Enhanced thermal conductivity through the development of nanofluids
Low thermal conductivity is a primary limitation in the development of energy-efficient heat transfer fluids required in many industrial applications. To overcome this limitation, a new class of heat transfer fluids is being developed by suspending nanocrystalline particles in liquids such as water or oil. The resulting nanofluids possess extremely high thermal conductivities compared to the liquids without dispersed nanocrystalline particles. For example, 5 volume % of nanocrystalline copper oxide particles suspended in water results in an improvement in thermal conductivity of almost 60% compared to water without nanoparticles. Excellent suspension properties are also observed, with no significant settling of nanocrystalline oxide particles occurring in stationary fluids over time periods longer than several days. Direct evaporation of Cu nanoparticles into pump oil results in similar improvements in thermal conductivity compared to oxide-in-water systems, but importantly, requires far smaller concentrations of dispersed nanocrystalline powder.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 459378
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/MSD/CP-90462; CONF-961202-94; ON: DE97003768; TRN: AHC29708%%43
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1996 Fall meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS), Boston, MA (United States), 2-6 Dec 1996; Other Information: PBD: Nov 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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