Thermal conductivity, viscosity and rheology of a suspension based on Al2O3 nanoparticles and mixture of 90% ethylene glycol and 10% water

Abstract

Results of experimental studies of thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids, based on Al2O3 and mixture of 90% ethylene glycol (EG) and 10% water, are presented. Experiments were carried out at various volume fraction of a solid phase in the range of 0–1.5%. The non-stationary method of a heated wire was used to measure thermal conductivity. Viscosity was measured by a rotational viscometer using the capillary method. It was found that the dependence of thermal conductivity on volume concentration corresponds to the Maxwell theory, but viscosity dependence exceeds significantly the values, predicted by Einstein and Batchelor theories. The rheological properties have been observed and measured as a function of shear stress and nanoparticles volume fraction.