On Enhancing Water Heat Transfer by Nanofluids

Conventional coolants such as water have, in general, poorer heat-transfer properties than most liquid metals. A clear need exists today to develop new strategies in improving the effective heat-transfer behavior of the water coolant. Recent development in technology has created a new class of liquids called “nanofluids” which are two-phase mixtures of liquid matrix and dispersed systems consisting of nanoparticles usually less than 50 nm in size. A material of these particles can be a metal, oxide, or another compound. The subject of this research is a microstructure modification of fine suspension in liquids. Such the studying can be useful for motivated choosing a composition of coolant suspension, developing technology for the effective nanofluid operation in the first circuit of pressure water reactors (PWR). These investigations are important for purposeful modifying the water composition, its deterministic operation under non-isothermal conditions. In this paper, the author has attempted to estimate an effect of a fractal structure of nanoparticles for enhancing thermal conductivity of water.