© 2019 IJRAR February 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.ijrar.

org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF HEAT

TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS OF CuO &
TiO2 BASED NANOFLUIDS IN AN
AUTOMOTIVE RADIATOR
1
Satya Amarnadh Parimi, 2Sheik Salman Basha , 3K. Satyanarayana
1
Assistant Professor, 2 Assistant Professor, 3 Assistant Professor
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
1
Sasi Institute of Technology and Engineering, Tadepalligudem, India

Abstract : Since the cooling system of an automobile affects its performance, hence radiator of an automobile to be optimized
and evaluated by considering Nanofluids as the coolant. In this study, copper oxide and titanium oxide nanoparticles (30-50nm)
mixture is used with base fluid in an automobile radiator as a coolant.
These suspended nanoparticles will amendment the transport and thermal properties of the bottom fluid. The parameters
which influence heat transfer characteristics of Nanofluids are Thermal Conductivity, Density, Viscosity, and Specific Heat.
This experimentation presents an enhancement of heat transfer coefficient, heat transfer rate and thermal conductivity of
nanofluids with various volume concentrations.

IndexTerms - Nanofluids, Heat transfer coefficient, Heat transfer rate, Thermal Conductivity.
I. INTRODUCTION

The idea behind this study is to enhance heat transfer rate of radiator to improve the automotive performance.
Nanofluids help in conserving heat energy. The parameters which influence heat transfer characteristics of Nanofluids are
Thermal Conductivity, Density, Viscosity, Specific Heat, and Operating Temperatures.
The amount of nanoparticles required for preparation of 100ml Nanofluids using water as base fluid is
Wp / p
% volume concentration  (1)
[(Wp / p )  (Wbf / bf )]
⸪ρCuO = 6.3gm/cm3
⸪ρTiO2 = 4.23gm/cm3
Preparing Nanofluids by directly mixing the nanoparticles in based fluid and thoroughly stirred. Nanofluids prepared by this
method give poor suspension stability, because nanoparticles settle down due to gravity after few minutes of nanofluids
preparation, but this method doesn’t consume time and money.
The most important properties needed for estimation of convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids are its Thermal
Conductivity, Density, Viscosity, and Specific Heat.

Density of nanofluid, ρnf = ϕρp + [(1-ϕ) ρbf] (2)

Specific heat of nanofluids,
(1   )( Cp)bf   ( Cp) p
Cpnf  (3)
nf
Where
 = % volume concentration of nanoparticles
ρp= density of nanoparticles in kg/m3
ρbf = density of base fluid in kg/m3

Heat transfer rate, Q = mCp۵T = m Cpnf (Tin –Tout) (4)

Q
h 
Heat transfer coefficient, (5)
A(Tb  Tw)
Where
Tb = Average of inlet and outlet temperatures
Tw = tube wall temperature meanvalue of surface thermocouples

Hamilton& crosser developed an elaborate model for the effective thermal conductivity of two-component mixtures as a function of the
conductivity of the pure materials, the composition of the mixture, and the shape of the dispersed particles.

Kp+(n−1)Kq−(n−1)ϕ(Kq−Kp)
𝐾= (6)
𝐾𝑝+(𝑛−1)𝐾𝑞+ 𝜙(𝐾𝑞−𝐾𝑝)

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© 2019 IJRAR February 2019, Volume 6, Issue 1 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

where k is the mixture thermal conductivity, kq is the liquid thermal conductivity, kp is the thermal conductivity of solid particles,
 is the particle volume fraction, and n is the empirical shape factor given by
n = 3/ψ (7)
where ψ is sphericity, defined as the ratio of the surface area of a sphere (with a volume equal to that of the particle) to the surface
area of the particle.
Table 1: Properties of base fluid and nanoparticles
Thermal
Density Specific heat
Sample 3 conductivity
Kg/m J/kgK
W/mK
Water 997.1 0.615 4181
Copper oxide(CuO) 6300 37 550.5
Titanium oxide (TiO2) 4230 11.8 697

II.EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

 Fill the reservoir with the coolant up to indicated level.

 Switch on the power supply and then switch on the heating element.
 Allow the coolant to get heated up to 90 degree Celsius.
 Switch on the fan and the pump.
 Note down the electricity consumed by the fan and pump by an energy meter.
 Take the discharge of the coolant from flow-meter as 15lpm.
 Note down the inlet and outlet temperature by varying pump discharge.

Fig.1: Block diagram of experimental setup

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Fig.2: Actual Experimental Setup

Table 2: Temperature readings of nanofluids at 15lpm

Sample T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

Water 90 70 60 50 45 50

Water + 0.1%CuO 90 68 57 48 42 45

Water + 0.1%TiO2 90 69.8 59.2 49 44.5 48

Water + 0.2%CuO 90 65 52 43 38 39.5

Water + 0.2%TiO2 90 68.5 58.3 48 43 46

Water + 0.1%CuO +
90 67 56 47.2 40.5 40
0.1%TiO2

III.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 3: Thermo Physical Properties of nanofluids

Density Thermal conductivity Specific heat Heat transfer Heat transfer
Sample
Kg/m3 W/mK J/kgK rate coefficient
Water 994.7 0.615 4181 41810 6442.21

Water + 0.1%CuO 1000.02 0.619 4148.12 46666.35 7190

Water + 0.1%TiO2 997.94 0.617 4177.41 43862.7 6951.29

Water + 0.2%CuO 1005.33 0.620 4125.7 52086.96 7264.56

Water + 0.2%TiO2 1001.17 0.618 4183.9 46022.9 7202.3

Water + 0.1%CuO
999.1 0.621 4150.23 51877.875 8915.25
+ 0.1%TiO2

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IV. Conclusion

This project presented a numerical investigation of the use of CuO, TiO2 nanoparticles in water as a coolant in an automotive
radiator. The overall heat transfer coefficients and heat transfer rates with nanofluids at different volume fractions were studied
under turbulent flow conditions.
The heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids is greater than that of water alone and therefore the total heat transfer area of the
radiator can be reduced. Reduced or compact shape may results in increase the fuel economy, reduce the weight of vehicle.
However, the sizeable increase in associated pumping power might impose some limitations on the economical use of this
kind of nanofluids in automotive radiators.
V. REFERENCES
[1] Faiza M. Nasir et al., (2013), “Heat transfer of CuO-water based nanofluids in a compact Heat Exchanger”, ARPN Journal of
Engineering and Applied sciences (JEAS), 11(4), pp.2517-2523
[2] Y. Bessekhouad et al., (2003), “Preparation of TiO2 nanoparticles by Sol-Gel route”, International Journal of Photoenergy
(IJP), 5(1), pp.153-158
[3] V. L. Bhimani et al., (2013), “Experimental Study of Heat Transfer Enhancement Using Water Based Nanofluids as a New
Coolant for Car Radiators”, International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering (IJETAE), 3(6),
pp.295302
[4] M. H Nanaware et al., (2018), “Experimental Investigation of Radiator Using TiO2 Nano fluid as Coolant”, International
Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), 5(8), pp.1460-1464
[5] Tun-Ping Teng et al., (2011), “Performance evaluation on an air-cooled heat exchanger for alumina nanofluid under laminar
flow”, Nanoscale Res Lett, 6(1), pp.1-11
[6] Amit s. Gulhane et al., (2015), “A Review On Application of Nanofluid As Coolant In Automotive Cooling System”,
International Journal of Mechanical And Production Engineering (IJMPE), 3(1), pp.14-19
[7] Nor Azwadi Che Sidik et al., (2015), “A review on the application of nanofluids in vehicle engine cooling system”,
International Communications in Heat and mass transfer (ELSEVIER), pp.85-90
[8] Deepak kumar bairwa et al., (2015), “Nanofluids and its Applications”, Indian Journal of Engineering & Materials Sciences
(IJEMS), 2(1), pp.14-17
[9] J.D.Andrew Pon Abraham et al., (2014), “Heat Transfer Rate Improvement on Radiator (IC Engine) Using Nanofluids”,
International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management and Applied science (IJLTEMAS), 3(10), pp. 49-52
[10] Kankanit Phiwdang et al., (2013), “Synthesis of CuO nano particles by precipitation method using different precursors”,
Eco-Energy and Materials Science and Engineering (EEMSE), 34(1), pp.740-745

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