Efficiency and effectiveness enhancement of an intercooler of two‐stage air compressor by low‐cost Al₂O₃/water nanofluids

Abstract

The present study was aimed to utilize low‐cost alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles for improving the heat transfer behavior in an intercooler of two‐stage air compressor. Experimental investigation was carried out with three different volume concentrations of 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1.0% Al2O3/water nanofluids to assess the performance of the intercooler, that is, counterflow heat exchanger at different loads. Thermal properties such as thermal conductivity and overall heat transfer coefficient of nanofluid increased substantially with increasing concentration of Al2O3 nanoparticles. Specific heat capacity of nanofluids were lower than base water. The intercooler performance parameters such as effectiveness and efficiency improved appreciably with the employment of nanofluid. The efficiency increased by about 6.1% with maximum concentration of nanofluid, that is, 1% at 3‐bar compressor load. It is concluded from the study that high concentration of Al2O3 nanoparticles dispersion in water would offer better heat transfer performance of the intercooler.

Gas Turbine Intercoolers: Introducing Nanofluids—A Mini-Review

“…[2]. Furthermore, when it comes to investigating the employment of these types of fluids in intercoolers, there are very few published articles that have covered this topic [79][80][81][82][83].…”

“…% or higher of CNTs. Chintala et al [83] experimentally investigated the heat transfer behavior of a two-stage air compressor intercooler using Al 2 O 3 -water suspensions. Their nanofluids were fabricated by dispersing 0.5 to 1 vol.…”

Effect of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes-Based Nanofluids on Marine Gas Turbine Intercooler Performance

“…It is important to note that the authors have noticed that the aluminium-based intercooler had a relatively balanced dynamic response between the compressed gas and coolant in comparison to the other two materials. Chintala et al [16] experimented on a two-stage air compressor integrated with a counterflow intercooler unit to determine the changes in the system heat transfer behaviour when using Al 2 O 3 -water nanofluids. The examined suspensions were produced by sonicating 0.5-1.0 vol % of Al 2 O 3 , for 90 min and at 40 • C. Their results showed a maximum increase of 36.1% in the intercooler thermal efficiency when using the 1.0 vol % nanofluid at 4 bar compressor load.…”

“…In previous literature [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ] the studied nanofluids comprised dispersed nanoparticles of very low thermal conductivity (i.e., 40 W/m∙K and 401 W/m∙K for Al 2 O 3 and Cu at room temperature, respectively) compared to todays advanced nanomaterials (e.g., ~4000 W/m∙K for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) at room temperature) [ 17 ]. Furthermore, the approach used in preparing nanofluids has a crucial effect on the suspension’s thermophysical properties.…”