Model for effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids

Considering the interface effect between the solid particles and the base fluid in nanofluids, a novel model of the effective thermal conductivity for nanofluids is presented. Based on Maxwell theory and average polarization theory, the formula of calculating the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids is given. The theoretical results on the effective thermal conductivity of nanotube/oil, nanofluid and Al2O3/water nanofluid are in good agreement with the experimental data. Especially, the novel model can interpret the anomalous enhancement of the effective thermal conductivity of nailotube/oil nanofluid and its nonlinearity with nanotube loadings. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.