Predicting thermal conductivity of liquid suspensions of nanoparticles (nanofluids) based on rheology

A methodology is proposed for predicting the effective thermal conductivity of dilute suspensions of nanoparticles (nanofluids) based on rheology. The methodology uses the rheological data to infer microstructures of nanoparticles quantitatively, which is then incorporated into the conventional Hamilton–Crosser equation to predict the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids. The methodology is experimentally validated using four types of nanofluids made of titania nanoparticles and titanate nanotubes dispersed in water and ethylene glycol. And the modified Hamilton–Crosser equation successfully predicted the effective thermal conductivity of the nanofluids.