obtained nanofluid were investigated. The effect of different nominal diameters of nanoparticles and concentrations of nanoparticles on the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids have been examined. Three different diameters of magnetic nanoparticles (about 37 nm, 71 nm, and 98 nm) have been tested in this experimental investigation. Experimental results indicate that thermal conductivity increases as volume fraction increases, and thermal conductivity of the nanofluid increases with a decrease of nanoparticle’s size. Moreover, the nanofluid dynamics viscosity ratio increases with an increase in particle concentration and nanoparticle’s diameter. This paper identifies several important issues that should be considered in future work.