Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids in Heat Transfer Applications - A Review

Abstract

The subject of nanofluid have been a major topic of research due to its numerous thermo-physical properties and several breakthroughs that have been recorded. Despite this, other challenges have also ensued. In this work, efforts were made to review the breakthrough, challenges that have been recorded in nanofluid applications as regards thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity is a significant criterion to consider when dealing with heat transfer related works and several factors affect the performance of this systems; factors such as temperature, nanoparticle size, the method of preparation of nanofluid, volumetric loading, nanoparticle shape and base-fluid used. The result of the review showed that despite the success recorded in enhancing of these systems; by employing nanofluid to improve these systems there are still challenges that portends from the use of nanoparticle. Hence the need for further researches to done in order to address these issues.