Experimental studies in plate heat exchanger using therminol-55/Al2O3 & glycerol/Al2O3 nanofluids

The experiment aimed to compare the heat transfer performance of two base fluids, Therminol-55 and Glycerol, both mixed with aluminium oxide nanoparticle. The investigation focused on assessing how the addition of aluminium oxide nanoparticles (at concentrations of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.25% by volume) affected heat transfer in a plate heat exchanger using a mixture of Therminol-55/water and Glycerol/water. Results demonstrated a significant enhancement in heat transfer efficiency for both hot and cold sides of the exchanger when using these nanoparticle-infused base fluid mixtures. Specifically, the study observed notably improved heat transfer coefficients for the Therminol-55/water mixture with a 0.25% nanoparticle concentration, achieving 3858.77 W/m?K (23% higher) for the hot fluid coefficient, 4194.54 W/m?K (31% higher) for the cold fluid coefficient, and an overall coefficient of 2310 W/m?K (23% higher). Similarly, the Glycerol/water mixture with a 0.25% nanoparticle concentration exhibited superior performance, reaching 4491.23 W/m?K (30% higher) for the hot fluid coefficient, 4394.54 W/m?K (35.5% higher)for the cold fluid coefficient, and an overall coefficient of 2508 W/m?K (27.8% higher). These findings indicate that the Glycerol/water mixture with aluminium oxide nanoparticles outperforms the Therminol-55/water counterpart, suggesting its potential to minimize temperature differentials within the heat exchanger and enhance operational effectiveness.