Effect of graphene oxide doped nano coolant on temperature drop across the tube length and effectiveness of car radiator – A CFD study

•Temperature variation across tube length of car radiator is studied using ANSYS.•Effectiveness is calculated with GO and compared with conventional coolant (water).•Comparison at concentration of nano fluid (GO) particles (6, 8, 10% vol.) is examined. This study includes the simulation based investigation of thermal characteristics of graphene doped nano coolant in car radiator. A small radiator part is considered for the system analysis, which is modeled using Solid-works software package. CFD analysis is carried out using ANSYS Fluent module. Graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles doped in base fluid (water) as nano coolant of car radiator to investigate its effect on temperature drop across the tube length and effectiveness. GO nanoparticles with a volumetric fraction of 6%, 8%, and 10% with the inlet mass flow rate of 2 LPM has been examined. Significant temperature drop is observed as function of concentration of GO nano particles by volume. Typically, 9.68 K, 10.89 K and 11.9 K temperature drop is observed for 6%, 8% and 10% of GO nano particles, respectively. With the percentage increase in the addition of nano particles, the effectiveness of the radiator also increases. Maximum increase in percentage effectiveness of 97.49% is at 10% volume fraction of GO nanoparticles in water. Using this type of coolant for heat transfer enhancement can help in developing more compact and lightweight radiators for cars and can be applied in other industries as well.