Experimental investigation on thermal conductivity and viscosity of aluminum nitride nanofluid

Aluminum nitride nanoparticles (AINs) have been found to be a good additive for enhancing the thermal conductivity of traditional heat exchange fluids. At a volume fraction of 0.1, the thermal conductivity enhancement ratios are 38.71% and 40.2%, respectively, for ethylene glycol and propylene glycol as the base fluids. Temperature does not have much influence on the enhanced thermal conductivity ratios of the nanofluids, though a volume fraction of 5.0% appears to signify a critical concentration for rheology: for <5.0 vol% for Newtonian behavior, and for >5.0 vol% for obvious shear-shinning behavior, for both ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. (C) 2011 Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.