Pumping power of nanofluids in a flowing system

Nanofluids have the potential to increase thermal conductivities and heat transfer coefficients compared to their base fluids. However, the addition of nanoparticles to a fluid also increases the viscosity and therefore increases the power required to pump the fluid through the system. When the benefit of the increased heat transfer is larger than the penalty of the increased pumping power, the nanofluid has the potential for commercial viability. The pumping power for nanofluids has been considered previously for flow in straight tubes. In this study, the pumping power was measured for nanofluids flowing in a complete system including straight tubing, elbows, and expansions. The objective was to determine the significance of two-phase flow effects on system performance. Two types of nanofluids were used in this study: a water-based nanofluid containing 2.0–8.0 vol% of 40-nm alumina nanoparticles, and a 50/50 ethylene glycol/water mixture-based nanofluid containing 2.2 vol% of 29-nm SiC nanoparticles. All experiments were performed in the turbulent flow region in the entire test system simulating features typically found in heat exchanger systems. Experimental results were compared to the pumping power calculated from a mathematical model of the system to evaluate the system effects. The pumping power results were also combined with the heat transfer enhancement to evaluate the viability of the two nanofluids.