Are nanofluids as smart as we think?
Water enriched with nanoparticles is a nanofluid and is supposed to be an excellent heat conductor. Already more than 70 scientific studies have experimentally investigated the influence of concentration, temperature, nanoparticle size, and surfactants on the thermal conductivity of such a dispersion. Our statistical analysis of the experimental results confirms a significant impact of concentration and temperature and partly in nanoparticle size, but also shows a large scatter in the existing data. Thus, our results suggest that more comprehensive and precise experimental data is required in order to assess – and ultimately utilize – the practical potential of water-based nanoparticles.
The complete paper on this topic has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A:
