The authors have dispersed mesoporous silica (MPSiO2) nanoparticles in water and determined the thermal conductivity for each of the resulting nanofluids. It was determined that the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid was greater than that of water, so these nanofluids have potential for use in heat exchanger applications....
High-density polyethylene-talc-carbon black composites were prepared with varying amounts of talc to determine its effect on the thermo-physical properties of the composites. Carbon black was added in a content of 3.5 wt. % because it was previously determined that the mechanical properties of the composites were depreciated at higher loadings. It was found that the addition of talc enhanced the mechanical properties, as well as the thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity. The ...
In this work, the authors tested five organic phase change materials for thermophysical properties (density, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity) in order to determine the best path to prediction (BPP) for the thermal diffusivity of organic PCMs in the liquid phase. Separate BPPs were determined for alkanes and unsaturated acids. The identified BPPs were then tested on a variety of materials and the estimated thermal diffusivity was within 15% for all ...
The authors present a method of fiber-reinforced aerogel composites by impregnation of four layers of aligned glass fibers into silica sol layer-by-layer. The effect of different fiber alignments, as well as the effect of fiber lamination on the mechanical strength of the silica aerogel composites was investigated. In addition to this, the thermal conductivity of each composite was determined. The objective of this work was to investigate whether it is ...
The authors have developed a model for the estimation of how a nanofluid will work as a coolant without having to perform a number of experiments. The nanofluids used in the study were four water based metallic oxides. These nanofluids were compared to water in terms of thermal conductivity to determine if they would be a good coolant. The model that was developed involved the calculation of the highest wall ...