Enhancing Heat Transfer Behaviour of Ethylene Glycol by the Introduction of Silicon Carbide Nanoparticles: An Experimental and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

Abstract

As the critical component of automotive engine coolant, ethylene glycol (E.G.) significantly matters in heat dissipation. In this study, the key aim is to investigate the heat transfer behaviour of E.G. as nano-additives base fluid. The heat transfer capability of E.G./SiC nanofluid (N.F.) was experimentally and theoretically evaluated via transient hot wire methods and equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulation, respectively. M.D. simulation exhibited a great ability to accurately forecast the thermal conductivity of N.F. compared with the experiment results. The results confirmed that the thermal stability of N.F. is relatively greater than that of E.G. base fluids. An improvement mechanism of thermal conductivity and thermal stability under an atomic scale via the analysis of mean square displacement (MSD) and radial distribution function (RDF) calculation was elaborately presented. Ultimately, the results indicated that the diffusion effect and the increasing transition rate of liquid atoms are responsible for thermal conductivity enhancement.

Keywords

• thermophysical performance
• interface effect
• molecular dynamic
• nanofluids