Experimental Investigation on Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Nanodiamond-Engine Oil Nanofluid in a Microfin Tube

In this study, the effect of adding nanodiamond powder as an additive to engine oil on laminar flow heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop increasing is experimentally investigated. The plain and microfin tubes were used as the test sections and were heated by an electrical coil heater to produce constant heat fluxes. Thermal conductivity and heat capacity of nanofluids were measured for different volume fractions and temperatures. Convection heat transfer coefficients and Nusselt numbers of nanofluids were obtained for different nanoparticle concentrations as well as various Peclet and Reynolds numbers. Experimental results show the enhancement of heat transfer due to the nanoparticles presence. Furthermore, the effect of particle concentration on pressure drop was studied for different heat fluxes. Finally, the performance evaluation of both nanofluid and microfin tube from the point view of heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop increasing is done.