Role of Brownian motion on the thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids

This study involves Brownian dynamics simulations of a real nanofluid system in which the interparticle potential is determined based on Debye length and surface interaction of the fluid and the solid. This paper shows that Brownian motion can increase the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid by 6%...

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Veröffentlicht in:Applied physics letters 2007-11, Vol.91 (22)
Hauptverfasser: Gupta, Amit, Kumar, Ranganathan
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:This study involves Brownian dynamics simulations of a real nanofluid system in which the interparticle potential is determined based on Debye length and surface interaction of the fluid and the solid. This paper shows that Brownian motion can increase the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid by 6% primarily due to “random walk” motion and not only through diffusion. This increase is limited by the maximum concentration for each particle size and is below that predicted by the effective medium theory. Beyond the maximum limit, particle aggregates begin to form. Brownian motion contribution stays as a constant beyond a certain particle diameter.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.2816903