Improving the cooling performance of automobile radiator with Al2O3/water nanofluid

In this paper, forced convective heat transfer in a water based nanofluid has experimentally been compared to that of pure water in an automobile radiator. Five different concentrations of nanofluids in the range of 0.1–1 vol.% have been prepared by the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles into the water. The test liquid flows through the radiator consisted of 34 vertical tubes with elliptical cross section and air makes a cross flow inside the tube bank with constant speed. Liquid flow rate has been changed in the range of 2–5 l/min to have the fully turbulent regime (9 × 103 < Re < 2.3 × 104). Additionally, the effect of fluid inlet temperature to the radiator on heat transfer coefficient has also been analyzed by varying the temperature in the range of 37–49 °C. Results demonstrate that increasing the fluid circulating rate can improve the heat transfer performance while the fluid inlet temperature to the radiator has trivial effects. Meanwhile, application of nanofluid with low concentrations can enhance heat transfer efficiency up to 45% in comparison with pure water.

► Application of nanofluid in the car radiator has been studied experimentally.
► Heat transfer enhancement of about 45% compared to water has been recorded.
► Increasing particle concentration and velocity improves heat transfer performance.