Thermal Assessment of Nano-Particulate Graphene-Water/Ethylene Glycol (WEG 60:40) Nano-Suspension in a Compact Heat Exchanger

M. M. Sarafraz, Mohammad Reza Safaei, Zhe Tian, Marjan Goodarzi, Enio Pedone Bandarra Filho and M. Arjomandi
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M. M. Sarafraz: School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
Mohammad Reza Safaei: Division of Computational Physics, Institute for Computational Science, Ton Duc Tang University, Ho Chi Minh City 758307, Vietnam
Zhe Tian: School of Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
Marjan Goodarzi: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX 77705, USA
Enio Pedone Bandarra Filho: School of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Uberlandia (UFU), Av. Joao Naves de Avila, 2121, Santa Monica, Uberlandia, MG 38408-514, Brazil
M. Arjomandi: School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: In the present study, we report the results of the experiments conducted on the convective heat transfer of graphene nano-platelets dispersed in water-ethylene glycol. The graphene nano-suspension was employed as a coolant inside a micro-channel and heat-transfer coefficient (HTC) and pressure drop (PD) values of the system were reported at different operating conditions. The results demonstrated that the use of graphene nano-platelets can potentially augment the thermal conductivity of the working fluid by 32.1% (at wt. % = 0.3 at 60 °C). Likewise, GNP nano-suspension promoted the Brownian motion and thermophoresis effect, such that for the tests conducted within the mass fractions of 0.1%–0.3%, the HTC of the system was improved. However, a trade-off was identified between the PD value and the HTC. By assessing the thermal performance evaluation criteria (TPEC) of the system, it was identified that the thermal performance of the system increased by 21% despite a 12.1% augmentation in the PD value. Furthermore, with an increment in the fluid flow and heat-flux applied to the micro-channel, the HTC was augmented, showing the potential of the nano-suspension to be utilized in high heat-flux thermal applications.

Keywords: graphene nano-platelets; micro-channel; thermal performance; nanofluid (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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