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Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications

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A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 21456

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Prof. Dr. Alina Adriana Minea

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, 700070 Iasi, Romania
Interests: nanofluid simulation techniques; nanofluid thermophysical properties; energy efficiency; heat and mass transfer numerical approach
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The present Special Issue is a continuation of previous successful Special Issue, titled Future and Prospects in Nanofluids Research, co-hosted by this editor.

Nanocolloids are not a new concept, and also include fashionable new fluids now identified by the literature as nanofluids. The term “nanofluid” is applied to a variety of these base fluids enhanced with nanoparticles. Nevertheless, a wider term is “nanocolloids”.

This Special Issue of Nanomaterials will retain original high-quality research papers covering the most recent advances in nanocolloids’ thermophysical properties, as well as comprehensive reviews addressing relevant state-of-the-art topics in the area of nanoparticle suspensions in fluids, with relevant practical applications.

As a novelty, this Special Issue encourages papers that can be seen as opinions and open questions, as well as critical assessments in this particular topic. Papers addressing areas outside engineering are encouraged in order to broaden the application potential of nanocolloids and to facilitate new opinions.

This Special Issue will mainly cover the characterization of nanoparticle enhanced new fluids/nanocolloids focusing on the relevant or innovative applications of such an approach. The base fluids can be water, glycols, oils, molten salts, or ionic liquids, covering, but not limited to, most of the applications related to heat transfer, lubrication, and chemical engineering. Applications in innovative systems are welcome.

This Special Issue will maintain its focus on nanocolloid applications in all engineering areas, as well as extending to medicinal opportunities. This is a good occasion to combine original papers on the proposed topic and to outline several guidelines for developing the area of nanocolloids.

In advance, we would like to gratefully acknowledge the authors and reviewers who will participate to the elaboration of this Special Issue, who will contribute to the development of nanocolloids research.

Prof. Dr. Alina Adriana Minea
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Nanocolloids
Nanofluids
Ionanofluids and nanoparticle enhanced ionic liquids (NEIL)
Nano-enhanced phase change materials
PEG based fluids with nanoparticles
Experimental studies on thermophysical properties
Simulation
Theoretical models for predicting thermophysical properties
Applications in engineering
Applications in other areas (medicine, drugs manufactory, etc.)

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

2 pages, 180 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications

by Alina Adriana Minea

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(1), 217; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13010217 - 03 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1058

Abstract

This Special Issue is a continuation of the previous successful Special Issue, entitled “Future and Prospects in Nanofluids Research”, co-edited by the present Editor and dedicated to the topic of “Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications” [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

Research

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19 pages, 3344 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stimulated Thermal Scattering in Two-Photon Absorbing Nanocolloids under Laser Radiation of Nanosecond-to-Picosecond Pulse Widths

by Alexander I. Erokhin, Nikolay A. Bulychev, Egor V. Parkevich, Mikhail A. Medvedev and Igor V. Smetanin

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(15), 2567; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12152567 - 26 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1059

Abstract

Recent discoveries in nonlinear optical properties of nanoparticle colloids make actual the challenge to lower the energy threshold of phase conjugation and move it into the domain of shorter pulse widths. A novel effect of the stimulated Rayleigh-Mie scattering (SRMS) in two-photon absorbing nanocolloids is considered as a promising answer to this challenge. We report the results of experimental and theoretical study of the two-photon-assisted SRMS in Ag and ZnO nanocolloids in the nanosecond-to-picosecond pulse width domain. For 12 ns 0.527 μm laser pulses, the four-wave mixing SRMS scheme provides lasing and amplification of backscattered anti-Stokes signal in Ag nanocolloids in toluene at the threshold 0.2 mJ and the spectral shifts up to 150 MHz. For 100 ps 0.532 μm pulses, we observed for the first time efficient (over 50% in signal-to-pump ratio of pulse energies) SRMS backscattering of the anti-Stokes signal in Ag nanocolloids in toluene and predominantly Stokes signal in ZnO nanocolloids in water, with the spectral shifts up to 0.25 cm⁻¹. We develop the first order-in-perturbation model of the four-wave mixing two-photon absorption-assisted SRMS process which shows that at nanosecond pulses, amplification is predominantly due to the thermal-induced coherent oscillations of polarization while the slow temperature wave acts also as a dynamic spatial grating which provides a self-induced optical cavity inside the interaction region. At a picosecond pulse width, according to our model, the spectral overlap between pump and signal pulses results in formation of only the dynamic spatial temperature grating, and we succeeded at recovering the linear growth of the spectral shift with the pump power near the threshold. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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15 pages, 3373 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Heat Transfer Analysis of Nanocolloids Based on Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Dispersed in PEG 400

by Alina Adriana Minea, Wael M. El-Maghlany and Enass Z. Massoud

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(14), 2344; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12142344 - 08 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1119

Abstract

Cooling and heating are extremely important in many industrial applications, while the thermal performance of these processes generally depends on many factors, such as fluid flow rate, inlet temperature, and many more. Hence, tremendous efforts are dedicated to the investigation of several parameters to reach an efficient cooling or heating process. The interest in adding nanoparticles in regular heat transfer fluids delivered new fluids to the market, the nanofluids. In this paper, a new nanoparticle-enhanced fluid based on polyethylene glycol with ZnO nanoparticles is considered and its hydrothermal performance is investigated for HVAC applications. The thermophysical properties of PEG 400—ZnO and their variation with temperature at different nanoparticle loading are previously determined on experimental bases and here implemented in a numerical application. The numerical results are completed at Reynolds number from 200 to 2000, while the nanoparticle concentration varies from 0.5 to 5%. Results are discussed in terms of Nusselt number, friction factor, and dimensionless pressure drop ratio at different temperatures and ZnO loading in the PEG 400 base fluid. Additionally, the evaluation performance criteria (EC) are calculated and discussed. Concluding, the newly developed fluid enhances the heat transfer up to 16% with a 13% pressure drop penalty, while the performance evaluation criteria are enhanced. Plus, several correlations are developed for both Nusselt number and friction factor as a function of relevant operating conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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17 pages, 4382 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Atomic Layer Deposition Surface-Modified Carbon Nanosphere and Carbon Nanopowder Nanofluids

by Marcell Bohus, Thong Le Ba, Klara Hernadi, Gyula Gróf, Zoltán Kónya, Zoltán Erdélyi, Bence Parditka, Tamás Igricz and Imre Miklós Szilágyi

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(13), 2226; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12132226 - 29 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1493

Abstract

In this paper, we present a study on thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids containing novel atomic layer deposition surface-modified carbon nanosphere (ALD-CNS) and carbon nanopowder (ALD-CNP) core-shell nanocomposites. The nanocomposites were produced by atomic layer deposition of amorphous TiO₂. The nanostructures were characterised by scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). High-concentration, stable nanofluids were prepared with 1.5, 1.0 and 0.5 vol% nanoparticle content. The thermal conductivity and viscosity of the nanofluids were measured, and their stability was evaluated with Zeta potential measurements. The ALD-CNS enhanced the thermal conductivity of the 1:5 ethanol:water mixture by 4.6% with a 1.5 vol% concentration, and the viscosity increased by 37.5%. The ALD-CNS increased the thermal conductivity of ethylene–glycol by 10.8, whereas the viscosity increased by 15.9%. The use of a surfactant was unnecessary due to the ALD-deposited TiO₂ layer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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17 pages, 5714 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nanoparticles to Enhance Melting Performance of Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage

by Yu Han, Yan Yang, Tapas Mallick and Chuang Wen

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(11), 1864; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12111864 - 30 May 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3032

Abstract

The present study proposes the phase change material (PCM) as a thermal energy storage unit to ensure the stability and flexibility of solar-energy-based heating and cooling systems. A mathematical model is developed to evaluate the PCM melting process, considering the effect of nanoparticles on heat transfer. We evaluate the role of nanoparticles (Al₂O₃-, copper- and graphene-based nanofluids) in enhancing the performance of the melting process of phase change materials. The results show that natural convection due to the buoyancy effect dominates the flow behaviour even in the initial stage of the PCM melting process. High natural convection at the bottom of the annular tube moves the melted PCM upward from the lateral, which pushes the liquid–solid interface downward. The addition of 3% vol Al₂O₃ nanoparticles boosts PCM melting performance by decreasing the melting time of PCM by approximately 15%. The comparison of Al₂O₃, copper and graphene nanoparticles demonstrates that higher thermal conductivity, ranging from 36 to 5000 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹, does not contribute to a significant improvement in the melting performance of PCMs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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16 pages, 4420 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Nanoparticles on the Thermal Stability and Reaction Kinetics in Ionic Nanofluids

by Adela Svobodova-Sedlackova, Sergio Huete-Hernández, Alejandro Calderón, Camila Barreneche, Pablo Gamallo and Ana Inés Fernandez

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(10), 1777; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12101777 - 23 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1573

Abstract

Nowadays, the incorporation of nanoparticles into thermal fluids has become one of the most suitable strategies for developing high-performance fluids. An unconventional improvement of thermo–physical properties was observed with the addition of 1% wt. of nanoparticles in different types of fluids, such as molten salts, allowing for the design of more thermally efficient systems using nanofluids. Despite this, there is a lack of knowledge about the effect that nanoparticles produce on the thermal stability and the decomposition kinetics of the base fluid. The present study performs IR- and UV-vis spectroscopy along with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of pure nitrate and nitrate based nanofluids with the presence of SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ nanoparticles (1% wt.). The results obtained support that nanoparticles accelerate the nitrate to nitrite decomposition at temperatures below 500 °C (up to 4%), thus confirming the catalytic role of nanoparticles in nanofluids. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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21 pages, 6835 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Graphene-Based Nanofluids: Production Parameter Effects on Thermophysical Properties and Dispersion Stability

by Naser Ali

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(3), 357; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12030357 - 22 Jan 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2486

Abstract

In this study, the thermophysical properties and dispersion stability of graphene-based nanofluids were investigated. This was conducted to determine the influence of fabrication temperature, nanomaterial concentration, and surfactant ratio on the suspension effective properties and stability condition. First, the nanopowder was characterized in terms of crystalline structure and size, morphology, and elemental content. Next, the suspensions were produced at 10 °C to 70 °C using different concentrations of surfactants and nanomaterials. Then, the thermophysical properties and physical stability of the nanofluids were determined. The density of the prepared nanofluids was found to be higher than their base fluid, but this property showed a decrease with the increase in fabrication temperature. Moreover, the specific heat capacity showed very high sensitivity toward the graphene and surfactant concentrations, where 28.12% reduction in the property was achieved. Furthermore, the preparation temperature was shown to be the primary parameter that effects the nanofluid viscosity and thermal conductivity, causing a maximum reduction of ~4.9% in viscosity and ~125.72% increase in thermal conductivity. As for the surfactant, using low concentration demonstrated a short-term stabilization capability, whereas a 1:1 weight ratio of graphene to surfactant and higher caused the dispersion to be physically stable for 45 consecutive days. The findings of this work are believed to be beneficial for further research investigations on thermal applications of moderate temperatures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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20 pages, 5542 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Thermophysical Properties of NH₃/IL+ Carbon Nanomaterial Solutions

by Gabriela Huminic and Angel Huminic

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(10), 2612; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102612 - 04 Oct 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1273

Abstract

This study proposes the use of new working fluids, refrigerant/IL+ carbon nanomaterials (CNMs), in absorption systems as an alternative to conventional working fluids. In this regard, the thermophysical properties of ammonia and carbon nanomaterials (graphene and single-wall carbon nanotubes) dispersed into [B_MIM]BF₄ ionic liquid are theoretically investigated. The thermophysical properties of NH₃/IL+ CNMs solutions are computed for weight fractions of NH₃ in the range of 0.018–0.404 and temperatures between 293 and 388 K. In addition, two weight fractions of CNMs are considered: 0.005 and 0.01, respectively. Our results indicate that by adding a small amount of nanomaterial to the ionic liquid, the solution’s thermal conductivity is enhanced, while its viscosity and specific heat are reduced. Correlations of the thermal conductivity, viscosity, specific heat, and density of the NH₃/IL+ CNMs solutions are proposed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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13 pages, 2662 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Heat Transfer Characteristics of a GnP Aqueous Nanofluid through a Double-Tube Heat Exchanger

by Uxía Calviño, Javier P. Vallejo, Matthias H. Buschmann, José Fernández-Seara and Luis Lugo

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(4), 844; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11040844 - 25 Mar 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2386

Abstract

The thermal properties of graphene have proved to be exceptional and are partly maintained in its multi-layered form, graphene nanoplatelets (GnP). Since these carbon-based nanostructures are hydrophobic, functionalization is needed in order to assess their long-term stability in aqueous suspensions. In this study, the convective heat transfer performance of a polycarboxylate chemically modified GnP dispersion in water at 0.50 wt% is experimentally analyzed. After designing the nanofluid, dynamic viscosity, thermal conductivity, isobaric heat capacity and density are measured using rotational rheometry, the transient hot-wire technique, differential scanning calorimetry and vibrating U-tube methods, respectively, in a wide temperature range. The whole analysis of thermophysical and rheological properties is validated by two laboratories. Afterward, an experimental facility is used to evaluate the heat transfer performance in a turbulent regime. Convective heat transfer coefficients are obtained using the thermal resistances method, reaching enhancements for the nanofluid of up to 13%. The reported improvements are achieved without clear enhancements in the nanofluid thermal conductivity. Finally, dimensionless analyses are carried out by employing the Nusselt and Péclet numbers and Darcy friction factor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research

34 pages, 4532 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of the Advances and Challenges in Measuring the Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids

by Reinaldo R. Souza, Vera Faustino, Inês M. Gonçalves, Ana S. Moita, Manuel Bañobre-López and Rui Lima

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(15), 2526; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12152526 - 22 Jul 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2256

Abstract

Fluids containing colloidal suspensions of nanometer-sized particles (nanofluids) have been extensively investigated in recent decades with promising results. Driven by the increase in the thermal conductivity of these new thermofluids, this topic has been growing in order to improve the thermal capacity of a series of applications in the thermal area. However, when it comes to measure nanofluids (NFs) thermal conductivity, experimental results need to be carefully analyzed. Hence, in this review work, the main traditional and new techniques used to measure thermal conductivity of the NFs are presented and analyzed. Moreover, the fundamental parameters that affect the measurements of the NFs’ thermal conductivity, such as, temperature, concentration, preparation of NFs, characteristics and thermophysical properties of nanoparticles, are also discussed. In this review, the experimental methods are compared with the theoretical methods and, also, a comparison between experimental methods are made. Finally, it is expected that this review will provide a guidance to researchers interested in implementing and developing the most appropriate experimental protocol, with the aim of increasing the level of reliability of the equipment used to measure the NFs thermal conductivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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23 pages, 2468 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Ionic Liquids-Based Nanocolloids—A Review of Progress and Prospects in Convective Heat Transfer Applications

by Alina Adriana Minea and S. M. Sohel Murshed

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(4), 1039; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11041039 - 19 Apr 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 2483

Abstract

Ionic liquids are a new and challenging class of fluids with great and tunable properties, having the capability of an extensive area of real-life applications, from chemistry, biology, medicine to heat transfer. These fluids are often considered as green solvents. Several properties of these fluids can be enhanced by adding nanoparticles following the idea of nanofluids. These ionic liquids-based nanocolloids are also termed in the literature as ionanofluids or nanoparticles-enhanced ionic liquids. This review summarizes the findings in both areas of ionic liquids and ionic liquids nanocolloids (i.e., ionic liquids with nanoparticles in suspension) with direct applicability in convective heat transfer applications. The review presents in a unified manner the progress and prospects of ionic liquids and their nanocolloids from preparation, thermophysical properties and equally experimental and numerical works. As the heat transfer enhancement requires innovative fluids, this new class of ionic liquids-based nanocolloids is certainly a viable option, despite the noticed drawbacks. Nevertheless, experimental studies are very limited, and thus, extensive experiments are needed to elucidate ionic liquids interaction with nanoparticles, as well as their behavior in convective heat transfer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophysical Properties of Nanocolloids and Their Potential Applications)

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