Experimental analysis of heat transfer with CuO, Al2O3/water-ethylene glycol nanofluids in automobile radiator

The present work shows the heat transfer potential of Al2O3 /Water-Ethylene Glycol (EG) and CuO/Water-EG as coolants for car radiators. Generally in automobile Water-EG is used in radiators for cooling fluids. An experimental setup is made as a closed loop system using a commercial automobile radiator. The overall heat conductance (UA) is reduced from 20 to 25 percent (%) due to the addition of EG with water using two mixtures of water–EG proportions, 90:10 and 80:20 (by volume). Two different experiments have been done using Al2O3/Water-EG and CuO/Water–EG nanofluids. In the experiment, the nanofluid was prepared using mixtures of water–EG proportions, 80:20 and 0.1% (vol.) of Al2O3 and 0.2% (vol.) CuO as nanoparticles. The heat transfer potential is increased by 30-35 % due to the addition of .1 % Al2O3 nanoparticles in the coolant. On the other hand, by the addition of .2 % CuO as nanoparticles, heat transfer potential is increased by 40-45%. A constant coolant flow rate and coolant inlet temperatures (60°C to 85°C) is maintained during all the experiments by using a pump and heater respectively. Finally, the results showed that the heat transfer potential increased with the addition of Al2O3 and CuO nanoparticles to the water and reduced due to the addition of ethylene glycol (EG).