Heat transfer enhancement using aluminium oxide nanofluid: effect of the base fluid

The flow and heat transfer is an important phenomenon in engineering systems due to its wide application in electronic cooling, heat exchangers, double pane windows etc.. The enhancement of heat transfer in these systems is an essential topic from an energy saving perspective. The lower heat transfer performance when conventional fluids, such as water, engine oil and ethylene glycol are used hinders improvements in performance and a consequent reduction in the size of such systems. The use of solid particles as an additive suspended into the base fluid is a technique for heat transfer enhancement. Therefore, the heat transfer enhancement in a horizontal circular tube that is maintained at a constant temperature under laminar regime has been investigated numerically. Nanofluid was made by dispersion of Al2O3 nanoparticles in pur water and ethylene glycol. Results are validated by comparison with results reported in the literature.