Investigation of the Thermal Conductivity, Viscosity, and Thermal Performance of Graphene Nanoplatelet-Alumina Hybrid Nanofluid in a Differentially Heated Cavity

Abstract

This paper investigates the thermophysical properties and heat transfer performance of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) and alumina hybrid nanofluids at different mixing ratios. The electrical conductivity and viscosity of the nanofluids were obtained at temperatures between 15–55°C. The thermal conductivity was measured at temperatures between 20–40°C. The natural convection properties, including Nusselt number, Rayleigh number, and heat transfer coefficient, were experimentally obtained at different temperature gradients (20, 25, 30, and 35°C) in a rectangular cavity. The Mouromtseff number was used to theoretically estimate all the nanofluids’ forced convective performance at temperatures between 20–40°C. The results indicated that the thermal conductivity and viscosity of water are increased with the hybrid nanomaterial. On the other hand, the viscosity and thermal conductivity of the hybrid nanofluids are lesser than that of mono-GNP nanofluids. Notwithstanding, of all the hybrid nanofluids, GNP-alumina hybrid nanofluid with a mixing ratio of 50:50 and 75:25 were found to have the highest thermal conductivity and viscosity, enhancing thermal conductivity by 4.23% and increasing viscosity by 15.79%, compared to water. Further, the addition of the hybrid nanomaterials improved the natural convective performance of water while it deteriorates with mono-GNP. The maximum augmentation of 6.44 and 10.48% were obtained for Nuaverage and haverage of GNP-Alumina (50:50) hybrid nanofluid compared to water, respectively. This study shows that hybrid nanofluids are more effective for heat transfer than water and mono-GNP nanofluid.