Hydrothermal performance of different alumina hybrid nanofluid types in plate heat exchanger

• Published in: Journal of thermal analysis and calorimetry Vol. 139; no. 6; pp. 3777 - 3787
• Main Authors: Bhattad, Atul, Sarkar, Jahar, Ghosh, Pradyumna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.03.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aluminum oxide; Copper oxides; Corrugated plates; Counterflow; Equipment and supplies; Exergy; Flow velocity; Heat exchangers; Heat transfer; Heat transfer coefficients; Heating; Inlet temperature; Nanofluids; Nanoparticles; Parameters; Performance indices; Plate heat exchangers; Pressure drop; Silicon compounds; Temperature
• ISSN: 1388-6150; 1588-2926
• DOI: 10.1007/s10973-019-08682-y

To enhance the energetic and exergetic performances of the counter-flow plate heat exchanger with corrugations, several experiments were conducted using different Al.sub.2O.sub.3 hybrid nanofluids as a coolant. The combinations studied were Al.sub.2O.sub.3-SiC, Al.sub.2O.sub.3-AlN, Al.sub.2O.sub.3-MgO, Al.sub.2O.sub.3-CuO and Al.sub.2O.sub.3-MWCNT in 4:1 nanoparticle volume ratio and 100% Al.sub.2O.sub.3 with 0.1 vol% concentration suspended in DI water. Parameters which were varied are the coolant flow rate ranging from 2.0 to 4.0 lpm and coolant inlet temperature from 10 to 25 °C. Effect of coolant flow rates and inlet temperatures on different parameters like heat transfer coefficient ratio, heat transfer coefficient to pressure drop ratio, pump work, performance index and irreversibility has been investigated. A maximum enhancement of around 31.2% has been observed in the heat transfer coefficient for Al.sub.2O.sub.3-MWCNT (4:1) hybrid nanofluid with the negligible enhancement of 0.08% in the pump work and 12.46% enhancement in the performance index. The maximum enhancement in the irreversibility is around 1.6% for Al.sub.2O.sub.3-CuO (4:1) hybrid nanofluid. Among the studied nanoparticle combinations, Al.sub.2O.sub.3-MWCNT (4:1) gives better performance. This study suggests that Al.sub.2O.sub.3-MWCNT hybrid nanofluid can be a good alternative to enhance thermal performance.