Calculation the Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids Containing Aligned Ultralong Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) depends on their length and the diameter. At room temperature, the thermal conductivity of CNTs increases as its length increases as well as its diameter decreases. Aligned long single-walled carbon nanotubes (AL-SWCNTs) are expected to be an ideal candidate for heat transfer materials owing to their small diameter, very long length and high thermal conductivity. In this work, we propose a theory model for thermal conductivity of ALSWCNTs in nanofluids. The calculation results showed that the thermal conductivity enhancement of AL-SWCNTs nanofluids was about 18.5 times higher than that of MWCNTs nanofluids. The calculation results have confirmed the advantage of the AL-SWCNTs as excellent additive for nanofluids.