Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer of Nanofluid in Elliptical and Circular Tubes

The paper presents experimental comparison of forced convection for steady state turbulent flow of nanofluid (Al2O3-distilled water) inside circular and elliptical (aspect ratio of 0.75) cross section tubes of identical circumference and tube surface area. Convection coefficient, pressure change, and fiction factor were compared at different Reynolds number (3,000-9,230) with different nanoparticles volume concentration (0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5%). The results showed that Nusselt number increases with increasing Reynolds number and nanoparticle volume concentration. The pressure drops and friction factor of nanofluid are higher than the distilled water and are increasing as the volume concentration increases. Furthermore, the elliptical tube provided small increase in Nusselt number compared to that of circular cross sectional tube. However, the friction factor in the elliptical tube was slightly higher.