Optimizing the thermophysical behavior of a novel ternary hybrid nanofluid for energy applications through experimental research

Abstract

The continual use of fossil fuel technologies has negatively impacted on the environment and has caused huge health challenges globally. Despite the growth of renewable energy technologies, their efficiency issues have hindered widespread adoption. The use of nanofluids as heat transfer fluids in renewable energy technologies have further improved their overall efficiency, resulting in a more environmentally friendly performance of these systems. For automotive fuel and coolant systems, hybrid nanofluids are gaining appeal due to their remarkable ability to enhance thermal performance and accelerate heat transfer rates. Ternary-hybrid nanofluids, which combines three different types of nanoparticles in a wide range of mixing ratios, are an intriguing but mostly speculative concept. Optimizing the mixing ratio for effective heat transfer characteristics is important for energy applications. A unique Al2O3/ZnO/Fe3O4 ternary nanofluid is synthesized and its density is measured in this investigation. The nanofluid preparation included three different mixing ratios (1:1:1, 2:1:1, and 1:2:1), with the volume fraction between 0.5 % and 1.25 %. This study also includes a discussion of the density prediction analysis. The result shows that at a temperature of 25 °C and a volume fraction of 1.25 %, the maximum density is determined to be 1165 kg/m3. The Random Forest algorithm gives the best prediction accuracy with an R2 value of 0.928.

Keywords

• Ternary nanofluid
• Density
• Enhancement
• Particle size
• Volume fraction
• Nanofluid