Heat transfer and fluid flow of MgO/ethylene glycol in a corrugated heat exchanger

Abstract

The present work aims to investigate the thermo-hydraulic performance of a counter-current corrugated plate heat exchanger working with MgO/ethylene glycol nanofluid. MgO nanoparticles were dispersed in ethylene glycol at different weight (mass) concentrations of 0.1 %, 0.2 % and 0.3 % and nanofluids were introduced to a heat exchanger in form of a counter-current flow to exchange heat with water. The test rig provided conditions to measure the influence of different operating parameters such as fluid flow, mass concentration and inlet temperature of the nanofluid on heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and thermal performance index of the heat exchanger. Results showed that flow rate and mass concentration can intensify the convective heat transfer coefficient. However, they both increase the pressure drop of the system. The heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop was found to be enhanced by 35 % and 85 %, respectively at wt.% = 0.3. Interestingly, inlet temperature was found to only increase the heat transfer coefficient slightly (up to 9.8 % at wt.% = 0.3) and had no influence on the values of pressure drop. The presence of MgO nanoparticles was found to increase the thermo-hydraulic performance index of the heat exchanger by 34 %.