Heat Transfer of Cu–Water Nanofluid in Parallel, Corrugated, and Strip Channels

Abstract

Influences of corrugated-wavy and offset-strip channels as the core surface of plate-fin heat exchangers and copper nanoparticles as additives in deionized water were individually investigated. Then, the use of the corrugated-wavy and offset-strip channels along with the Cu–water nanofluid was examined as a compound heat transfer enhancement technique. The nanofluids were prepared by a one-step method, namely, electro-exploded wire technique, and the required properties of the nanofluids were systematically measured. It was found that the corrugated-wavy channel has a drastic effect on the performance of the heat exchanger, and the nanofluid with the lowest weight fraction (i.e., 0.1%) presents a better thermal-hydraulic performance. Moreover, the thermal-hydraulic specification associated with the application of the corrugated-wavy channel along with Cu–water nanofluid was discovered to be higher than those presented by the individual techniques. This compound technique can improve the considered performance factor by an average value of around 1.46 in the plate-fin heat exchanger.