Category: Transient Plane Source
Author(s): Fei Yu, Peng Hu, Wan-Liang Shan, Ze-Shao Chen
Keywords: Aluminum nitride (AlN), Castor oil, diameter, Dispersant, Ethanol, magnetic striation, Nanofluids, Temperature, Thermal Conductivity, Transient plane source (TPS) method, ultrasonic agitation
Abstract: One way to increase the thermal conductivity of a conventional fluid is to add solid particles to the liquid. Aluminum nitride (AlN) is an effective thermal conductor so it is popularly used to fabricate nanofluids. In this study, 20 nanometer particles of AlN were distributed into ethanol and the thermal conductivity of the solution was measured using a thermal constant analyzer from 0.5 volume fraction (vol%) to 4.0 vol% at 273.15 kelvin (K) and 297.15 K, respectively. The method determines the thermal conductivity by using a sensor that increases the temperature of the sample while simultaneously recording the change of electrical resistance. Results of the experiment showed that when 4.0 vol% was added at 273.15 K, the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid increased by 20%.
Reference: International Journal of Thermophysics, 29 (2008) 1968-1973
DOI: 10.1007/s10765-008-0529-3