Analysis of Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient and Effectiveness in Split Flow Heat Exchanger using Nano Fluids

Abstract

Heat exchanger plays a major role in industrial process heating. Heat is transported among liquids by conduction and convection over the partitions of the heat exchanger. Heat transfer solutions have little thermal conductivity that significantly bounds the heat exchanger competence. Many research activities are carried out to improve the thermal properties of fluids by adding thermally conductive solids into liquids. Nanofluids are suspensions of nanoparticles in the base fluid which is a new challenge in the field of thermal science provided by nanotechnology. In this paper an experimental setup of split flow heat exchanger was designed and fabricated. Heat exchanger performance is analyzed by adding Aluminium oxide (Al 2 O 3) with the base fluid (tap water, distilled water and a mixture of distilled water and ethylene glycol).The thermal properties like overall heat transfer coefficient and effectiveness of the heat exchanger were calculated and compared with the results of base fluid (water).