Critical analysis of thermal conductivity enhancement of alumina–water nanofluids

Abstract

Nanofluids are colloidal suspensions constituted of nanoparticles and typical heat transfer fluids which have shown potential in yielding enhanced heat transport for many applications. Significant attention has been paid to their thermal conductivity enhancement which has been alleged, in some cases, to exceed theoretical limits classifying the enhancement as “anomalous”. The present study aims to quantitatively investigate the nature of the enhancements reported in the literature and classify their alignment with theoretical predictions. To do so, a rigorous and objective mathematical analysis method has been employed. The novelty and value of the present work lies in the deeper characterisation and understanding of the anomalous observations reported. The present analytical study focuses on (spherical) Al2O3–water nanofluids. It was discovered that studies involving low nanoparticle concentrations ($$\phi $$ ϕ ≤ 0.2 vol%) and the use of electrostatic stabilisation (through pH control) as opposed to steric stabilisation (using surfactants) as suspension stability control methods are likely to report anomalous effects. An exceptional case was observed for d < 15 nm, where to achieve anomalous enhancement, surfactants and pH controllers should not be used to prevent significant interfacial resistance. The shared characteristics of these anomalous observations indicate that nanofluid preparation effects are linked to the underlying physical mechanisms of heat transfer involved and those should be further investigated. The failure of studies attempting to replicate anomalous thermal conductivity enhancement in the literature could hence be understood, as these did not satisfy the conditions required to lead to an anomalous enhancement. The role of measurement errors was also considered.

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