The role of percolation and sheet dynamics during heat conduction in poly-dispersed graphene nanofluids

A thermal transport mechanism leading to the enhanced thermal conductivity of graphene nanofluids has been proposed. The graphene sheet size is postulated to be the key to the underlying mechanism. Based on a critical sheet size derived from Stokes-Einstein equation for the poly-dispersed nanofluid, sheet percolation and Brownian motion assisted sheet collisions are used to explain the heat conduction. A collision dependant dynamic conductivity considering Debye approximated volumetric specific heat due to phonon transport in graphene has been incorporated. The model has been found to be in good agreement with experimental data.