Heat Transfer Enhancement by Using Zno-Water Nanofluid in A Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger Under Forced Convection Conditions
Heat Transfer Enhancement by Using Zno-Water Nanofluid in A Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger Under Forced Convection Conditions
Heat Transfer Enhancement by Using Zno-Water Nanofluid in A Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger Under Forced Convection Conditions
Abstract- Conventional heat transfer fluids such as water, mineral oil, and ethylene glycol play an important role in many
industries such as power generation, chemical production, air conditioning, transportation, and microelectronics.
However, their low thermal conductivities have hampered the development of energy-efficient heat transfer fluids that
are required in a plethora of heat transfer applications. It has been found from literature survey that the heat transfer
properties of these conventional fluids can be significantly enhanced by dispersing nanometer-sized solid particles. The
suspended metallic particles change the transport properties and heat transfer characteristics of the base fluid. Thus the
research has been focused on the preparation of nano-fluids using metal and metal oxide nanoparticles. In the present
study ZnO nano particles are prepared by using sol-gel technique. The raw material is passed through different stages
such as dissolving, preparation of solution, formation of gel, filtration and drying to get the nano sized particles. To
remove the liquid traces completely from nanoparticles they are sintered. The ZnO-water nanofluid is prepared at
different volumetric concentration. The experiments are conducted in a concentric tube heat exchanger to study the heat
transfer rates of ZnO-water nanofluid for different flow rates and for different volume fractions of nano-particles in the
base fluid. The experimental results are compared with the base fluid. The nano-fluid properties are evaluated with
correlations available in the literature to find the theoretical heat transfer coefficients.
Keywords – ZnO nanofluid, heat transfer in nanofluid, Concentric tube heat exchanger
I. INTRODUCTION
Particles of size range 1-100 nm are considered nano-scale. These nanoparticles, and structures and devices
comprised of them, display unique mechanical, optical, electrical, and magnetic properties that differ radically from
the corresponding bulk material. Applications of nanostructured materials include catalysts, electrolyte membranes,
films, and fibers. Current intense research in nanoparticles has created a great demand for their efficient production.
Many researchers have investigated the heat transfer performance and flow characteristics of various nanofluids
with different nanoparticles and base fluid materials. Pak and Cho [1] investigated experimentally the heat transfer
performance of Al2O3 and TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in water flowing in a horizontal circular tube with a constant
heat flux under turbulent flow conditions. The results showed that the Nusselt number of nanofluids increased with
increasing Reynolds number and the volume concentration.. Lee et al. [2] observed the enhancement of thermal
conductivity of nanofluids while using CuO and Al2O3 nanoparticles with water and ethylene glycol compared to
base fluids only. The thermal conductivities of nanofluids with CuO and Al2O3 nanoparticles have been determined
experimentally using steady-state parallel-plate technique by Wang et al. [3], for different base fluids such as water,
ethylene glycol and engine oil. The thermal conductivity of these nanofluids increased with increasing volume
fraction of the nanoparticles. Xuan and Li [4] experimentally investigated flow and convective heat transfer
characteristics for Cu-water based nanofluids through a straight tube with a constant heat flux at the wall. Results
showed that the nanofluids give substantial enhancement of the heat transfer rate compared to pure water. Xuan and
Roetzel [5] concluded from their findings that the heat transfer enhancement is due to increase in thermal
conductivity or due to thermal dispersion caused by random motion of the particles coupled with enhanced thermal
conductivity. Choi et al. [6] studied the enhancement of thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube–oil mixture
nanofluid at room temperature. Xie et al. [7] dispersed carbon nanotube in distilled water and ethylene glycol and
concluded that a small amount of carbon nanotubes have significantly increased the thermal conductivities
compared to base fluid. Chien et al. [8] investigated gold (17 nm)/water nanofluids flowing in a disk-shaped
miniature heat pipe with diameter of 9 mm and height of 2 mm. Their data showed that the thermal resistance of the
heat pipe fell appreciably with increased nanoparticle concentration. Das et al. [9] investigated the variation of
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International Journal of Innovations in Engineering and Technology (IJIET)
thermal conductivity of nanofluids (Al2O3-water and CuO-water) with temperature using temperature oscillation
technique. They observed an increase in thermal conductivity with temperature. Xue [10] developed a novel
approach in the modeling of nanofluid by considering the particles to be ellipsoids interacting with spherical fluid
particles. Yu and choi [11] introduced the classical Maxwell model in which the liquid layer around the particle
behaves like as a solid. Wen and Ding [12] reported experimental results for the convective heat transfer of γ -Al2O3
(27-56 nm)/water based nanofluids flowing through a copper tube laminar regime. They found that the inclusion of
Al2O3 particles can significantly enhance the convective heat transfer coefficient. Tsai et al. [13] also employed
aqueous solutions of various sized gold nanoparticles, which were prepared by the reduction of HAuCl4 with tri
sodium citrate and tannic acid. Hwang et al. [14] through experimental investigation of flow and convective heat
transfer characteristics of Al2O3/water nanofluid, with convective heat transfer characteristics of Al2O3/water
nanofluid with particles varying in the range of 0.01–0.3% in a circular tube of 1.812 mm inner diameter with the
constant heat flux in fully developed laminar regime reported improvement in convective heat transfer coefficient in
the thermally fully developed regime. Yang et al. [15] measured experimentally the convective heat transfer
coefficients of several nanoparticle-in-liquid dispersions under laminar flow in a horizontal tube heat exchanger.
Assael et al. [16] studied experimentally the thermal conductivity of nanofluids using the transient hot-wire method.
They observed a significant increase in thermal conductivity of nanofluid. Koo and Kleinstreuer [17] have shown
that the Brownian motion has more impact on the thermal properties of nanofluid than thermo-phoresis. However
Boungiorno [18] showed analytically that thermal dispersion has a negligible effect on increase in convective heat
transfer rather Brownian diffusion and thermo-phoresis are the main mechanisms that contribute to the heat transfer
enhancement. Heris et al. [19] investigated laminar flow of CuO/water and Al2O3/water nanofluids through a 1 m
annular copper tube with 6 mm inner diameter and with 0.5 mm thickness and 32 mm diameter outer stainless steel
tube, where saturated steam was circulated to create a constant wall temperature boundary condition rather than the
constant heat flux condition employed by other researchers. Comparison of experimental results showed that the
heat transfer coefficient enhanced with increasing volume fraction of nanoparticles, as well as Peclet number, while
Al2O3/water showed more enhancement. Heris et al. [19] claimed that the heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids is
not only caused by the thermal conductivity increase, but also attributed to other factors such as dispersion and
chaotic movement of nanoparticles, Brownian motion and particle migration, and so on. Zhang et al. [20] measured
the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of Au-toluene, Al2O3-water, TiO2-water, CuO-water and carbon
nanotubes-water nanofluids using the transient short-hot-wire technique. They observed no enhancement in the
thermal conductivity as well as thermal diffusivity of nanofluids, above that of predictions of the Hamilton-Crosser
model [21]. Mirmasoumi and Behzadmehr [22] have studied the effects of nanoparticle mean diameter on the heat
transfer and flow behavior into a horizontal tube under laminar mixed convection condition. Their calculated results
demonstrate that the convection heat transfer coefficient significantly increases with decreasing the nanoparticles
means diameter. Zamzamian et al. [23] investigated the effects of forced convective heat transfer coefficient with
Al2O3/EG and CuO/EG nanofluid in double pipe and plate heat exchangers. Their results indicate that increasing the
nanoparticle concentration and temperature could enhance the convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluid,
leading to a 2–50% enhancement in convective heat transfer coefficient of the nanofluid. The objective of the
present work is to provide improvements through nano fluids in place of pure working fluid in heat exchangers. In
this study, ZnO nanoparticles are prepared by sol-gel method and the nanoparticle with concentration up to 0.5% by
volume has been selected as a coolant in a typical horizontal double-tube heat exchanger because of their reasonably
good thermal properties and easy availability. Water has been chosen as heat transfer base fluid. The experiments
are conducted in the heat exchanger for different concentrations of nanoparticles and Reynolds numbers.
II. PREPARATION OF ZINC OXIDE NANO-PARICLES BY SOL-GEL METHOD
Materials required: zinc nitrate (or chloride), ammonium hydroxide, cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTB),
polyvinyl-pyrolidene (PVP), burette, 250ml beaker, magnetic needle, magnetic stirrer, whattmann filter paper,
sample bags, crucible,
Step 1: weigh 16g of zinc nitrate (or chloride) and transfer it into 250 ml beaker and add 30 ml isopropyl alcohol to
it and stir the contents moderately for about 20 min to get a clear solution of copper sulfate
Step 2: weigh 3.2 g of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and transfer it into a 100 ml beaker and add 20 ml of
isopropyl alcohol and stir the contents thoroughly. In case CTB does not dissolve add few drops of HCl and stir the
contents for 15 min.
Step 3: Weigh 2.2 g of polyvinyl pyrolidene (PVP) and transfer it into a 100 ml beaker and add 20 ml of isopropyl
alcohol and stir the contents thoroughly for about 15 min to get a clear solution.
Step 4: Transfer step 2 solution into a 50 ml burette and add drop-wise the solution of CTAB to Step 1 contents
while stirring moderately for about 30 min.
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Step 5: Transfer step 3 solution into a 50 ml burette and add drop-wise the solution of PVP to Step 1 contents while
stirring moderately for about 30 min.
Step 6: Take 35 ml of ammonium hydroxide in burette and then add drop-wise to step 1 content while stirring the
contents moderately
Step 7: A whitish precipitate will form and leave the contents stirring for about 30 min to get the homogeneous
Step 8: Filter the precipitate using a whatman filter paper and wash the precipitate with distilled water at least 5 to 6
times
Step 9: Leave the precipitate by covering the funnel by petri dish over night
Step 10: the dried precipitate can be transferred on to a petri dish and dry the precipitate by covering with another
petri dish cover in oven at 700C for 8 hours
Step 11: Collect carefully the dried precipitate and weigh it and note down the value. Then sinter it at temperatures
2000C for 3 h in air ambient. Check that the crucible has a cap to avoid the dust particle.
Step 12: After cooling down transfer and the material and weigh it and note down the value in lab note book. Check
the weight loss before and after.
Step 13: Make the each sintered material into 2 parts one for the characterization (1g) and remaining for the testing
for heat exchange experiments.
Figure 1 (a) ZnO nanoparticles before sintering (b) ZnO nanoparticles after sintering
flow rate. To design a project that could be used to transfer heat from hot water in a heat exchanger to nano-fluid
stored in a separate tank and make temperature calibrations for the same by employing two thermocouples. Also,
flow meters will be installed in the pipes carrying nanofluid to check its flowing rate. The complete system will be
very dynamic and easy to use. Mechanical structured design is shown in Fig. 2. As with any process the analysis of a
heat exchanger begins with an energy and material balance. Before doing a complete energy balance a few
assumptions can be made. The first assumption is that the energy lost to the surroundings from the cooling water is
negligible. We also assume negligible potential or kinetic energy changes and constant physical properties such as
specific heats and density.
Where h0 is heat transfer coefficient of fluid flowing through annulus, hi is heat transfer coefficient of fluid
flowing through pipe, k is the thermal conductivity of inner pipe material, ro is outer radius of pipe and ri is inner
radius of pipe
D. Experimental Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
The procedure to calculate the experimental overall heat transfer coefficient (U0, E) is given below. In a
heat exchanger the log-mean temperature difference is the appropriate average temperature difference to use in heat
transfer calculations. The equation for the log-mean temperature difference is
(2)
Where and ; Tci is the cold water inlet temperature, Tco is the cold water
outlet temperature, Thi is the hot water inlet temperature and Tho is the hot water outlet temperature
The heat transfer rate (Q) can be calculated by
(3)
where mh mass flow rate of hot fluid and Cp,h Specific heat of hot fluid
The experimental overall heat transfer coefficient (U0, E) can be determined by
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International Journal of Innovations in Engineering and Technology (IJIET)
(4)
where Ao is the outer surface area of the pipe.
E. Theoretical Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
The procedure to calculate the theoretical overall heat transfer coefficient (U0, T) is given below. The properties
density (ρ), kinematic viscosity (γ), Prandtl number (Pr) and thermal conductivity (k) of cold fluid can be calculated
at average temperature of Tf = .
The velocity of the cold fluid is calculated by
Q = AV (5)
Where Q=flow rate
A= area of cross section of annulus =
V= velocity of fluid
The Reynolds number can be calculated by
Re = (6)
Where Di inner diameter of outer pipe
The Nusselt number is calculated by Dittus-Boelter equation
Nu = 0.023 × Re0.8 × Prn (n=0.4 for heating) (7)
The heat transfer coefficient for cold water ( is determined by
(8)
The average temperature for hot fluid is calculated by
Tf = (9)
The velocity of the hot fluid is calculated by
Q = AV
The Reynolds number for hot fluid can be calculated by
Re = (10)
The Nusselt number for hot fluid is given by
Nu = 0.023 × Re0.8 × Prn (n=0.3 for cooling) (11)
The heat transfer coefficient for hot fluid is calculated by
(12)
The theoretical overall heat transfer (U0,T) can be determined by
(13)
Figure 4 Variation of experimental overall heat transfer of ZnO nanofluids at different flow rates and volume fractions of nanoparticles
The properties of the nanofluid are calculated using the correlations available in literature. The thermal
conductivity of nanofluid depends on thermal conductivity of both base fluid and nanoparticles material, volume
fraction of nanoparticles, surface area of nanoparticles and shape of nanoparticles in the liquid. Hamilton and
Crosser [21] developed a model for the effective thermal conductivity of two-component mixture. The theoretical
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International Journal of Innovations in Engineering and Technology (IJIET)
overall heat transfer coefficients are calculated using the procedure given in the section IV. Fig.5 shows the effect
of Reynolds number of nano fluid flowing through the annulus on theoretical overall heat transfer coefficient for
different nanoparticle concentrations in base fluid.
Figure 5 Variation of theoretical overall heat transfer of ZnO nanofluids at different flow rates and volume fractions of nanoparticles
V. CONCLUSIONS
ZnO nano particles are prepared by using a chemical method named as sol-gel technique. The raw material is
passed through different stages such as dissolving, preparation of solution, formation of gel, filtration and drying to
get the nano sized particles. To remove the liquid traces completely from nanoparticles they are sintered at 200oC for
3 hours. The nanofluids are prepared by using method given by choi at.el [6] in probe sonicator at different
volumetric concentration (0.1 to 0.5%). For the stability of nanoparticles 10% of surfactant is added to the
nanofluids. The experiment is conducted in a double pipe heat exchanger. Before conducting the experiment the heat
exchanger is calibrated and then ZnO-water nanofluid is sent through annulus and readings are noted down. The
nanofluid readings are compared with base fluid readings (water). The overall heat transfer coefficient for ZnO-
water nanofluid is increased by 11% with volume fraction 0.5% compared with water. The increase in heat transfer
coefficient is due to increase in thermal conductivity of water with the addition of nanoparticles, and also due to
increase in heat transfer to the cold fluid due to random motion of nanoparticles suspended in water and availability
of larger surface area with nano sized particles.
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