Dependence of the thermal conductivity of nanoparticle-fluid mixture on the base fluid

Nanosized *a-Al sub 2O sub 3 powder with a specific surface area (SSA) of 25 m sup 2g sup -1 was used as the solid phase. Deionized water (H sub 2O), glycerol (Gly), ethylene glycol (EG), and pump oil (PO) were used as base fluids. Nanoparticle-fluid mixture was prepared by dispersing the desired volume fraction of nanosized *aAl sub 2O sub 3 powder into a base fluid in a mixing container. Solid particles were deagglomerated by intensive ultrasonification after mixing with the base fluid, and then the mixture was homogenized by magnetic force agitation. The thermal conductivities of the mixtures were measured by a hot-wire method.