Thermal assessment of nano-particulate graphene-water/ethylene glycol (WEG 60:40) nano-suspension in a compact heat exchanger

Abstract

In the present study, we report the results of the experiments conducted on the convective heat transfer of graphene nano-platelets dispersed in water-ethylene glycol. The graphene nano-suspension was employed as a coolant inside a micro-channel and heat-transfer coefficient (HTC) and pressure drop (PD) values of the system were reported at different operating conditions. The results demonstrated that the use of graphene nano-platelets can potentially augment the thermal conductivity of the working fluid by 32.1% (at wt. % = 0.3 at 60 °C). Likewise, GNP nano-suspension promoted the Brownian motion and thermophoresis effect, such that for the tests conducted within the mass fractions of 0.1%–0.3%, the HTC of the system was improved. However, a trade-off was identified between the PD value and the HTC. By assessing the thermal performance evaluation criteria (TPEC) of the system, it was identified that the thermal performance of the system increased by 21% despite a 12.1% augmentation in the PD value. Furthermore, with an increment in the fluid flow and heat-flux applied to the micro-channel, the HTC was augmented, showing the potential of the nano-suspension to be utilized in high heat-flux thermal applications.