Thermal conductivity of metal-oxide nanofluids: Particle size dependence and effect of laser irradiation

Abstract

The thermal conductivity of water- and ethylene glycol-based nanofluids containing alumina, zinc-oxide, and titanium-dioxide nanoparticles is measured using the transient hot-wire method. Measurements are performed by varying the particle size and volume fraction, providing a set of consistent experimental data over a wide range of colloidal conditions. Emphasis is placed on the effect of the suspended particle size on the effective thermal conductivity. Also, the effect of laser-pulse irradiation, i.e., the particle size change by laser ablation, is examined for ZnO nanofluids. The results show that the thermal-conductivity enhancement ratio relative to the base fluid increases linearly with decreasing the particle size but no existing empirical or theoretical correlation can explain the behavior. It is also demonstrated that high-power laser irradiation can lead to substantial enhancement in the effective thermal conductivity although only a small fraction of the particles are fragmented.