Scaling On Transport Properties of Nanofluids for Heat Transfer Applications

In the last century, Andrade proposed a theory of the viscosity of liquids based on a molecular approach and, similarly, Osida established a model for the thermal conductivity of liquids.Based on these studies, Mohanty developed an equation that involves the transport properties of liquids, recognising the need of further contributions to refine his proposal.In this work, a new relationship is proposed taking into account the particular case of the nanofluids as complex multivariable thermodynamic systems.Thus, this novel empirical equation is described in terms of the balance between the thermal conductivity enhancement and the penalty of the viscosity increase.The reliability of this proposed relationship was checked by experimental data available in the nanofluids literature for magnesium oxide within n-tetradecane, silver within poly(ethylene glycol), titanium oxide within water, and aluminium oxide within (1ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate + water).