Influence of container material on the heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids

The average and local thermal conductivity measurements of water-based Ag-nanofluid held in polypropylene and metallic containers using transient hot-wire method revealed a new phenomenon. The local thermal conductivity of water-based Ag nanofluid measured at different locations of containers was found to depend strongly upon the metallic container, but not on the polypropylene container. Similar observations have been found in water-based NiAl nanofluid, but not in water-based Al2O3 nanofluid. In contrast, this phenomenon was not observed for ethylene glycol-based Ag nanofluid, possibly due to the insignificant charge on the container wall, which partly explains the diversity in thermal conductivity by different researchers.