Abstract
Nanofluids are considered a promising way to improve the heat transfer capability of base fluids. Water is the most commonly-used heat transfer fluid. However, in refrigeration systems, it may be necessary to mix water with either ethylene- or propylene-glycol to lower its freezing point and prevent from ice formation. In the same way, for car radiators or industrial heat exchangers, the boiling point of water can be pushed up by mixing it with glycol-based fluids. The increasing awareness of energy saving and industrial energy efficiency improvement results in the growing interest in ethylene- or propylene-glycol-based nanofluids for applications in various thermal systems. The present paper proposes an extensive review of the most recent and relevant experimental and numerical works on the thermophysical properties and performances of ethylene- or propylene-glycol-based nanofluids. Research perspectives are also provided with the long-term objective that these nanofluids be more widely considered in real industrial applications.
Highlights
Heat transfer fluids (HTF) play a crucial rule to remove the excess of heat from a system with various applications ranging from building heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, electronics, automotive, or biomedicine [1]
Satti et al [6] carried out an experimental study to determine the thermal conductivity of five different nanofluids containing Al2 O3, CuO, ZnO, SiO2, and TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in a base fluid composed of a 60:40 propylene-glycol and water mixture within the temperature range
An experimental investigation of the rheological properties of copper oxide nanoparticles suspended in a 60:40 ethylene-glycol and water mixture has been conducted by Namburu et al [70] for temperatures ranging from −35 ◦ C–50 ◦ C and particle volume concentrations up to 6.12%
Summary
Heat transfer fluids (HTF) play a crucial rule to remove the excess of heat from a system with various applications ranging from building heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, electronics, automotive, or biomedicine [1]. During the last few decades, engineers and researchers made substantial efforts to improve the heat transfer efficiency of these HTFs by means of passive or active methods: chaotic advection, enhanced turbulence (turbulators), HTFs with higher thermal properties, or any combination [8]. Among these methods, nanofluids have proven to be an effective way to achieve that objective without increasing the size, cost, and complexity of thermal equipments too much.
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