Thermal conductivity of nanoscale colloidal solutions (nanofluids)

Researchers have been perplexed for the past five years with the unusually high thermal conductivity (k) of nanoparticle-laden colloidal solutions (nanofluids). Although various mechanisms and models have been proposed in the literature to explain the high k of these nanofluids, no concrete conclusi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 94; no. 2; p. 025901
Main Authors Prasher, Ravi, Bhattacharya, Prajesh, Phelan, Patrick E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 21.01.2005
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Summary:Researchers have been perplexed for the past five years with the unusually high thermal conductivity (k) of nanoparticle-laden colloidal solutions (nanofluids). Although various mechanisms and models have been proposed in the literature to explain the high k of these nanofluids, no concrete conclusions have been reached. Through an order-of-magnitude analysis of various possible mechanisms, we show that convection caused by the Brownian movement of these nanoparticles is primarily responsible for the enhancement in k of these colloidal nanofluids.
ISSN:0031-9007
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.94.025901