An empirical study on heat transfer and pressure drop properties of heat transfer oil-copper oxide nanofluid in microfin tubes

In this paper, the convective heat transfer of the heat transfer oil-copper oxide nanofluid flow in horizontal smooth and microfin tubes is investigated experimentally. Using a flow control system, the flow regime is always laminar and the wall temperature is constant by using a steam tank. Pure heat transfer oil and nanofluid with the weight concentrations of 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% are used as working fluids. The results are in good agreement with the classic correlations for the pure fluid flow. Based on the results, combination use of nanoparticles and the microfin tube leads to the heat transfer enhancement up to 230%, in comparison with the base fluid flow in the smooth tube. The results are useful in the prediction of the heat transfer rate and the pressure drop in nanofluid flows.