Base fluid and temperature effects on the heat transfer characteristics of SiC in ethylene glycol/H2O and H2O nanofluids

Experimental data are presented for the thermal conductivity, viscosity, and turbulent flow heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids with SiC particles suspended in ethylene glycol (EG)/water (H2O) mixture with a 50/50 volume ratio. The results are compared to the analogous suspensions in water for four sizes of SiC particles (16-90 nm). It is demonstrated that the heat transfer efficiency is a function of both the average particle size and the system temperature. The results show that adding SiC nanoparticles to an EG/H2O mixture can significantly improve the cooling efficiency while water-based nanofluids are typically less efficient than the base fluids. This is one of the few times that substantial nanofluid heat transfer enhancement has been reported in the literature based on a realistic comparison basis of constant velocity or pumping power. The trends important for engineering efficient heat transfer nanofluids are summarized. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3524274]