Convective heat transfer characteristics of secondary

refrigerant based CNT nanouids in a tubular heat exchanger

V. Kumaresan
a
, R. Velraj
a,
*, Sarit K. Das
b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anna University, Sardar Patel Road, Chennai 600 025, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 3 May 2012
Received in revised form
6 August 2012
Accepted 11 August 2012
Available online 21 August 2012
Keywords:
Secondary refrigerant
Carbon nanotubes
Nanouids
Convective heat transfer
Friction factor
a b s t r a c t
This paper reports an experimental study on the convective heat transfer characteristics of
a secondary refrigerant based CNT nanouids in a tubular heat exchanger. The nanouid is
prepared by dispersing the multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in the watereethylene
glycol mixture (70:30 by volume). The results show that the convective heat transfer
coefcient is enhanced to a maximum of w160% for the nanouid containing 0.45 vol. %
MWCNT, which could not be attributed solely by enhanced thermal conductivity of the
nanouids. Particle rearrangement, the very high aspect ratio and delaying the boundary
layer development due the random movement of the carbon nanotubes are the possible
mechanisms. Further, there is an appreciable decrease in Reynolds number for a given
velocity for all the nanouids. The enhancement in the friction factor is negligible at higher
velocity and higher temperature for the nanouids with 0.15 vol. % MWCNT.
2012 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
Caracte ristiques du transfert de chaleur par convection des
nanouides fonde s sur des frigoporteurs a linte rieur de
nanotubes en carbone dans un e changeur de chaleur tubulaire
Mots cles : Frigoporteur ; Nanotubes en carbone ; Nanouides ; Transfert de chaleur par convection ; Facteur de frottement
1. Introduction
In recent years, there has been an ever-increasing interest
among thermal scientists to nd a substitute for the presently
used HCFC refrigerants in refrigeration and air-conditioning
industries, in view of the demand to reduce the GWP and
ODP. Only a few refrigerants like ammonia, carbon dioxide
(CO2), hydrocarbons (HCs), HFC-152a (R152a) and HFO1234yf
have a GWP below the threshold value. However, the above
considered refrigerants have critical issues such as amma-
bility, toxicity, metal corrosion and compatibility with oil
(Melinder, 1997; Wang et al., 2010). Further, large primary
refrigerant leakage has created an increased awareness for
alternative technology in various industrial sectors. Among
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 91 44 2235 8051; fax: 91 44 2235 1991.
E-mail address: velrajr@gmail.com (R. Velraj).
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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
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i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 2 2 8 7 e2 2 9 6
0140-7007/$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2012.08.009
the available methods, the secondary loop system or indirect
refrigeration is one of the effective ways to solve the above
issues. It is possible to reduce the primary refrigerant charge
appreciably by 5e15% in a DX-system, with the increased cost
of secondary uids, pumps, tubes and extra heat exchanger
for the secondary circuits. An excellent secondary refrigerant
is water, as long as the operating temperature is above 0

C.
The addition of an antifreeze medium to water makes it more
suitable in the secondary loop that avoids freezing. However,
the inadequate heat transfer performance of the water-
eantifreeze mixture reduces the effectiveness of the heat
exchangers considerably.
Choi (1995) proposed a new approach for enhancing the
thermal transport properties of the heat transfer uids with
the suspension of solid particles of nano size in the base uid,
called as the nanouid. Many researchers have published
enhancement of thermo-physical properties of nanouids,
particularly on the thermal conductivity (Choi et al., 2001; Xie
et al., 2003; Das et al., 2003; Assael et al., 2004; Amrollahi et al.,
2008; Sul et al., 2011). However, only limited studies have been
carried out in the area of the convective heat transfer char-
acteristics of the nanouids, compared to the studies on
thermal conductivity. The fascinating attributes of nanouids
in convection heat transfer along with the features like the
anomalous increase in thermal conductivity, better stability,
no extra pressure drop etc., facilitate the design of energy-
efcient secondary refrigeration loop.
Pak and Cho (1998) were the rst to report on the studies of
the convective heat transfer of Al
2
O
3
and TiO
2
nanoparticles
dispersed in water uidowing in a horizontal tube. They re-
ported a substantial decrease of 12% in the heat transfer
coefcient, for a constant average velocity of the nanouids
with 3 vol. % of nanoparticles. In contrast, an enhancement in
the heat transfer coefcient of 40% was reported by Xuan and
Li (2003) for Cuewater nanouid owing through a straight
tube with a constant heat ux at the wall under laminar and
turbulent ow conditions. The augmentation in the viscosity
of nanouids, which reduces the heat transfer rate by sup-
pressing the turbulence, might be the reasonfor the decreased
heat transfer coefcient in the earlier investigation by Pak and
Cho (1998). Wen and Ding (2004) measured the local heat
transfer coefcient of aluminaewater nanouid inside
a copper tube under a constant heat wall ux. The results
revealed that the enhancement was signicant in the
entrance region, and it could not be attributed solely due to
the enhancement in the thermal conductivity of the nano-
uids. Heris et al. (2006) investigated the heat transfer
behavior of Al
2
O
3
ewater and CuOewater owing through
a copper tube, which was maintained at a constant heat
temperature by the circulation of saturated steamthrough the
annular section. Ding et al. (2006) investigated the heat
transfer behavior of an aqueous suspension of multi-walled
carbon nanotubes owing through a tube, which was heated
electrically by a exible silicon rubber heater. He et al. (2006)
investigated the ow and heat transfer behavior of TiO
2
-
distilled water nanouid owing through a vertical pipe in the
upward direction under various ow conditions. Williams
et al. (2008) reported that the ratio of heat transfer rate to
pumping power for alumina/water and zirconia/water nano-
uids was lower compared to that of water, due to the domi-
nant effect of increase in the viscosity. It was shown that the
traditional correlations and models can be used to calculate
the dimensionless numbers such as the Reynolds, Prandtl,
and Nusselt numbers of the nanouids, if the measured
Nomenclature
A area (m
2
)
c
p
isobaric specic heat (J kg
1
K
1
)
d tube diameter (m)
D annulus diameter (m)
f friction factor
h convective heat transfer coefcient (W m
2
K
1
)
k thermal conductivity (W m
1
K
1
)
L length (m)
_ m mass ow rate (kg s
1
)
Nu Nusselt number
Dp pressure drop (N m
2
)
Q heat transfer rate (W)
Nu Nusselt number
Pr Prandtl number
Re Reynolds number
T temperature (

C)
DT temperature difference (K)
u uid velocity (m s
1
)
U overall heat transfer coefcient (W m
2
K
1
)
Greek symbols
m dynamic viscosity (Pa s)
F volume concentration
r density (kg m
3
)
Subscripts
f base uid
i inner
o outer
r ratio
w water
CF counter ow
nf nanouid
Abbreviations
AHTC Average Heat Transfer Coefcient
CNT Carbon nanotubes
DX Direct expansion
HC Hydrocarbon
HFC HydroFluoroCarbon
HFO HydroFluoroOlen
GWP Global Warming Potential
ODP Ozone Depletion Potential
SEM Scanning Electron Microscope
TEM Transmission Electron Microscope
HCFC HydroChloroFluoroCarbon
LMTD Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference
PTDC Proportionate Temperature Differential Controller
MWCNT Multi walled carbon nanotubes
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 2 2 8 7 e2 2 9 6 2288
temperature and loading-dependent thermal conductivities
and viscosities of the nanouids were used under turbulent
conditions. Chun et al. (2008) performed an experimental
study on the convective heat transfer of three kinds of
alumina nanoparticles in transformer oil as the base uid,
owing through a double pipe heat exchanger under laminar
owcondition. Anoop et al. (2009) investigated experimentally
the effect of particle size on the convective heat transfer
characteristics of waterealumina nanouids in the devel-
oping region under laminar ow condition. Duangthongsuk
and Wongwises (2009) conducted an experimental study on
the forced convective heat transfer of water with 0.2 vol. %
TiO2 owing in a double tube counter ow heat exchanger
under turbulent conditions. Garg et al. (2009) studied experi-
mentally the effect of ultrasonication on the heat transfer
performance of the MWCNT based aqueous nanouids.
According to them, the maximum heat transfer enhancement
was found to be in the nanouids for the optimum ultra-
sonication time of 40 min. However, the percentage
enhancement in the heat transfer coefcient was very low,
compared to the results of Ding et al. (2006). Ferrouillat et al.
(2011) investigated the convective heat transfer of SiO
2
/
water colloidal suspensions and reported an enhancement in
the heat transfer coefcient of 10e60% compared to those of
pure water. The merits of nanouids for heat transfer
enhancement depend on the compromise between thermal
conductivity increase and viscosity increase, and hence, they
recommended that the application of nanouids is suitable in
the places, where the pumping power is not of great concern.
Zamzamian et al. (2011) studied the forced convective heat
transfer coefcient of Al
2
O
3
/EG and CuO/EG nanouids in
a double pipe heat exchanger, at different operating temper-
atures under turbulent conditions.
It is evident that many researchers have used a variety of
nanouids with alumina, copper oxide, titanium oxide and
other metal nanoparticles. However, only limited number of
publications are available on the convective heat transfer
enhancement, using CNTnanouids, withinconsistent results.
Further, it is observed that heat transfer characteristics of CNT
nanouids were studied experimentally, under constant heat
ux and wall temperature boundary condition. Hence, the
objective of the present experimental study is toinvestigate the
effects of the inlet temperature, ow rate and MWCNT
concentration on the convective heat transfer behavior of
a secondary refrigerant based CNT nanouid owing through
the inner tube of the tubular counter ow heat exchanger, and
the water that circulates through the annulus.
2. Sample preparation
In the present study, a mixture of 70 vol. % de-ionized (DI)
water and 30 vol. % Ethylene Glycol (EG) as the base uid,
Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulphonate (SDBS) as a surfactant
and Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) of various
concentrations are used to produce the secondary nano
refrigerants (thereafter called as nanouids). The nanotubes
are procured from Cheap Tubes, USA. The MWCNT have an
average diameter of 30e50 nm, length of 10e20 mm, specic
surface area of 60 m
2
g
1
and purity of 95%, and are produced
by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. Three
different nanouids of 2.5 L each are prepared with a volume
fraction of 0.1%of SDBS in each sample, and a volume fraction
of 0.15%, 0.30% and 0.45% of MWCNT. Fig. 1 shows the TEM
image of MWCNT, and the presence of entanglements is
noticed in some parts of the image. The following methods are
used in order to disentangle the nanotubes, which include the
ball milling of MWCNT using 10 mm WC (Tungsten Carbide)
balls for 20 min, followed by ultrasonication for 60 min under
dry conditions. The SDBS is dissolved in the secondary refrig-
erant mixture using a magnetic stirrer, followed by the addi-
tionof MWCNT. Themixtureis continuouslystirredfor 30 min,
followed by ultrasonication for 90 min to ensure the proper
dispersion of MWCNT in the secondary refrigerant. Fig. 2
shows the SEM image of the nanouid (0.3 vol. %) and the
diameter of the dispersed nanotubes is found to be
32.7e48.1 nm. The nanouids prepared by the above method
are found to be more stable for over three months, with no
visible sedimentations. The measurement of thermophysical
properties of the nanouids such as density, specic heat,
thermal conductivity and viscosity is carried out using the
standard volumetric ask, differential scanning calorimeter,
Fig. 1 e TEM image of MWCNT (Source: Cheap Tubes, USA). Fig. 2 e SEMimage of the dispersedMWCNT(f[0.3 vol. %).
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 2 2 8 7 e2 2 9 6 2289
KD2 Pro thermal analyzer andthe rheometer respectively. The
detailed procedure for measuring each property of the nano-
uids was explained in detail by Kumaresan and Velraj (2012).
3. Experimental setup and procedures
Fig. 3 shows the schematic diagramof the experimental setup,
to investigate the convective heat transfer characteristics of
nanouids. It consists of a test section, two constant temper-
ature baths, two centrifugal pumps and a data acquisition
system. The test section is a 2.5 mlong horizontal tubular heat
exchanger, having two smooth concentric copper tubes. The
inner tube has an outer diameter of 12.7 mm and 1 mm
thickness, while the outer tube has an outer diameter of
25.4 mm and 1 mm thickness. The heat exchanger is divided
into 5 sections of equal length, using serpentines in the
annulus, andthe schematic of one suchsectionis showninthe
gure insert. The test section is thermally insulated with glass
wool, in order to reduce the heat loss along the axial direction.
This setup has two major uid circuits, namely the nano-
uid circuit, and the water circuit. The nanouid circuit has
a polyurethane insulated stainless steel container of 0.003 m
3
to store the nanouid, and a centrifugal pump of capacity
600 lph to circulate the nanouid through the inner tube of the
test section. The temperature of the nanouid is maintained
at the desired value with the help of a 4.3 kW cooler and 1 kW
heater, through a proportionate temperature differential
controller (PTDC). The water circuit has a thermally insulated
container of capacity 0.015 m
3
, tted with a 5.25 kWcooler and
1.5 kW heater, to maintain the temperature of water at the
desired value through another PTDC. A separate centrifugal
pump of capacity 600 lph is used to circulate the water from
the water storage tank through the annulus of the test section.
Amechanical stirrer is placed at the top of each container, and
it is continuously in operation during the experiment, to
achieve uniformity in temperature of the uids. Ball valves are
placed in both the nanouid and water circuits to regulate the
ow rate of the uids through the respective sections.
The RTDs (PT 100) are directly inserted into the uid owat
the inlet and outlet of each section, to measure the bulk
temperature of the nanouid and water. All the RTDs are
connected to the data acquisition system (Agilent 34970A) for
continuous monitoring and recording of the experimental
data. A differential pressure transmitter (Deltabar S, Endress
and Hauser) is placed across the test section to measure the
pressure drop of the nanouid, a Coriolis type mass ow
meter (Promass 83, Endress and Hauser) is used to measure
the mass ow rate of the nanouid, and a rotameter (PG 6,
Eureka) is used to measure the ow rate of water.
The required quantity of nanouid is prepared as per the
procedure explained in Sec. 2. The nanouid and water
containers in the experimental setup are lled with 2.5 L of
nanouid and 13 L of water respectively. The PTDCs are set to
the desired temperature in both the circuits, so as to maintain
RTD
PTDC 2
NANOFLUID TANK
CONDENSING
UNIT
TEST SECTION
NANOFLUID
PUMP
CORIOLIS
MASS FLOW METER
BALL
VALVE
RTD
PTDC 1
WATER PUMP
BALL
VALVE
ROTAMETER
WATER TANK
CONDENSING
UNIT
DPT
Fig. 3 e Schematic diagram of the experimental setup.
Table 1 e Thermophysical properties of the nanouids.
f 0.15 vol.% 0.30 vol.% 0.45 vol. %
T (

C) k
r
m
r
(c
p
)
r
k
r
m
r
(c
p
)
r
k
r
m
r
(c
p
)
r
0 1.062 1.402 1.089 1.090 1.523 1.046 1.124 1.873 1.027
5 1.059 1.564 1.090 1.091 1.669 1.049 1.131 2.166 1.028
10 1.079 1.663 1.090 1.113 1.919 1.050 1.134 2.459 1.029
40 1.086 1.496 1.094 1.131 2.619 1.057 1.197 3.240 1.041
k
r
(k
nf
/k
f
), m
r
(m
nf
/m
f
), (c
p
)
r
(c
p
)
nf
/(c
p
)
f
.
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 2 2 8 7 e2 2 9 6 2290
the required temperature of the uids inside the containers.
The centrifugal pump in both the circuits is switched on to
allow the required quantity of uids to circulate through the
test section, after the uids in the containers attain the set
temperature. The temperatures of both the streams of uids
in each section are continuously monitored, and these
measurements along with the pressure drop of the nanouid
across the test section are recorded, after the system attains
the steady state condition. The temperature measurements
are continuously recorded for the duration of 45 min at an
interval of 30 s, in order to ensure the stability of the measured
values. The experimental conditions of the nanouid and
water used in the present study are presented in Table 2. The
experimental trials are repeated thrice for each experimental
condition, to check the repeatability of the results.
4. Data reduction
The convective heat transfer coefcient of nanouids owing
through the inner tube is evaluated from the measured data
by adopting the following procedure.
The heat transfer rate of the nanouids across the test
section is calculated from
Q
nf
_ m
nf

c
p

nf
DT
nf
(1)
where, _ m
nf
is the mass ow rate of the nanouid, (c
p
)
nf
is the
specic heat of the nanouid and DT
nf
is the temperature
difference of the nanouid in the test section. The overall heat
transfer coefcient based on the inner tube area (U
i
) is calcu-
lated from
U
i

Q
A
i
LMTD
CF
(2)
where A
i
and (LMTD)
CF
are the surface area of the inner tube,
and the logarithmic mean temperature difference for the
counterow respectively. The term Q is the heat transfer
evaluated using the Eq. (1).The overall heat transfer coefcient
(U
i
) of a double pipe heat exchanger without fouling resistance
is represented as follows
U
i

1
1
h
nf

d
i
2k
t
ln

d
o
d
i

1
h
w

d
i
d
o
(3)
where, k
t
is the thermal conductivity of the tube material, and
d
o
and d
i
are the inner and outer diameter of the inner tube
respectively. The terms h
nf
, and h
w
represent the heat transfer
coefcient of the nanouid and water respectively.
The values of the Prandtl number and Reynolds number of
water are determined by substituting the thermophysical
properties of water in the following expressions.
Pr
w

m
w

c
p

w
k
w
(4)
Re
w

r
w
u
w
D
i
d
o

m
w
(5)
where, k
w
, r
w
, m
w
, u
w
and (c
p
)
w
represent the thermal conduc-
tivity, density, dynamicviscosity, uidvelocityandspecicheat
of water at the bulkmeantemperature. The Nusselt number for
water is then calculated from Gnielinskis correlation (1988).
Nu
w

f =8Re
w
1000Pr
w
h
1 D
i
=L
2=3
i
1 12:7f =8
0:5

Pr
2=3
w
1
(6)
where, f is the Darcy friction factor and is calculated from the
correlation developed by Petukhov (1970) for turbulent ow,
and is of the form
f 0:794 ln Re
w
1:64
2
(7)
The heat transfer coefcient of water is determined using
the following relation given by
h
w

Nu
w
k
w
D
i
d
o

(8)
where, D
i
is the inner diameter of the outer tube.
Table 2 e Experimental conditions.
f
(vol. %)
Tube uid
e nanouid
ow rate
(lph)
Annular
uid e water
ow rate
(lph)
Inlet temperature
(

C)
0 130
180
270
300 T
nf
0

C and T
w
15

C
0.15 T
nf
5

C and T
w
15

C
0.30 T
nf
10

C and T
w
25

C
0.45 T
nf
40

C and T
w
15

C
Table 3 e Results of uncertainty analysis.
Measured quantities
Temperature 0.1

C
Nanouid mass ow rate 0.1%
Water mass ow rate 2%
Pressure drop 0.075%
Thermal conductivity 5%
Viscosity 0.004%
Derived quantities
Density 0.4%
Specic heat 3.3%
Reynolds number 0.1%
Heat ux 3.6%
Convective heat transfer coefcient 3.4%
Friction factor 0.1%
500
1500
2500
3500
4500
5500
6500
1000 3000 5000 7000 9000 11000 13000
H
e
a
t

t
r
a
n
s
f
e
r

c
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t

(

W

m
-
2
K
-
1
)
Reynolds number
Gnielinski (1986)
Experimental data
Fig. 4 e Validation of the experimental setup.
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 2 2 8 7 e2 2 9 6 2291
The convective heat transfer coefcient of the nanouid is
evaluated by substituting the values of U
i
from Eq. (2) and h
w
from Eq. (8) in Eq. (3).
The Darcy friction factor of the nanouid is calculated
based on the measured pressure drop using the equation,
f
nf

2d
i
Dp
nf
Lr
nf
u
2
nf
(9)
where, r
nf
, Dp
nf
, and u
nf
are the density, pressure drop, and
velocity of the nanouid respectively, and L is the lengthof the
test section.
The Reynolds number of the nanouids is evaluated as
follows:
Re
nf

r
nf
u
nf
d
i
m
nf
(10)
The uncertainties of the measurements data and the rele-
vant parameters obtained fromthe data reduction process are
presented in Table 3, which are estimated based on the error
propagation method reported by Moffat (1988).
5. Results and discussion
Initially the experiments are performed with DI water for the
determination of the convective heat transfer coefcient, to
ensure the accuracy and reliability of the experimental setup.
Fig. 4 shows the experimental convective heat transfer coef-
cient and the predicted values obtained using the Gnielinski
(1988) correlation for various Reynolds number. It is seen from
the gure that the experimental values are in good agreement
with the predicted values. The differential pressure trans-
mitter is calibrated using a pure secondary refrigerant, and
hence, the pressure drop is compared for the pure secondary
refrigerant. Fig. 5 compares the friction factor determined by
substituting the measured pressure drop in Eq. (9) with those
obtained using Eq. (7) for the turbulent ow, and the popularly
used expression f 64=Re for the laminar ow. It is observed
from the gure that the results are in good agreement in the
turbulent ow conditions and in reasonable agreement in the
laminar ow conditions.
0.01
0.03
0.05
0.07
0.09
0.11
0.13
500 1500 2500 3500 4500 5500
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

f
a
c
t
o
r
Reynolds number
Experimental data
Theoretical data
Fig. 5 e Calibration of the DPT.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
R
e
y
n
o
l
d
s

n
u
m
b
e
r
Nanofluid velocity ( m s
-
1
)
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T = 0C and T = 15C
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
R
e
y
n
o
l
d
s

n
u
m
b
e
r
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T = 5C and T = 15C
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
R
e
y
n
o
l
d
s

n
u
m
b
e
r
Nanofluid velocity ( m s
-
1
)
Nanofluid velocity ( m s
-
1
) Nanofluid velocity ( m s
-
1
)
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T = 40C and T = 15C
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
R
e
y
n
o
l
d
s

n
u
m
b
e
r
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T = 10C and T = 25C
a
b
c
d
Fig. 6 e Reynolds number versus nanouid velocity.
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 2 2 8 7 e2 2 9 6 2292
5.1. Effects of the MWCNT concentration and
temperature on the Reynolds number
Fig. 6(a)e(d) shows the variation of the Reynolds number with
respect to the velocity of the nanouid for various concen-
trations of the MWCNT in the pure secondary refrigerant, at
various inlet temperature combinations of the nanouid and
water. It is seen from the gure that the value of the Reynolds
number increases with an increase in the velocity of the
nanouid, which is a common behavior in any uid. However,
it is observed that there is an appreciable decrease in the
Reynolds number at a given velocity, with a small addition of
the MWCNT in the pure secondary refrigerant at all the
temperature conditions. Further, it is noticed from the gure
that the addition of 0.45 vol. % MWCNT in the base uid
results in a decrease of 25e66% in the Reynolds number,
depending on the inlet temperature of the nanouid. This is
due to the contemporary growth of effective dynamic
viscosity of the nanouids, and the effect is predominant at
a higher inlet temperature of the nanouids (T
nf
40

C and
T
w
15

C).
5.2. Effects of the MWCNT concentration and
temperature on the convective heat transfer coefcient
The signicant change in the uid ow behavior, observed
from the variation in the Reynolds number, with a small
increase in the MWCNT concentration in the pure secondary
refrigerant, makes it difcult to study the effect of the MWCNT
concentration on the average convective heat transfer
behavior of the nanouids, with respect to the Reynolds
number at a given mass ow rate. Hence, the heat transfer
characteristic curves are drawn with respect to the nanouid
velocity, instead of the commonly used Reynolds number.
Fig. 7(a)e(d) shows the variation of the average convective
heat transfer coefcient with respect to the nanouid velocity
at different inlet temperature combinations of the nanouid
and water. It is seen from the gure that the average heat
transfer coefcient is considerably enhanced with the
increase in the MWCNT concentration at all temperature
conditions. The average heat transfer coefcient of the
nanouid containing 0.45 vol. % MWCNT, is enhanced to
a maximum of w160% at 0.83 m s
1
with T
nf
40

C and
T
w
15

C. Further, the enhancement in the heat transfer
coefcient of w150% prevails even at a lower inlet tempera-
ture of the nanouids. It is also seen from the gure that the
increase in velocity has only a marginal effect in enhancing
the heat transfer coefcient of the pure secondary refrigerant.
However, the increase in the nanouid velocity has an
appreciable effect in enhancing the average heat transfer
coefcient of the nanouids. Further, the increase in the
MWCNT concentration illustrates a near linear enhancement
in the average heat transfer coefcient at a lower velocity, and
a nonlinear enhancement behavior at a higher velocity. By
comparing the thermal conductivity ratio from Table 1, it is
construed that the enhancement is not only contributed due
a
b
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
A
H
T
C

(
W

m
K
)
Nanofluid velocity (m s )
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
A
H
T
C

(
W

m
K
)
Nanofluid velocity (m s )
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T = 5 C and T = 15 C
c
d
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
A
H
T
C

(
W

m
K
)
Nanofluid velocity (m s )
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T = 40 C and T = 15 C
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
A
H
T
C

(
W

m
K
)
Nanofluid velocity (m s )
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T = 10 C and T = 25 C
Fig. 7 e Variation of heat transfer coefcient with respect to the nanouid velocity.
i nt e r na t i ona l j o ur na l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n 3 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 2 2 8 7 e2 2 9 6 2293
to the improvement in the thermal conductivity of the nano-
uids. The possible mechanisms beyond this enhancement
could probably be due to the micro convection effects by the
chaotic movement of the carbon nanotubes, which delays the
boundary layer development. The rheological studies of the
nanouids always show the shear thinning behavior (Ding
et al., 2006), and the shear rate is high near the wall result-
ing in a lowviscosity eld, and therefore, there is an increased
heat transfer rate near the tube wall. Hence, it is inferred that
the addition of MWCNT in the watereethylene glycol mixture
enhances the heat transfer coefcient considerably, when the
nanouid is employed as either the heating uid or cooling
uid in the secondary loop.
The experimental results are compared with the results of
Ding et al. (2006), who reported an enhancement in convective
heat transfer coefcient of 350% for water/MWCNT at
Re 800. The reasons for the discrepancy could be the
following.
i The difference in the tube size used in the present study,
which is about 2.3 times larger than the diameter of the
tube used by Ding et al.
ii. The addition of ethylene glycol in the DI water reduces
the thermal conductivity of water appreciably and hence
the addition of MWCNT in DI watereethylene glycol
mixture results in a lower thermal conductivity
enhancement, compared to the thermal conductivity
enhancement in water based CNT nanouids.
iii. The addition of ethylene glycol in DI water increases its
viscosity, and further MWCNT addition in watere-
ethylene glycol mixture results in an appreciable
viscosity enhancement, compared to the water based
CNT nanouids.
5.3. Pressure drop
Fig. 8(a)e(b) illustrates the variation of the friction factor, with
respect to the velocity of the nanouid for various concen-
trations of MWCNT in the pure secondary refrigerant, at two
different nanouid inlet temperature conditions (T
nf
0

C
and 40

C). It is seen from the gure that the addition of
MWCNT in the secondary refrigerant increases the friction
factor at all the nanouid velocities. The primary reason for
the increase in the friction factor is due to an increase in the
viscosity of the nanouids. Further, it is observed from the
gure, that the friction factor decreases appreciably with the
increase in the velocity and temperature. The increase in the
friction factor in the case of the nanouid with 0.45 vol. %
MWCNT is 8.3 times higher than that in the case of the pure
secondary refrigerant at the nanouid inlet temperature, and
a velocity of 0

C and 0.83 m s
1
respectively. This remarkable
increase in the friction factor will certainly trim down the
positive thermal effects of the nanouids in the secondary
refrigeration loop. However, the increase in the velocity of the
nanouids decreases the friction factor considerably, and
hence, it is recommended to circulate the nanouid at
a higher velocity, to make use of its positive thermal effects
with a small penalty in the pumping power.
It is concluded from the above gure, that the higher
velocity of the nanouid is more favorable; and hence, further
investigation is carried out to study the effect of the temper-
ature of the nanouid at a higher velocity. Fig. 9 shows the
variation of the friction factor with respect to the MWCNT
concentration in the nanouid at various temperatures for
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

f
a
c
t
o
r
Nanofluid velocity (m s
-1
)
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T
nf
= 0 C and T
w
= 15 C
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

f
a
c
t
o
r
Nanofluid velocity (m s
-1
)
0% CNT
0.15% CNT
0.30% CNT
0.45% CNT
T
nf
= 40 C and T
w
= 15 C
a
b


Fig. 8 e Variation of friction factor with respect to nanouid
velocity.
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0 0.15 0.3 0.45 0.6
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

f
a
c
t
o
r
(%)
Tnf = 0 C
Tnf = 5 C
Tnf = 10 C
Tnf = 40 C
u = 0.83 m s
-1

Fig. 9 e Variation of friction factor at various inlet

temperatures of the nanouid.
i nt e r na t i o na l j our na l of r e f r i ge r a t i o n 3 5 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 2 2 8 7 e2 2 9 6 2294
a constant velocity of 0.83 ms
1
. It is seen fromthe gure, that
the enhancement in the friction factor is very lowwith respect
to an increase in the temperature. Also, at the higher
temperature of 40

C, the enhancement in the friction factor is

negligible, with the addition of 0.15 vol. % MWCNT in the pure
secondary refrigerant. It has been discussed already in the
earlier section, that the convective heat transfer coefcient of
the nanouid with 0.15 vol. % MWCNT is appreciably
enhanced at the higher inlet velocity and temperature, and
this enhancement in the heat transfer coefcient is not
appreciable with a further addition of MWCNT in the pure
secondary refrigerant. Hence, it is construed from the results
of the convective heat transfer coefcient and friction factor,
that the addition of 0.15 vol. % MWCNT is highly favorable in
enhancing the heat transfer performance, with a negligible
increase in the pumping power. This chaotic behavior of the
nanouids calls for a detailed study, to determine the optimal
fraction of MWCNT addition in the base uid, to achieve the
maximum performance in heat transfer without any penalty
in the pumping power.
6. Conclusions
The convective heat transfer behavior of the secondary
refrigerant based CNT nanouid is investigated experimen-
tally under various owconditions. The following conclusions
are arrived at, based on the experimental results.
The addition of MWCNT in the pure secondary refrigerant
reduces the Reynolds number, while enhancing the
convective heat transfer coefcient appreciably.
The nanouidwith0.45 vol. %MWCNT enhances the thermal
conductivity by 19.73% at 40

C, while showing an enhance-
ment of 159.3%inaverageconvectiveheat transfer coefcient,
at thesametemperature conditions, whichis due tothemicro
convection effects of the chaotic movement of the carbon
nanotubes, which delays the boundary layer development.
At a lower operating temperature of the nanouid, it is
recommended to circulate the nanouid at a higher velocity,
to make use of its positive thermal effects with a small
penalty in the pumping power.
At a higher temperature and higher velocity of the nano-
uid, the addition of 0.15 vol. % MWCNT is highly favorable,
in enhancing the heat transfer performance, with a negli-
gible increase in the pumping power.
The inconsistent behavior of the nanouids calls for
a detailed study, to determine the optimal fraction of
MWCNT addition in the base uid, to achieve the maximum
heat transfer performance without any penalty in the
pumping power.
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