Experimental thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based low volume concentration of Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids

Thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids has been estimated experimentally at different volume concentrations and temperatures. The base fluid is a mixture of 50:50% (by weight) of ethylene glycol and water (EG/W). The particle concentration up to 0.8% and temperature range from 15 degrees C-50 degrees C were considered. Both the nanofluids are exhibiting higher thermal conductivity compared to base fluid. Under same volume concentration and temperature, CuO nanofluid thermal conductivity is more compared to Al2O3 nanofluid. A new correlation was developed based on the experimental data for the estimation of thermal conductivity of both the nanofluids. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.