Evaluation of thermal conductivity using nanofluids to improve the cooling of high voltage transformers

Abstract

This paper was written to demonstrate the value of using nanofluids for cooling high power transformers while also providing current techniques for business and academia. A numerical analysis of the improvement caused by the cooling of a high voltage transformer using nanofluids has been done. A tank with a temperature source inside and a charge of mineral oil-barium titanate nanoparticles is used to study natural-convection. This study investigates the effects of variables on the thermal efficiency of the tank, including the thermal Rayleigh number and volume fraction. The results show that quenching varies with low and high Rayleigh thermal numbers and depends on the volume percentage of used nanoparticles. The effects were illustrated in thermal transfer rate representations as functions of the thermal Rayleigh number (Rat = 103 and 106) and the solid volume particle from the nanoparticles (0% ? ? < 10%). The findings showed that improving the solid volume particle of the nanoparticles by 10% causes the fluid being utilized to become more effectively conductive, which improves the rate of heat transfer by roughly 10% when compared to the case of the base fluid.