Iranian Researchers Use Nanoparticles to Increase Heat Transfer Coefficient of Microchannels for Industrial Applications

The Iranian researchers at Khajehnasir Toosi University of Technology managed to increase the heat transfer coefficient of microchannels used in industrial facilities through nanofluids modeling.

Using fluids with higher conductive heat transfer coefficients, which are usually practiced to increase the heat transfer coefficient of microchannels, causes high pressure drops. Another scheme is to use solid nanoparticles with high conductive heat transfer immersed in the fluid which makes it possible to increase conductive heat transfer of a fluid by means of suspended nanoparticles at low pressure drops.

"Considering the assumption in nanofluids issue under which base fluid and nanoparticles together compose a uniform state, it is of particular importance to provide conditions for maintaining this state", Mehrzad Shams, one of the researchers, said in an interview with INIC news service.

"We first studied the problem of flow in microchannels and then analyzed slip flow in microchannels and derived the governing equations. Afterwards, we investigated the application of nanoparticles in slip flow inside the microchannels and took the considerations for using governing mathematical equations describing the problem. We next modeled Brownian motion of nanoparticles considering their small size by fast search methods to locate the position of nanoparticles. Finally, we determined release location of nanoparticles in their dispersion at microchannel inlet and dispersion mechanism of nanoparticles in forming a homogeneous mixture", he added.

The results of this study could find applications in electronics industry, particles separation, and heat exchangers utilized in power plants.

For more details see International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, volume 36, pages 1060-1066, 2009.