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Three techniques were compared for the determination of thermal conductivity in poly-alpha-olefin (PAO)-based nanofluids. The three methods that were used were the transient hot wire, transient plane source, and laser flash techniques. The effects of temperature, nanoparticle concentration, and shape on the thermal conductivity were also examined, and these effects were compared to those predicted by a previously determined model. It was found that the transient hot wire technique was the most accurate method for measuring the thermal conductivity of nanofluids, increasing the concentration of nanoparticles increased the thermal conductivity of the nanofluids, and that the shape of the nanoparticles had a weak impact on the thermal conductivity. Temperature was not found to have any significant influence on the thermal conductivity of the nanofluids that were tested.
The authors have investigated the use of silver nanomaterials as a filler in epoxy resin in an effort to identify a composite resin with a high thermal conductivity for application as a thermal interface material. It was determined that the addition of silver nanoparticle and silver nanowires both increased the thermal conductivity of the resin, but the silver nanowires caused a much more drastic increase. It was found that by using nanowires instead of nanoparticles, six times less silver can be used and the weight of the composite resin can be decreased by over fifty percent. It was concluded that silver nanowires could potentially be used to increase the thermal conductivity of polymer composites.
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.
The authors have presented a method for the addition of alumina nanoparticles and polypropylene fibers to a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix.
This study investigates the effect changing the PH of a copper nanofluid and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) surfactant concentration has on the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid. The thermal conductivity was determined through the Transient Plane (TPS) method. As the PH is increased the thermal conductivity also increases because higher PH means more surface charges which increase conductivity. As the SDBS concentration is increased the thermal conductivity slightly increases then steadily decreases. This is because as the concentration of surfactant increases there is less area on the copper nanoparticles available for heat transfer.
