National Technical Reports Library

The National Technical Information Service acquires, indexes, abstracts, and archives the largest collection of U.S. government-sponsored technical reports in existence. The NTRL offers online, free and open access to these authenticated government technical reports. Technical reports and documents in its repository may be available online for free either from the issuing federal agency, the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Federal Digital System website, or through search engines.

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Nanofluids Can Take the Heat.

DE200243231

Publication Date	2002
Page Count	14
Abstract	Copper nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes have been found to enhance the thermal conductivity of base fluids dramatically. Adding 0.3 vol.% of 10-nm copper nanoparticles to ethylene glycol increased its thermal conductivity up to 40%. Nanotubes yield by far the highest thermal conductivity enhancement ever achieved in a liquid: a 150% increase in the conductivity of oil at 1 vol.% of 25- nm nanotubes. More interestingly, the thermal conductivity enhancement with the nanotubes is an order of magnitude higher than predicted by existing theories. This discovery clearly suggests that conventional heat conduction models for solid/liquid suspensions are inadequate. Several mechanisms that could be responsible for thermal transport in nanofluids have been proposed. However, the mysteries of nanoparticles in fluids remain unsolved, presenting new opportunities and challenges for scientists and engineers. Nanofluid research could lead to a major breakthrough in solid/liquid composites for numerous engineering applications, such as coolant for automobiles, air conditioning, and supercomputers.
Keywords	Heat transfer fluids Coolants Thermal conductivity Copper Carbon Nanotechnology Particle sizes Evaporation methods Production Nanofluids
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
Corporate Authors	Argonne National Lab., IL.; Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN.; Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Supplemental Notes	Prepared in cooperation with Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN. and Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY. Sponsored by Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200222

Nanofluids Can Take the Heat.

Nanofluids Can Take the Heat.
DE200243231

Publication Date	2002
Page Count	14
Abstract	Copper nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes have been found to enhance the thermal conductivity of base fluids dramatically. Adding 0.3 vol.% of 10-nm copper nanoparticles to ethylene glycol increased its thermal conductivity up to 40%. Nanotubes yield by far the highest thermal conductivity enhancement ever achieved in a liquid: a 150% increase in the conductivity of oil at 1 vol.% of 25- nm nanotubes. More interestingly, the thermal conductivity enhancement with the nanotubes is an order of magnitude higher than predicted by existing theories. This discovery clearly suggests that conventional heat conduction models for solid/liquid suspensions are inadequate. Several mechanisms that could be responsible for thermal transport in nanofluids have been proposed. However, the mysteries of nanoparticles in fluids remain unsolved, presenting new opportunities and challenges for scientists and engineers. Nanofluid research could lead to a major breakthrough in solid/liquid composites for numerous engineering applications, such as coolant for automobiles, air conditioning, and supercomputers.
Keywords	Heat transfer fluids Coolants Thermal conductivity Copper Carbon Nanotechnology Particle sizes Evaporation methods Production Nanofluids
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
Corporate Authors	Argonne National Lab., IL.; Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN.; Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Supplemental Notes	Prepared in cooperation with Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN. and Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY. Sponsored by Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200222