Heat Transfer Coefficient Enhancement In Oil-Based Nanofluids

Nanofluids have been the subject of intense research efforts since their discovery over a decade ago mainly because of the enhancements to the thermal conductivity over that of the base fluid.  Unfortunately, many of the enhancements seen in thermal conductivity have not been seen in the overall heat transfer coefficient, which takes into account the convective flow of the fluid.  In this work, we investigate the enhancement of the overall heat transfer coefficient of an oil based nanofluid containing copper nanoparticles of varying size and concentration.  The results show that temperature and Reynold's number have the greatest influence on the enhancement of the heat transfer coefficient, with the largest enhancements seen under conditions that appear to limit brownian motion.