AUGMENTATION OF HEAT TRANSFER THROUGH HEAT EXCHANGER WITH AND WITHOUT FINS BY USING NANO FLUIDS

Abstract

This study was carried out to study the effect of silver and oxide zirconium – oil nanofluids on enhancement heat transfer in a heat exchanger with and without fins by changing flow direction. This study was done by changing the parallel flow configuration into counter flow configuration under laminar flow regime. The properties of nanofluids (density, viscosity, thermal conductivity and specific heat) are practically measured. The two types of nanofluids at 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% particle volume concentration were prepared by two step method. The nanofluid was applied in a heat exchanger with and without fins to enhance heat transfer. The measured results show that silver with oil nanofluid gives maximum heat transfer enhancement compared with oxide zirconium nanofluid used. The presence of Ag and ZrO2 nanoparticles attributes to the generation of strong nanoconvection current and better mixing. The effect of different parameters such as flow Reynolds number, nanofluid temperature, concentration and type of nanoparticle on heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of the flow are studied.

Keywords

• Nanofluids
• Heat exchanger with and without fins
• Overall heat transfer coefficient
• Performance index