Exploring the effects of nanofluids on nucleate boiling: a theoretical and experimental investigation

Summary: In this study, the heat transfer performance of flat plate heat exchanger, bubble fin PHE, and optimized bubble finned PHE using Al2O3/water nanofluid was numerically studied. The results showed that the finned PHE had a 15% increase in heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and a 107% increase in Nusselt number compared to the no-fin configuration. The maximum increase in Nusselt number was 18% for the Al2O3/water nanofluid compared to the base fluid. The HTC increased with an increase in mass flow rate and volume concentration of the nanofluid. The pressure drop in the bubble finned heat exchanger was lower than that in corrugated PHEs, and it increased with an increase in volume concentration.